Troye Sivan, a gay pop singer, released a racy music video for his fast-paced song “Rush” in July. Pink News described the music video as “a visual ode to queer love and liberation,” while Them magazine described it as full of “voguing, glitter, and jockstraps, all images that instantly evoke queer summer joy.”
But the flashy video suffered a fatal flaw: No fat people were cast. Fans called Sivan “fatphobic” and complained about “the lack of plus size representation” because the dancers and extras all had slim or athletic builds. Rolling Stone staff writer Tomás Mier shared on X (formerly Twitter) that it “seems like a case study on how white gays choose to view queer people as a whole” and “there’s not a single fat person in the entire video.” The Tab published an article titled “Troye Sivan only used skinny bodies in the Rush video and I’ve had a bellyful,” which argued that the music video is “a beautifully shot ode to queer hedonism” but disappoints because “every man in it is stick thin or shredded with muscle.” A critic said in an interview with Vulture that the video represents “a return to body fascism and emaciation.” He proceeds to say, “Eat something, stupid twinks!” (It’s worth recognizing that this comment is very ableist, since Sivan has a mild form of Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes unusually long limbs. Apparently, so-called body positivity applies only to noticeably unattractive people.)
So here’s the new progressive standard, which will change in the next 24 hours: LGBTQ activism isn’t legitimate unless it also celebrates fat people. (Place your bets on where the “F” will fall in the ever expanding string of letters.) I’m unsure how sexual orientation, gender identity, and weight are related in a political movement, but then again, I don’t believe that sexual orientation and gender identity belong within the same political movement.
Sivan’s latest music video, “Got Me Started,” proves that he listened to the demands for “body diversity.” His remedy? The groovy dancers featured front and center are all fit, while fat people are strategically placed in the background, just standing or sitting. I don’t know whether Sivan’s casting of fat people as unimposing ornaments was a defiant “screw you” or an earnest attempt to appease progressives. Regardless of Sivan’s intention, the result is hilarious.