Accidental Ken Doll and A Little Progress

Last week, I sat down to tell you that I was overwhelmed, behind, and too busy to put together a full newsletter. Apparently, I was also too busy to give the accompanying illustration a proper equipment check.

I had generated several AI images with slightly different bodies, backgrounds, and details. The one I accidentally published featured a handsome man with absolutely no genitalia. Nothing. A very grown-up Ken doll.

You boys noticed. And then you wrote.

At least a dozen emails arrived, along with about as many comments. Some gentlemen told me how attracted they were to trans men. Others were fascinated by the fantasy of a man with no genitals at all. Several mentioned small penis humiliation, or SPH, and said the image reminded them of their own bodies.

Those are different attractions and experiences, of course. An AI man with missing anatomy doesn’t represent what trans men look like, and having a small penis doesn’t mean someone wants to be humiliated about it. But the range of responses to that one accidental image stopped me in my tracks.

I remember when it seemed like everything revolved around the big cock. Bigger was better, and biggest got the cover, the clicks, and everybody’s attention. Is a big dick still popular? Of course it is. But I’m hearing from more men who are willing to say that something else catches their eye, too. Different bodies. Different proportions. Different possibilities.

I don’t know whether our attractions have broadened or we’re finally getting comfortable admitting what we’ve liked all along. Probably a little of both. Either way, I love hearing men talk honestly about what appeals to them, especially when it falls outside the usual expectations.

That sense of making more room has been showing up elsewhere in GoNaked, too, in a way that means a great deal to me.

More African American men have been reaching out to share their voices and their work. We have the gentleman creating our Uncovered Desires series. Daddy Rod has presented several workshops for us. Trevor James is presenting workshops, and I’m talking with two new creators who would like space in the magazine as well.

These men bring their own ideas, experiences, humor, and perspectives. I’m excited about what they have to share, and grateful that they want to share it here.

Because I remember what happened less than ten years ago when I put a Black man on the cover. Hate messages landed in my inbox. About two dozen people canceled their subscriptions.

Over a Black man on a magazine cover.

I haven’t forgotten that. So when I see more Black creators becoming part of this community, with readers showing up for their work and their workshops, it means something. It doesn’t tell me that prejudice has disappeared. It does give me reason to feel encouraged about the space we’re building together.

I want GoNaked to be a place where more men can recognize themselves, and where all of us can meet someone whose life looks different from our own.

I can’t predict what comes next. Judging by last week, I can’t even reliably predict which body parts will make it into the newsletter.

But I hope we keep our minds open, our hearts open, and a little room beside us. Whatever your skin color, ethnicity, body, or dick size, I want you to know there’s a place for you here.