Radio Hosts Blame Gay Men for Emaciated Actresses, Imply Pedophilia

Posted Tuesday, January 24, 2012 by Shay O'Reilly

Print Icon

Email this story

  • Radio Hosts Blame Gay Men for Emaciated Actresses, Imply Pedophilia
The John & Ken Show

SOURCE: KFI AM 640

The Golden Globes red carpet was full of slender actresses, and the hosts of Clear Channel’s “John & Ken Show” are blaming gay men.

According to John Kobylt, who co-hosts with Ken Chiampou, gay men must be responsible for the “emaciated” actresses on the big screen because straight men like curves too much to want “sticks.” On the other hand, gay men—according to Kobylt—idealize bodies that belong to underage boys.

“Gay guys control the fashion industry and the casting industry and the whole Hollywood look,” Kobylt said. “And gays like bodies that remind them of a 14 year old-boy.”

Kobylt continued, saying that he “knew for sure” that gay men controlled the casting industry—and didn’t need to do any research to confirm it. His comments echo a pervasive homophobic myth: That gay men are sexually attracted to underage boys, and that child molesters are likely to be homosexual.

This claim, which has been used in campaigns to prevent gay people from teaching children or adopting, is of course unsupported by the evidence. Gay men are no more likely to molest children of any gender than heterosexual men, according to analysis by UC-Davis Professor Gregory M. Herek; men who molest boys are unlikely to consider themselves homosexual or to be involved in a gay lifestyle of any kind.

Kobylt and Chiampou claimed that they meant to imply no connection between pedophilia and homosexuality, saying that they had covered pedophilia scandals enough to know better. But the notion that Kobylt’s words did not intend to suggest that gay men are attracted to underage boys is implausible at best.

Women are forced to conform to unrealistic, impossible and unhealthy beauty ideals, primarily to benefit or appeal to men. But this isn’t the fault of gay men—and it certainly isn’t because gay men detest the bodies of women while liking the bodies of children. 

Shay O'Reilly is a staff writer with Campus Progress. Follow him on Twitter @shaygabriel.

Print Icon
blog comments powered by Disqus