Darkside Rainbow

I feel like I’ve woken up in some surrealist dream. Russian leader Vladimir Putin is apparently the sexy new darling of the gay community, due to his rippling abdominals and…and…and some freak twist of reality that makes me feel like I woke up in the twilight zone. I’m sorry, but when I think “gay sex icon” I don’t think of Putin - but apparently I’m in a small minority.

Russians can’t get enough of shirtless Putin pix - Advocate.com

When he flexes Russia’s diplomatic and military muscle, President Vladimir Putin always makes headlines.

But few could have predicted the squall of gossip and speculation that would follow after Putin stripped off his shirt for the cameras while on holiday with Prince Albert II of Monaco in the Siberian mountains last week.

The resulting images of the presidential abs, prominently enshrined on the presidential Web site, inspired admiration, criticism, and some racing pulses among his admirers.

The Russian media still can’t get enough.

I suppose I just don’t understand the huge fuss. There are tons of men with nice bodies in the world, and just because Putin is a prominent national figure (well, y’know, being president of Russia, he’d better be pretty prominent) is no reason to start squealing over him like he’s a movie star.

The article does go on to speculate the political implications of stripping down in front of reporters to show off, saying that it may be a bid to appeal to the public and gain popularity and that it may indicate that Putin has other plans beyond his stated intention to step down. I…suppose being attractive is good for politics? Although it would be fairly shallow to reorient one’s political leanings based on a well-cut washboard stomach.

Then again, the sad thing is that if that was Putin’s intent, it probably worked.

In the meantime, Russia’s gay community is indulging in wild speculations that just by taking his shirt off, Putin is pleading for wider acceptance of homosexuality in Russia.

…I’m really not seeing how they got from point A to point B there, but ooookay.

russia, president vladimir putin, shirtless pics, politics