Line #54 Main/GymBunny


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5	[[quoteright:350:[[Film/MiracleMile https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gym_guys_miracle_mile_350.png]]]]
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7	->''"To join a gym you have to go a lot to get it to work, you gotta keep goin' and goin'. I don't know how these gay guys can do it. Every gay guy is built like a body-builder: when did that start to happen?"''
8	-->-- '''Creator/GregGiraldo'''
9
10	A rather common gay stereotype. A man who is constantly [[FitnessNut concerned with working out at the gym]], not to stay healthy, but as a rather vain attempt to hold onto his youthful looks for as long as possible. It's not unusual for him to be HollywoodPudgy, thinking his body is ''never'' quite good enough as he dives headfirst into anorexia. He also uses the Gym as a possible meeting place for potential mates. In many cases, he shows an interest in sports and athletics as well, especially when younger. In this instance, he is generally just portrayed as the gay version of a Jock or a StraightGay. In many cases, however, he doesn't know the first thing about sports and is only exercising for the superficial benefits.
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12	Among gay men, "muscle mary" is another nickname, but take note that neither "gym bunny" nor "muscle mary" are commonly used by gay male gym-goers themselves, who generally see the terms as snide at best and insults at worst. They are "fitness enthusiasts," thank you very much. "Muscle bear" is another term with a more positive connotation, though it refers more specifically to guys that are furry and/or bulky. See also ManlyGay and MachoCamp. Compare/contrast with LesbianJock, who tends to have a more genuine interest in athletics but might also use it to pick up women. Compare also the LipstickLesbian; both the Gym Bunny and Lipstick Lesbian are used as opposite sex {{fanservice}} in very similar ways (a gay character that an opposite-sex viewer is likely to find attractive).
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14	----
15	!!Examples:
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17	[[foldercontrol]]
18
19	[[folder:Comedy]]
20	* Creator/GregGiraldo had a bit talking about fit gay men. "Yea, he could be a linebacker. Look at him. He's built like a gay guy! How much can he bench? 300 pounds? Wow, that's really gay!"
21	[[/folder]]
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23	[[folder:Film]]
24	* ''Film/ScaryMovie'': Brenda's jock boyfriend Ray. He doesn't explicitly come out of the closet until the end of the movie (and claims [[spoiler:SituationalSexuality due to forced abstinence]]), but many unsubtle hints were dropped as a RunningGag.
25	* ''Film/BurnAfterReading'' the AmbiguouslyGay Chad is a ditzy and extremely fit gym employee.
26	* Benji's new boyfriend, "Idaho Guy," from ''Film/TheBrokenHeartsClubARomanticComedy''. Eventually turns Benji into a ClubKid with a drug habit.
27	* ''Film/MiracleMile'': The manly, muscular helicopter pilot our heroes find in a gym insists on fetching his lover before he'll agree to fly the group out. His lover turns out to be a man.
28	[[/folder]]
29
30	[[folder:Literature]]
31	* Redfern Jon Barrett's alternate history novel ''Literature/ProudPinkSky'' is set in the world's first gay state – and features Adonis, a district dedicated to athletic gay men.
32	[[/folder]]
33
34	[[folder:Live Action TV]]
35	* ''Series/CrazyExGirlfriend'': White Josh is a fit gay man who works as a trainer at a gym. His attitude toward fitness is not considered specifically gay, though, and one episode [[Recap/CrazyExGirlfriendS3E9NathanielGetsTheMessage "Nathaniel Gets the Message!"]] sees him bonding with Nathaniel, a straight guy who's also hard core about working out. That said, Josh is more outspoken about fitness than Nathaniel is--but that's probably because he's a trainer so encouraging others to be fitter is his daily job.
36	%%* Jack of ''Series/WillAndGrace'' often displayed aspects of this trope.
37	%%* Jack from ''Series/DawsonsCreek'' in the latter seasons.
38	* ''Series/GilmoreGirls'' had Michel Gerard, a character who constantly watched his calorie intake and apparently spent a lot of time working out to keep what he considered a proper male figure. However, Gerard was specifically shown to not be gay, but rather, a depiction of a modern dandy.
39	%%* The Todd is portrayed as a bisexual version of this in ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'', occasionally.
40	* Riley in ''Series/DegrassiTheNextGeneration'' could be seen as this, except that the reason he works out so strenuously is to [[ArmouredClosetGay convince himself]] that he's ''not'' gay.
41	* ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'': Mac [[CharacterizationMarchesOn evolved into this trope over time]]. Originally written as an immature musclehead who is obsessed with the male physique and being badass because he's never progressed past adolescence, Mac is highly prone to making statements that sound homoerotic in the early seasons. This evolved into Mac being heavily implied to be a closeted gay man. After this was finally confirmed in season 11 by him coming out of the closet, Max remains just as obsessed with fitness and muscles.
42	* On ''Series/LosEspookys'', Andrés's boyfriend Juan Carlos is a fitness fanatic who hosts a channel dedicated to workout videos.
43	* The whole cast of ''Series/QueerAsFolkUS''. Taken to an extreme with Ben during the steroid arc.
44	* Kevin from ''Series/DantesCove''. Several other characters from the show also have elements of this.
45	* One of ''Series/MadTV1995's'' skits with Lida and Molina (a pair of ditzy Latinas) has them hanging out with a group of buff men at a park working out...only to later realize that they're all gay.
46	* Discussed on ''Series/SexAndTheCity.'' When asked why gay guys spend so much time at the gym, one of the women says it's because of the possibility of having sex, and points out that if straight guys had the opportunity to have sex at the gym, they'd go more often.
47	* ''Series/{{Letterkenny}}'' introduces Dax and Ron in season 4, two openly gay and very fit men who spend all their time cat-calling and hitting on other men at the gym.
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Music]]
51	%%* Possibly the subtext of "Macho Man" by Music/VillagePeople.
52	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWz9VN40nCA The video]] for "Physical" by Olivia Newton-John.
53	* Music/PansyDivision: Two of their songs, "Musclehead" and "Who Treats You Right", take aim at gym bunnies as being boring and self-centered.
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Video Games]]
57	* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'':
58	** The vain, unstable, misogynistic, but ridiculously loveable EnsembleDarkHorse Brucie Kibbutz. A caricature of a [[TestosteronePoisoning testosterone-poisoned]] Brooklyn hypebeast who uses performance-enhancing drugs and surrounds himself with gaudy luxury, it is strongly implied that he is bisexual, even if he's only ever seen around attractive women and [[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday is quick to clarify that he's just joking]] about being attracted to Roman. He's extremely insecure, being FormerlyFat and gripped with jealousy of his brother Mori, a former [[BadassIsraeli IDF soldier]] who is presented as both the man Brucie ''wishes'' he was and also [[BigBrotherBully a way bigger douchebag]].
59	** A more open example would be Bernie Crane, [[spoiler:born Florian Cravic. After he moved from the former Yugoslavia to Liberty City, he [[ThatManIsDead declared his old self dead]] and became much more flamboyant while still as physically fit as he was when he fought in the war.]]
60	** The [[WhereEverybodyKnowsYourFlame gay nightclub]] Hercules, featured in more detail in the expansion ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIVTheBalladOfGayTony The Ballad of Gay Tony]]'', is also built around this aesthetic.
61	* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
62	** Just about the entire gym in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' crossdresses. The spot is notorious in the area for this, and is presided over by an apparent local transvestite Aeris has heard of by reputation. Cloud can win a long wig from there by demonstrating his superiority in a squatting contest.
63	[[/folder]]
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65	[[folder:Web Originals]]
66	* Lampshaded in Website/CollegeHumor's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-YCdcnf_P8 Gay Men Will Marry Your Girlfriends]]" video:
67	-->'''Guy in Kitchen''': "All of us are ripped. It doesn't seem statistically possible, and yet it's true."
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Western Animation]]
71	* Stewie leaned in this direction in the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode in which he was taking steroids.
72	[[/folder]]
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Context Main / GymBunny