It’s an age-old question that our LGBTQ+ elders asked –– and one the next generation of gays will continue to face: “Top or bottom?”
And while society has always treated discussions around queer sex as “taboo,” there’s no denying that the receiving partners have unfairly faced a greater deal of stigma. (Read: bottom-shaming.)
As Lil Nas X tweeted, in parody of a Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie quote that appears in “Flawless” by Beyoncé: “We teach our bottoms to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller … You should aim to be successful, but not too successful. Otherwise, you would threaten the top.”
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Now that’s poetry!
We teach our bottoms to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to bottoms, you can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful. Otherwise, you would threaten the top.— ☆ (@LilNasX) June 29, 2021
Thankfully, it seems like times are changing as more famous bottoms own their preferred position loudly and proudly.
Case-in-point: OnlyFans star Max Lorde, who candidly told the hosts of the Sloppy Seconds podcast his bottoming regimen –– “10 Imodiums.”
Lorde wasn’t afraid to spill on his diet (“The 10-piece nuggets and two Big Macs [and] the No. 7 with the two cheeseburgers.”) or the two hours of douching it cost him, either.
This is why people say bottoms are braver than Marines. That said, Queerty does not condone taking 10 Imodiums before bottoming. (One, if needed, is plenty!)
The 24-year-old’s frank response wasn’t a total surprise considering his reputation for candidness (and controversy). And it very quickly became a part of his brand, appearing in a teaser for the jail-themed “Industry Baby” music video. (“Breaking news, power bottom ‘rapper’ Lil Nas X and his Caucasian friend led a prison escape this morning,” a news anchor reports.)
Furthermore, he used his platform to stick up for the receivers in an interview with Variety. “I feel like even within the gay community, people see bottoming as a joke or something,” he said. “And somebody who bottoms is beneath a top or something. The idea of that, I feel like, is a form of misogyny between men.”
Facts! This is why bottom representation in the media is so important.
With his candid stories about coming out, swoon-worthy workout videos, and acoustic covers, David Archuleta is one of our favorite gay celeb TikTokers. That being said, the “Afraid to Love” singer is still mastering the quirky platform after leaving his “hardcore Mormon” upbringing, which means some innuendos have gone over his head.
Archie hopped on a viral trend thinking he was making a joke about his 5’5″ height… only for followers to point out the original clip referred to inches, uh, below the waist. “Wtf did I just get myself into yall thinking about me,” he wrote in response.
Still, the 33-year-old might be a little saucier than he’s letting on. In response to a commenter who wrote, “Being a full time bottom isn’t so bad,” Archuleta insinuated that he’s actually a top –– or at least vers. “I’m sure that you’re absolutely right for other people out there,” he said. “I’m sure that they would definitely agree with that. Couldn’t relate.” Oop! We don’t care either way, as long as he keeps the cute content coming.
Don’t judge a book by its cover –– or a gay by his booty.
Troye Sivan solidified himself as pop’s supreme catcher with 2018’s “Bloom,” a self-described bop about bottoming. (“Take a second, baby, slow it down / You should know I bloom just for you,” he sings. Pretty straightforward!) He also kept up appearances in 2021 when he dubbed new single “Angel Baby” a “gushy juicy gay power bottom ballad.”
Perhaps that’s why fans were shocked to learn the “Rush” singer is actually NOT a strict bottom, “Bloom” be damned! “I think sometimes people are just surprised, maybe if they go on a date with me, and I’m like “Oh, by the way, I’m not a bottom,'” he told Emily Ratajkowski on an episode of her High Low podcast. We’re calling it now –– a track for the tops is imminent!
“I am a gay, Muslim, Arab-American man,” he said. “And I’m going to take it even further. Not only am I gay, but I’m also a bottom. Not only am I a bottom, but I’m also a total bottom, which means I like it up you-know-where.”
There’s nothing hotter than a man who knows what he wants, and his headline-making announcement paid off in the long run. “Fans around the world have thanked me for the way I came out and said I made them feel powerful,” he told Salon in 2020, adding that he did not regret revealing his sexual preferences.
“I’m ready to break out and change the conversation and change the world that we live in,” he explained. The bottoming advocate this world needs!
5. Bowen Yang
Leave it to Shang Chi to out you as a bottom! During a 2021 hosting stint on Saturday Night Live, actor Simu Liu “accidentally” let it slip that cast member Bowen Yang prefers the bottom bunk.
While joking about Yang’s debut on People‘s Sexiest Man Alive list, Liu quipped, “Weren’t you the first openly bottom guy on that list?” To which Bowen quickly retorted, “I’m not open about that. Who told you that?”
Liu’s response? “Sorry, I just guessed.” It was a hilarious sketch –– and a monumental moment for all bottoms aspiring to make People‘s exclusive ranking.
With his roles in shows like Special, Ryan O’Connell gave the disabled LGBTQ+ community –– and their sex lives –– some much needed visibility. In his self-written Netflix series, O’Connell’s character loses his virginity in a humorous but authentic sex scene. And as he told Queerty, the missionary moment was at least partially autobiographical.
“I also like being on top [during sex],” he revealed. “I’m a power bottom b*tch who loves being in control.” Furthermore, he dubbed Julian –– his character in the Queer as Folk reboot –– a “power bottom king” who doesn’t let his disability interfere with his sex life. “[Disabled people] are hot and horny and want to f*ck,” he said. “And … we would love our genitalia back that society has taken away from us.”
TikTok’s Chris Olsen is known for his candid content, from going viral for telling his 12 million-plus followers about the three times he contracted chlamydia –– “End the stigma,” he says –– to sharing clips from his therapy sessions.
So, unsurprisingly, it was no-holds-barred when gay talk show host Zach Sang asked if Olsen was actually a bottom… or exploiting the position for content. (“I’m getting, like, heavy vers energy from you,” Sang explained.)
It turns out, there’s a good reason why! “Throughout the day, I have very dominant energy,” Olsen said. “I don’t want to continue having that all the time. I am not a bottom because it gives me social currency. I am because I enjoy it.” There you have it folks!
While they understandably haven’t explicitly talked to the media about their sex lives, Neil Patrick Harris and husband David Burtka are most likely versatile.
It goes back to a 2008 interview on The Howard Stern Show, when the controversial talk show host asked NPH what position he takes in the bedroom. “I’m versatile,” the Uncoupled actor said. “The best thing about being in a guy-guy relationship is sometimes you feel like being tough, sometimes you feel like being subordinate.”
The men later joked about their preferences during a 2011 benefit performance of Cole Porter’s “You’re the Top.” Naturally. “You dance like a bottom,” Burtka told NPH, to which Harris replied, “I’ve been watching you. What’s a bottom even dance like anyway?” That’s when Burtka asked, “Have you seen Adam Shankman?” Oop!
Does Andy Cohen give off “bottom energy”? Well, his BFF Anderson Cooper certainly thought so when he “outed” the Watch What Happens Live host as a top in 2014. “I know a lot of secrets about Andy,” Cooper bragged on the show. “I guess the one that would most surprise people is he’s a top.” (For the record, Kelly Ripa –– who was also there for the conversation –– was living for the drama.)
Cohen later walked back the moment in a 2018 interview with Attitude, admitting that labels feel “outdated.” As he explained, “The truth about today is that everybody’s topped and everybody’s bottomed at one point in life … People have a lot of variations about sex and it’s safe to say I am well on board the train and enjoying the ride.”
Bet you weren’t expecting this one! On 2013’s Artpop, Lady Gaga gave us a power bottom anthem for the ages with throbbing and sensual track “G.U.Y.” It’s pretty on-the-nose; its title literally means “girl under you,” with lyrics like, “I don’t need to be on top to know I’m worth it / ‘Cause I’m strong enough to know the truth” and “I’ll lay down face up this time.”
Plus, the music video features cameos from Cohen and the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. You can’t get any more bottom-centric gayer than that!
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