https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=947KeDJjPAM

Regular readers of Towleroad will be familiar with Matthew Dempsey‘s soft-spoken YouTube sessions on racism, aging, masculinity, depression, and other topics of interest to gay men.

Generating a different kind of interest is a new ‘interview’ with Dempsey by Jerrad Matthew in which he strips down in a field of tall grasses to talk about body image. Dempsey says that while he expects “eye rolls” and “rejection,” confronting the fear of that is entirely the point.

Writes Dempsey: “Doing this photo shoot and video was not a ploy to nab some extra attention under the guise of body positivity and ‘loving yourself at any size.’ Though that’s true, I understand how ridiculous that message can be coming from me. Genetics has given me an unearned advantage in life and it’s easier for me to love my body when the world around me tells me it’s looking just fine. That said, I’ve rarely posted even a nip slip because that’s not what I’m trying to be about or promote. I’ve been afraid to show any of my body for fear that others could feel worse about theirs or even more that you would all think I’m a fraud and not care about me or what I have to say anymore.”

He adds: “Though therapy is my passion, it’s not the one note that defines me. I can sometimes get stuck in trying to predict what others want from me and not disappoint and my social media presence has been no exception. Though I don’t have any major plans of stripping down publicly on the reg, I did want to challenge my people-pleasing and literally strip down my fear of the eye rolls and rejection. When I have unrealistic expectations of myself to do things perfectly, then I’m going to have the same expectations of others and I’ll wind up happy with no one. So, here’s to a little bit of ego, a lot of surrender, and a whole lot of beauty in a shoot created by my friend Jerrad Matthew.”

For some of Dempsey’s videos, click here.