Big Beautiful Man

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(Redirected from Big Handsome Man)
You have to admit, he looks cuddly.

A Big Beautiful Man is noticeably chubby, and perhaps even obese, and yet considered genuinely beautiful and voluptuous for it.

This trope was more common centuries ago, when having some extra body fat meant people were seen as healthier (as opposed to typically malnourished masses), and was also a sign of affluence. People could truly be Fat and Proud. It has become more of a Forgotten Trope over time as most societies have themselves become more affluent and has access to more and healthier varieties of food. Such large-set people are not as usually considered as attractive by today's audience or in today's works, where they would more likely be considered Fat Slobs for their girth.

But while this is mostly true for women, it becomes a Double Standard with men. The sheer size of the Ugly Guy, Hot Wife page shows that Hollywood is more likely to let a fat man attract a lover with his personality and sense of humor. But per Rule of Funny, their beauty in another character's eyes is usually an Informed Attractiveness that doesn't even pretend to try to resonate with the audience.

A very notable exception is in works that appeal to gay men. Chubby men are not always considered attractive in the gay community, especially in contexts where The Twink or the Bishonen are considered the more marketable standard of beauty (ie, the majority of Western and Japanese works featuring gay men), and the rule of Hollywood Pudgy is in full force. But there is a sizable niche interest that finds them sexy and even Moe—these people are termed (for better or for worse) "chubby chasers". Among these include The Bear community, where body hair is the chief point of attractiveness, but most sexy chubbiness is also usually the order of the day.

The trope can also still be Played for Laughs when a chubby character sees himself as a Big Beautiful Man. Even then, it still often manages to come off as gay-for-oneself.

Fan Yay often gives Big Beautiful Man status to characters that were not (specifically) intended as such. This can apply to practically any chubby character. Even Santa Claus is not immune.

The Spear Counterpart of Big Beautiful Woman. Big Beautiful Man can overlap to some degree with Acrofatic, Bara, The Bear, Big Fun, The Big Guy, Fat and Proud, Hollywood Pudgy and Stout Strength. In fact, this trope overlaps with The Bear so often that some people consider them the same trope—except that technically this trope is about body fat and the other trope is about body hair.

For not-so-big pretty men, see Bishonen.

No real life examples, please; some men and boys in real life have body image issues, and would not take being listed here as a compliment. There's no reason to trigger their anxieties.

Examples of Big Beautiful Man include:

Anime and manga

Comic Books

  • Circles has at least two of these. Marty is a chubby skunk who is at first timid about his weight, but his new roommate Taye actually finds him incredibly sexy, like a teddy bear, for which Ken derides him as a "chubby chaser". Then there's Arthur, the artistic Basement Dweller—he's a...bear (both socially and literally), now in his 40s, who helps reassure Marty that there's nothing wrong with being portly.
  • Watchmen: Dan Dreiberg. Once he stopped crimefighting, Dreiberg presumably stopped getting his usual exercise (read: thrashing bad guys) and put on some weight. Under that, though, he's still quite strong, and he has a pretty handsome face to go with it. The glasses don't make it any worse.
    • Same said for Blue Beetle Ted Kord during his chubby period (a kind of recursive tribute, since Dreiberg was based on Kord).
  • Bouncing Boy from Legion of Super-Heroes, especially his reboot counterpart Chuck Taine.
  • Cornfed from Livewires.


Literature

Live Action TV

  • Dave Karofsky has had a very outspoken Gay male fan base since the episode "Never Been Kissed," many of who simply prefer men of his build.
  • Noah's Arc: Alex sees himself this way (and Trey agrees). Additionally, like the example above, much of the fanbase does prefer a man of his build.

Music

  • Depending on the version, the Chubby Chaser viewpoint song "Three Hundred Pounds Of Hongry," may or may not be about one.

Video Games

  • Of the nine main characters of Morenatsu, three (Tatsuki, Jūichi and Kōnosuke) fall squarely under this trope. Their Fan Yay is huge.
  • In the Super Mario Bros. series, Bowser is very attracted to himself, and considers himself to be the epitome of physique and manliness. But strangely, though he is very obviously chubby, he doesn't necessarily seem to see himself as chubby, at least until a particularly amusing scene in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.
    • Mario is also this in the RPGs, where he's something of a Chick Magnet (To specify, all of his female party members kiss him at least once in The Thousand Year Door, and along with Flurrie and Ms. Mowz's constant flirting, Vivian is genuinely in love with him).
  • The title of Chub Pan highlights this trope.
  • King K. Rool from the Donkey Kong Country series has gotten a lot of attention from furry fans who like their men big, with bara fans in particular appreciating the fact that his big gut is accompanied by muscular arms. Klump, the fat Kremlings in military gear have a similar appeal, particularly the one from the TV Show thanks to being a goofy, lovable Minion with an F In Evil.
  • Asgore from Undertale initially looks big and imposing thanks to his armor, but when he's seen outside of it, it's clear that he's rocking quite the dad bod. It does nothing to detract from his status as a lovable Hunk, and Alphys has a huge crush on him both in this game as well as Deltarune. The latter even has a hilariously uncomfortable scene where she gushes about how hot he is to his adopted child.

Web Comics

Web Original

Western Animation

  1. ↑ who knows his way around a strawberry
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