Country singer Steve Grand may have made strides when he became one of the first openly gay artists in the genre, but his recent comments on the pains of being young, white, gay, male and attractive isn't earning him any points — in fact, it's doing just the opposite.
In an interview with Pride Source, the singer responded to some backlash about flaunting his body, but got into more hot water when he said, "I just know people have really, really low expectations of me and that's what the internet does. I'm such an easy person to target."
And then the kicker, "Young, good-looking, white, gay men — we love to hate those people," Grand said.
Read more: What #TweetLikeAWhiteGay Exposes About the Unspoken Race Issues Dividing the Gay Community
Twitter users wasted no time telling Grand that he'd missed a point (or two) about the nuances of identity politics:
While LGBT people may fight for many of the same goals, when sexual orientation and gender identity intersect with factors like race and class, things become more complicated than Grand let on.
For one, men who don't have washboard abs like Grand's have markedly different experiences when it comes to engaging with their sexuality and finding their place. And while Grand might feel uncomfortable with the attention on his body, gay men of color can expect much worse, even when just browsing dating apps.
Meanwhile, a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study reported that 1 in 2 black gay men and 1 in 4 Latino gay men can expect to be HIV-positive if the current rate persists. Comparatively, 1 in 11 white gay men can expect the same.
Given that these stats are just the tip of the iceberg for gay folks, a Twitter user had some final words of wisdom for Grand, and people like him:
Grand responded to these critiques later on Twitter, admitting his opinions come from a "narrow, fallible perspective," but adding that he was really just "shooting the shit":
March 22, 2016, 12:40 p.m. Eastern: This story has been updated.
