i thought we’d start our first “get to know a niche” thread with one that’s not only popular, but probably the highest traffic niche in gay. so let me start this one off by giving my definition of a twink.
what a twink is:
boyish, slender, smooth hairless body
what is not a twink:
muscular, hairy body, chubby, lots of facial hair, over 24, mature appearance, jock, balding, heavy dark facial hair that shows after shaved
a lot of str8 designers and programs seem to think that any guy who isn’t really hairy and looks effeminate is a twink. i’ve seen bald “twinks”, 30 year old “twinks” and hunky “twinks” on some so-called twink sites.
I’ve also seen controversy over age (some argue twinks can’t be over 21; I disagree because I think it’s more about the look than the age), and some argue that a “twink” defines a caucasian boy that fits the characteristics you’ve defined; however, I know a lot of people disagree on that.
Arguably, though, I think a lot of people tend to assume that twinks are caucasian, such that if a twink is non-caucasian, he is often identified as a “latin twink” if hispanic, or “asian twink” if asian, and so forth; by contrast, I almost never see “caucasian twink.”
And I also have to totally agree on the “what is not a twink”… there used to be a lot of sites out there with “barely 18” 30 year olds. I think some straight programs don’t know the difference between “twink” and “gay male”
For me a twink is someone of a young age, obviously legal but who is young and aged before the look of college jock etc. Typically 18 to 25yo.
Traditionally cute etc, can be both defined and slim and for me can be a little hairy but still is young etc They can be of any race.
I think there is a younger twink niche too these days. These russian boys who look ultra young, i would call more teen boy than twink. Some links lists now have a teen boy category as well as the twink catagory (I think free gay porn finder is one).
This comes about because Eastern Euorpeon boys look alot younger than Americans and Canadians. Even British 18 year olds look very young to many Americans as American and Canadian guys look alot older.
The step down from twinks - typically is lads, teens, boys etc
If we use the word lads or boys we always back it with an age eg 18yo boys cum alot etc we would not use teens.
For myself, I tend to think of a twink as mentioned, but between the ages of 18 to 22, stretching it to no more than 25. The hairy ones I tend to lump into the ‘cub’ classification for the younger ‘bear type’ look.
As the guy gets into his 20s things start to change and they go from “twink” to “twinkish” - in most cases well before 24/25…
For example - Jarod Steel - @ 22y.o. I think he’s going from “twink” to “twinkish”. But it really depends on who he’s paired with - if he’s getting fucked by an older guy, then he’s the twink in the scene… He’s also pretty tall, which counts against the “boyish body”, but his boyish face helps keep him classified by some as a twink. [BTW, hooked up with him at IML - hot kid… And he’s looking for additional work if anyone needs a good, young, bareback bottom…]
Another one is Brent Corrigan - to me he used to be the consummate twink. Of course, the stuff he did when he was 17 definitely is in the twink category. And even the stuff a year or two later. But he pretty quickly started bulking up and started looking very jockish, rather than twinkish… Comparing his early pics to his recent ones shows really clearly that jocks aren’t twinks.
Basschick, twinks from the hood cracked me up! I needed that today.
I was interested to read that “lad” was a step down from a twink. I thought a lad was a general term like “guy”. I didn’t realize that it could be used jokingly to refer to an adult much like “Golden Girls”.
Isn’t there a definite age cutoff for twinks? For instance Beverly Leslie from Will and Grace was most definitely a twink when he was younger, but I don’t know that anyone would call him a twink today.
Incidentally, the Russian and Czech sites with “teen boys” scare the bejezus out of me. I’ve seen some sites that say they are 2257 compliant and have a link to their 2257 information, but I still deleted any browsing history that I went to their site.
[QUOTE=peterf;11052]The step down from twinks - typically is lads, teens, boys etc
QUOTE]
Would agree a twink suggest a bit older than a teen.
Don’t agree that “lad” indicates younger than a twink. Certainly in Northern UK English it suggests something of a rough quality in a good way - derrivatives: laddish, ladette, etc. It would not be unheard of for a group of men well into their late 20s to be reffered to as “lads”, depending how they looked, behaved and dressed. Probably not 30s.
I was talking to a british producer who said the same thing, but in the US, “chicken” is a dated term (predates me, even!) that I’m told implies underage, so much so that our then-legal counsel advised us to change the title of one of our DVDs from “tastes like chicken” to “tastes like twinks”
Interesting how different cultures can use words with similar but very different meanings.
chip, you’re only a couple years younger than me, and when i was 15, chicken only meant underage boys in west hollywood and surrounding areas. btw, we had a few guys in weho from the uk who used it the same way.
[quote=gaybucks_chip;11297]I was talking to a british producer who said the same thing, but in the US, “chicken” is a dated term (predates me, even!) that I’m told implies underage, so much so that our then-legal counsel advised us to change the title of one of our DVDs from “tastes like chicken” to “tastes like twinks”
Interesting how different cultures can use words with similar but very different meanings.[/quote]
That might explain it. I grew up on the east coast at the time, and was blissfully unaware of anything gay, pornographic, or otherwise until my early 20s. The first I heard of the word was when looking at commercial real estate in northern California… one of the properties we were considering had apparently been an illegal “chicken ranch” near Guerneville, CA, and the owner apparently went to prison and abandoned the property. I guess the “chickens” flew the coop to greener pastures
I think Chips verison of chicken used to be about right in the UK. When I first hit the gay scene people jokingly called me a chicken, saying it meant a young gay boy who hadnt started shaving. That wasnt true in my case, they were taking the piss as I was 17 pretending to be 18 so I could buy beer lol To me chicken is very young and quite dated anyway (I dont ever hear that used now) but certainly not something I use in porn.
Lad has always been tougher young guys to me. A lad is a young guy 20s or younger who gets up to mischief, drinks, smoke etc. But lad can be underage too.
I think with all these terms, if the content looks near the mark age wise, its best to state 18+ somewhere in your title or description. “cute teen boys just turned 18 get their tight ass fucked by a huge cock” - the 18 bit doesnt take anything away from the rest of it but keeps you safe.
Who once told Max that its the overall impression that counts? Thats the way I look at it.
My partner and I call them T-PIPs… Twink Past Its Prime. You see them all over Dallas in the gayborhood… scrawny (yet flabby) 30yo and older guys with frosted fauxhawks and tight shiny shirts. It’s so sad. You can’t have a gut and wrinkles and STILL be a twink. I guess they didn’t get the memo.
