Chazzy Loves Bluto!

My first gay crush was Bluto!
In the early 60's when I was 7-years old, I watched Popeye cartoons on TV after school.

Popeye's arch nemesis and rival for the attention of Olive Oyl was a bearded, aggressively masculine sailor named Bluto.   

Bluto had huge shoulders and curvaceous pectoral muscles that were visible right through his sailor uniform. He would try to impress Olive and intimidate Popeye by flexing his huge biceps. 

This gave Olive palpitations and would send Popeye into a jealous rage. 

The animators gave Bluto various roles like cowboy, lifeguard, lumberjack, and biker. These all made him a virile counterpoint to the wussy, spaghetti-armed Popeye. 

In one cartoon I remember vividly, he was a circus strongman dressed in a black speedo and yellow tank-top. He made his muscles dance, bent steel bars, and lifted huge barbells as everyone in the crowd watched in awe. 

When little goody-two-shoes Popeye ate his spinach and beat him to a pulp, it was a travesty my young mind couldn't comprehend! I tried to talk with my little friends about how cool Bluto was and how he deserved to win at least once in a while. 

But they were not having any of it. To them, Bluto was 'the bad guy' and that was that. 

I had to pretend that I liked Popeye better so that nobody would suspect that I was 'weird.' 

Chazzy - Connecticut
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Robert Loves Bluto!

My first gay crush was Bluto!

I was obsessed with cartoons as a kid in the early 70's in Bellvue, WA.

I would get up really early, ready to watch everything from "Josie & The Pussycats" to "Betty Boop."

Which leads me to my crush, which I know might sound crazy. But hey, straight boys love Betty Rubble. They even go so far as to call pretty girls, 'Betties.'

Until around age 4, the only man I'd really seen was my dad. Then up pops Bluto, the first cartoon "Daddy" I'd ever seen - and I was smitten. At that age I didn't know what those feelings were, but I knew I liked 'em!

Bluto was tall, dark, all muscles, and all man! His giant arms and pecs tickled me where I had never been tickled before. Sure, he was a bit ugly and mean, but my crush on the "bad boy" was born.

As the years rolled on and the more "Popeye" I watched, the hotter I thought he was. In fact, there's an episode from the 50's where Popeye gives him a shave and a haircut. And when he is done, he's a dreamboat.

Later, at my first swimming lessons at the public pool in the dressing room, I saw a whole room of naked guys with hairy chests and muscles just like Bluto. And in my young mind, I knew I was onto something great!

I loved Erik Estrada, Lyle Wagonner and Gil Gerard too. But it was my little crush on the tall, dark and handsome Daddy Bluto that started it for me!

Robert - Hollywood, CA
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