When I hear some people talk about cringey gym bros, and how (they assume) it’s driven by anxious/fragile masculinity, desperate for conformity, and pathetic, I don’t know how to start.

It’s a framework that’s exactly backwards from my experience.

Some men are in bubbles that judge men for weightlifting, for the above assumptions.

I’ve never seen judgement or homophobia from gym bros. They mind their own business or are cool with men being effeminate or non-masculine.

Basically y’all are overthinking it.

On one level, it’s just a hobby.

On another, it actually helps a lot if anxiety to foster strength.

A lot of dudes in the gym *are* weird and cringey. They’re losers. But they’re working on it.