Michael Henry, known for his comedic videos that offer commentary about gay issues, recently released a new video, “How do I look?” that explores body image issues gay men experience.
In the wordless video, Henry hangs out with his friends at a pool party. As his toned, muscled friends splash around and enjoy the day, Henry keeps his shirt on in the pool and considers eating some fruit instead of a cheeseburger. As the scene progresses, Henry is seen scrolling through images of his friends on Instagram, self-consciously buying junk food at the grocery store, looking at himself in the mirror and trying to inhale to make his stomach look smaller and finally excusing himself to the bathroom, where it’s implied he is vomiting.
As the video ends, the scenes rewind and Henry sees a West Hollywood billboard, “Get the Perfect Body at Kenny’s Bootcamp” with the image of a shirtless guy beckoning. “How do I look?” is one of the more serious Michael Henry videos. While none of Henry’s friends in the video exclude him or shame him, Henry’s video shows him feeling like an outsider because (like most of us) he doesn’t have chiseled abs and bulging biceps.
While most of Henry’s videos are very comical, some of them do touch on more difficult subject matter. A 2020 video, “Adjacent,” explored consent and sexual assault.
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