Line #65 Main/TheTwink


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9	[[quoteright:350:[[Series/QueerAsFolkUS https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/813692a97d4b2b6fcbd19c688ab5460b.png]]]]
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11	->''"[[FunWithAcronyms Teenage, White, Into No Kink]]"''
12	-->-- '''Website/UrbanDictionary''' definition
13
14	A young gay man, usually in his late teens or early twenties, getting his first taste of gay life. He might still be a closet case or he might have been out and proud since he was 12, but he has only recently started prowling the gay scene as a legal adult, especially if he's in college and away from his parents' watchful eyes for the first time. He starts out naïve, and risks being exploited by the [[{{Seme}} older men]] around.
15
16	Appearance-wise, he's stereotypically [[PrettyBoy rail-thin with a boyish face and minimal facial and body hair]]. If white (and he usually is, where fiction is concerned), he'll be bleached-blonde with skin that's either pale or artificially tanned. His clothing style will be on the preppy side, and he will wear flip-flops regardless of the weather. [[note]]It's important to point out that the twink aesthetic and the twink persona are not the same; a person can be one without the other.[[/note]]
17
18	As he adapts to the [[WhereEverybodyKnowsYourFlame gay scene]], he will begin to realize the power he holds over other men with his youthful looks and [[AcquiredSituationalNarcissism might become full of himself]]. If the story has a darker tone, his life may devolve into a hedonistic spiral of sex and drugs, especially if he was already on the road to addiction ''before'' coming out. If the story covers enough time, he'll hopefully be brought down to earth sometime in his 30s, when his maturity kicks in and/or his boyish looks start to fade. At which point, he begins to morph into some other [[QueerAsTropes gay trope]].
19
20	The etymology of the word is a little ambiguous, but it's generally agreed to refer to the snack food Twinkies, because they're [[DumbBlonde go]][[ButNotTooWhite ld]], delicious, and full of cream, but have [[BrainlessBeauty absolutely]] [[TheDitz no nutritional]] [[TheIngenue value]]. Similar terms include "cub" for young [[TheBear bears]], "baby dyke" for lesbians, and "baby queer" as a more general term. This is essentially the caterpillar to the butterflies of the other gay archetypes. See {{Uke}} for the rough [[{{Yaoi}} Japanese]] equivalent. Arguably the gay SpearCounterpart to TheIngenue. This trope may overlap with LoverAndBeloved, which is about an older gay man with a significantly younger lover.
21
22	Not to be confused with [[VideoGame/PaperMario64 Princess Peach's infant star helper]], or with "{{Twinking}}" (a gaming term referring to lower level characters using hand-me-downs from their higher level characters that are still enough to make them overpowered, or {{God Mod\|e}}ing).
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24	----
25	!! Examples:
26	[[foldercontrol]]
27
28	[[folder:Comic Books]]
29	* Jetlad in ''ComicBook/TopTen: The Forty-Niners'', though he notably avoids the "full of yourself" phase.
30	[[/folder]]
31
32	[[folder:Fan Works]]
33	* [[Film/InglouriousBasterds Utivich]] is almost ''always'' portrayed this way in FanFic (unless it's a SelfInsertFic) because he is generally accepted as the youngest and certainly most {{Bishonen}} of the Basterds. It sometimes happens to Omar, too.
34	* Light Yagami often gets this treatment due to his PrettyBoy looks and FoeRomanticSubtext with L. L is also sometimes depicted this way for similar reasons.
35	* [[Film/HighSchoolMusical Ryan Evans.]] is portrayed this way often because of his CampGay personality, combined with the fact that he's a high school student
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
39	* [[MeaningfulName Twink]] from ''WesternAnimation/SausageParty'' is an almost literal example, with his CampGay mannerisms and his effeminate-yet-distinctly male voice. Also, [[VisualPun he's a Twinkie.]]
40	[[/folder]]
41
42	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
43	%%* Jason in ''Film/TheOppositeOfSex''.
44	%%* Eric and Neil in ''Film/MysteriousSkin''.
45	* Elio from ''Film/CallMeByYourName'' fits the trope, probably even more so than the character in the book, given he's played by Creator/TimotheeChalamet.
46	* To some extent, Michael in ''Film/PartingGlances''. This movie also contains a subversion in the form of Peter ("you're into the realm of the Supertwinkie") who is actually "a wolf in Twinkie clothing." Also Nick used to be 'quasi-Twinkie'.
47	%%* Eric from ''Film/{{Edge of Seventeen}}''.
48	%%* Benji and Kevin from ''Film/TheBrokenHeartsClubARomanticComedy''. Yes, Zach Braff plays a bleach-blond twink.
49	%%* Twink (obviously) from ''Film/FathersDay2011''.
50	* Andre from ''Film/ButImACheerleader'' is probably the campiest version of this trope to date.
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	[[folder:Literature]]
54	* ''Literature/TheseWordsAreTrueAndFaithful:'' A running joke is that blond twinks are the only type that Ernie finds attractive. Ernie sees Sam as this, to Sam's annoyance.
55	* Hasta from ''Literature/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove'' is blond, looks really young, and positively smitten with Mahiro.
56	* ''Literature/TheSecretHistory'': Francis is slender and delicate, especially in contrast with his friends Henry and Bunny who are both huge. Among his clique of AmbiguouslyBi friends, Francis alone is resoundingly, exclusively homosexual. Since he's also TheDandy, this results in a TransparentCloset.
57	[[/folder]]
58
59	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
60	%%* Marco from ''Series/DegrassiTheNextGeneration'', particularly when paired with older boyfriend Dylan.
61	* ''Series/AsTheWorldTurns'': Creative, pretty boy Luke Snyder realizes he's gay, crushes on his straight best friend and is very sensitive. He eventually falls in love with straight-acting but still very twinky Noah.
62	* ''Series/CoronationStreet'': Todd Grimshaw is a self-centred twink who has used his attractiveness to break up a heterosexual relationship involving the older Marcus, a bisexual who tried to go straight with a girl, only for Todd to take pleasure in wrecking it. Todd is not a nice boy to know.
63	* ''Series/DaysOfOurLives'': Teenage Will Horton discovered his sexuality through walking around shirtless, copious weeping, flirting with his incredibly hot and wicked stepfather EJ and bonding with eventual boyfriend/husband and StraightGay Sonny.
64	* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
65	** Ser Loras Tyrell fits the physical description to a tee, but the trope is somewhat subverted in his romance with Lord Renly Baratheon (who is an [[TheBear "otter"]]): Renly is both older than Loras and the brother of King Robert; in the cultural context of Westeros, this higher social status could lead to a more dominant role in the relationship. However, Loras is one of the most skilled fighters in the Seven Kingdoms, and this more explicit masculinity makes him the emotionally dominant partner, whereas Renly is more of a politician and statesman.
66	** Olyvar is a male prostitute under the employ of Petyr Baelish and also fits the typical twink aesthetic. While it's initially unclear what his sexual orientation was, it's confirmed in "Breaker of Chains" that he exclusively prefers men.
67	* ''Series/{{Glee}}'': Arguably, all the gay boys fit the bill given their age and being at a point of self-discovery, but Kurt and Sebastian are the closest in characterization, albeit in different ways.
68	%%* Kenny James from ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'', especially [[{{Flanderization}} in later seasons.]]
69	%%* Rasmus of ''Series/NeverWipeTearsWithoutGloves''.
70	* ''Series/HowToGetAwayWithMurder'': Discussed. Oliver accuses Connor of treating him like "a disposable twink". Connor rebuts this accusation saying Oliver [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint is too old to be a twink anyway]].
71	* ''Series/{{Oz}}'': Timothy Kirk fits the trope pretty well, but its qualities are turned against him by fellow inmate Reverend Cloutier after Kirk makes a sexual advance on him. It's also implied that Kirk may be bisexual, since he was involved with women outside prison, and one of these relationships was actually the reason for his incarceration.
72	-->'''Cloutier''': "You've made a lifetime out of being adorable, sexy in a lost-little-boy kind of way, but you threw your baby in the trash. That's a man's crime. It's time for you to be a man."
73	* ''Series/QueerAsFolkUS'': Justin (Nathan in [[Series/QueerAsFolkUK the UK version]]). The series opens with him going to [[WhereEverybodyKnowsYourFlame Babylon]] for the first time where he meets the older Brian, who takes his virginity. Their on-and-off relationship serves as the backbone of the series. The original idea for the closing scene in the series finale was to show a brand-new baby gay come of age by visiting Babylon the same way Justin had, showing that the main characters' lives as gay people were just a few of many.
74	%%** And Nathan, the equivalent character in the original British version.
75	%%* Richie in the first season of ''The Secret Life of Us''.
76	* ''Series/TheRealONeals'': Main character Kenny is an Irish-Catholic teen who has recently come out and is struggling to fit in on the gay scene. While he does has his moments of self-centeredness, mostly he's just awkward, and since he's still in high-school, a sexual relationship is still out of the question.
77	* ''Series/{{Skins}}'': Maxxie fits the description in appearance, but in personality he seems to be a bit savvier. We think. [[ButNotTooGay He never gets enough screen time for us to really tell.]]
78	%%* Justin in ''Series/UglyBetty''.
79	* ''Series/WillAndGrace'': Jack, in the episodes which flash back to his teens.
80	* ''Series/TheWire'': Brandon Wright and Dante are both twinks, but played in slightly different ways; Brandon is more the naive and easily led type, while Dante shows signs of arrogance and a tendency to try to manipulate Omar, with his jealousy being one of the factors to drive a wedge between them.
81	[[/folder]]
82
83	[[folder:Webcomics]]
84	%%* James from ''Webcomic/MyLifeInBlue''.
85	%%* Don from ''Webcomic/TryingHuman''.
86	* Chase in ''Webcomic/{{Multiplex}}'' jumps into this role within a few days of his first homosexual experience. He then piles on the CampGay, much to the annoyance of the series other gay character, [[StraightGay Neil]].
87	* Rich from ''Webcomic/GoGetARoomie'' identifies as a twink, to the point where he realizes he's growing a beard invokes an identity crisis.
88	* Whithers from ''Webcomic/SmokeFurAndStone'' is lean, attractive and hairless. Of course, being a shape-shifter, he doesn't have a true form and adopted a twinky one to further his own goals. Which are world-domination. Just kidding - he just wants to get off his lonely island and reach the mainland.
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder:Web Original]]
92	%%* Light Yagami in ''[[WebVideo/DeathNoteTheAbridgedSeriesKpts4tv Death Note: The Abridged Series (Kpts4tv)]]''.
93	* ''WebVideo/NeedsMoreGay'' has an episode about this, comparing and contrasting twinks and [[TheBear bears]]. It also comes up in a review of the gay porn parody film ''[[Literature/{{Twilight}} Twinklight]]''.
94	[[/folder]]
95
96	[[folder:Western Animation]]
97	* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''
98	** Referenced in a CutawayGag, where they're watching a documentary about Twinkie the Kid, which implies him to be gay.
99	** Also mentioned in the episode "Are You There, God? It's Me, Peter" where Peter, after meeting God and knowing he's about to die, laments that he's not going to see Stewie grow up to be a man...[[CueCardPause loving twink]].
100	* ''WesternAnimation/QForce'' has-- who else?-- Twink, a former circus artist turned master of disguise who happens to be very, very flamboyant, and very, very into men.
101
102	[[/folder]]

Context Main / TheTwink