Women articulating their lust is amazing. We should celebrate it.
The poster and trailer for Magic Mike XXL, the sequel to Channing Tatum's greatest contribution to cinema, 2012's Magic Mike, dropped this week, and verily, there was an outpouring of lust so strong and vocal that the Earth tipped a little on its axis.
Iron Horse Entertainment/Warner Bros
And that's A Good Thing.
Just under two years ago, I began putting together a list of things I like and posting them on Twitter. The list is called #Bims10Things and I am delighted by the number of people who are genuinely into the things I share. The formula is not set, but staples include: old Hollywood glamour, previously unseen photos of personal faves, music, videos, vintage ads, GIFs, very good-looking men and women, and always, always, a photo of my obsession, Solange. The exclamations of joy in response to the list usually take the form of retweets, perhaps with a little note at the beginning or end. People copy in their friends – "look! You'll love this kitten in a sporran" – and others drop my @-handle out completely, leaving only the hashtag as a marker of its origin. There is a loudness to their consumption of the list that marks it as a clearly public activity.
And that sharing behaviour is true of almost all the things I post, except for one category. There is a peculiar response when I post a particular kind of image: that of a handsome/attractive man, perhaps in some state of undress, or doing something which, while entirely Safe For Work, is unspeakably sexy, or erotic even. Like the GIF of a young Marlon Brando I posted once, or Mark Ruffalo shirtless, or Harrison Ford in a natty suit back in 1980. The straight women of my timeline (and beyond) may retweet these images a few times, but they will also favourite the shit out of it. For all the RTs these images inspire (and the talkback: "Christ!" and "what even?!" are popular responses), the favourite rate is a different story altogether. It's curious, almost coy.
