‘big boy summer’

Daniel Franzese posts hot pics to remind us we’ve been ‘sleeping on the big boys’

Daniel Franzese’s recent series of shirtless selfies is “more [than] a thirst trap”; it’s “a protest,” as he wrote on Instagram.

The Looking alum — armed with the hashtags #visableequalsvaluable #aboveaveragemen #movefashionforward and #effyourbeautystandards — is campaigning for the media, and society in general, to stop “sleeping on the big boys” and start normalizing and sexualizing men of size.

Related: Daniel Franzese talks how coming out almost killed his career

“I urge you if you have felt uncomfortable in your skin trying to live up to a standard only achieved through relentless training and more often fortunate genetics [to] take a break,” he wrote on August 23. “If you don’t see yourself represented in media then be that representative.”

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My followers can only name the shows This is Us and Stranger Things as the only two shows currently showing any male of size in a sexual manner. The CDC says the average size waist of a man in the US is 40. Yet most designers stop making clothes around a 38. The messages we are sending is that big is not welcome and 'large bodies aren't valid bodies' are dead wrong. We are mind set to ideals that cis straight white men have created to appeal to cis straight white men in media. This is more then a thirst trap this is a protest. I urge you if you have felt uncomfortable in your skin trying to live up to a standard only achieved through relentless training and more often fortunate genetics so take a break. If you don't see yourself represented in media then be that representative. I challenge you to go to the end of your comfort zone and take one small step forward. Remove your shirt by the pool. Post a naked selfie and allow yourself to be comfortable in your own skin. Your belly deserves to see the sun. Nothing is more sexy than confidence and being self conscious is a vibe killer. You have one body and we all want to improve and work towards a healthy and fit lifestyle but love the body you have today that will take you on that journey. If we were cavemen trust me my big brutish body would bring all the boys to the cave. F*ck the media's vision of me. I know the man that I am. #visableequalsvaluable #aboveaveragemen #movefashionforward #effyourbeautystandards

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Franzese, who is openly gay, went on: “I challenge you to go to the end of your comfort zone and take one small step forward. Remove your shirt by the pool. Post a naked selfie and allow yourself to be comfortable in your own skin. Your belly deserves to see the sun. Nothing is more sexy than confidence and being self conscious is a vibe killer. You have one body and we all want to improve and work towards a healthy and fit lifestyle but love the body you have today that will take you on that journey. If we were cavemen trust me my big brutish body would bring all the boys to the cave.”

“F*ck the media’s vision of me,” the Mean Girls actor concluded. “I know the man that I am.”

Related: Jonathan Bennett and Daniel Franzese had a ‘Mean Girls’ reunion that was so fetch

Scroll down for other steamy pics Franzese has posted.

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Soak up the sun.

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I'm having a real Nebraska moment right now.

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