Not least because that is the way it has been for what feels like forever.
Aside from the obvious – a straight twink can’t exist – the conflation of slimness and, for the most part, whiteness to success is problematic. “At last, the conventionally-attractive fit white guy will finally get his day in the sun,” was among the funnier reactions to the article on Twitter, with the general response being: we knew. These ‘straight twinks’ are essentially seen as sensitive softboys – meanwhile, portrayals in gay porn show twinks to be stupid, effeminate, sexually passive, and always broke. What is new? The fact that straight men are finding mainstream success because of (largely straight) fans discovering value in their unhulking masculinity – in the same traits that have existed in gay men for decades. The term ‘twink’ isn’t new either it’s believed to be to be a derivative of the word ‘twank’ – a way to describe gay sex workers in the 20s – and has its own porn subcategory, and “tribe” on Grindr. New? Really? The skinny boy aesthetic has been championed in fashion and photography for years.
