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summertime guys

12 shirtless scenes from iconic teen & summer films that fostered our gay awakenings

By Carson Mlnarik
Three panel image. On the left, Brad Pitt stands shirtless holding a hairdryer wearing a cowboy hat in "Thelma & Louise." In the middle, Chris Evans stands shirtless in a whipped cream bikini in "Not Another Teen Movie." On the right, Freddie Prinze Jr. sits shirtless at a high school graduation wearing just an honor roll stoll.

It’s a widely accepted fact that when Fast Times at Ridgemont High hit home video in the early ’80s, Blockbuster employees noticed a spike in damaged VHS cassette tapes. A generation of teens –– finally allowed to enjoy the film within their own four walls –– kept rewinding the infamous scene where Phoebe Cates gets out of the pool. So much so, that the poor, antiquated tech couldn’t take the heat. Literally.

OK, so a peek into the feminine mystique wasn’t front of mind for gays at the time. We were too busy focusing on Spicoli (Sean Penn) or “Rat” (Brian Backer), or maybe none of the above because all the dudes in that flick kind of suck. 

But that doesn’t mean we haven’t had our own rewind-the-VHS-tape, pause-the-DVD, or screenshot-the-film moments. If there’s one thing we could count on, it was some gratuitous male shirtlessness in a summer movie or coming-of-age classic. These moments engrained themselves in our memories, helped us come to terms with our sexualities, and frankly, led to lifelong affinities for Chris Evans.

Hit the locker room, then meet us by the pool for these 12 summer movie shirtless moments that fostered our gay awakenings…

Brad Pitt in Thelma & Louise

Alright, so Thelma & Louise is a little more “feminist crime drama” than it is “lighthearted summer flick.” But I’d argue it qualifies under the roadtrip clause, which I just made up. And most importantly, 1991 Brad Pitt is a revelation. For many viewers, this was the first we ever saw of the soon-to-be global heartthrob –– and we had to get a good, long look at him. Was he low-key too pretty to be playing a convicted armed-robber? Maybe. But boy, did he know how to hold a hairdryer while wearing a cowboy hat. Even Orville Peck admitted the scene was a personal sexual awakening.

Channing Tatum in She’s The Man

Before he was Magic Mike, Channing Tatum was a soccer player rooming with Amanda Bynes (who’s disguised as her brother) in 2006’s She’s The Man. Modern Shakespeare adaptations aside, it was clear that Tatum was going to be a huge star. And not just because he was seemingly contractually obligated to show off his abs in every other scene. (Why is he shirtless while hanging out with his clothed bros? I digress.) While we’d see a lot more of Channing, his sensitive, topless, himbo character is definitely where the stirring started.

Chayanne in Dance With Me

Vanessa Williams was a lucky, lucky lady in 1998’s Dance With Me, where she finds herself partnered up with Puerto Rican singer –– and certified hunk –– Chayanne. While Williams’ character Ruby was all about the technique in dance, Rafael (Chayanne) brought the passion. And although he isn’t technically shirtless in the scene where the two dance at a Latin club, Chayanne’s infectious smile, on-point moves, and light grinding is more than enough to still get us all hot and bothered.

Tom Cruise in Top Gun

Do we even need to elaborate?! Young gay boys thought they were seated for a gritty action flick about dudes training at the Naval Fighter Weapons School… only to be blessed with the most homoerotic volleyball scene of all time. Tom Cruise and company’s bodies were lubed up, well-lit, and grinding against each other for no justifiable reason. And while 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick tried to tone down the vibe in its respective volleyball sequence, we’ll never forget the 1986 montage –– which may or may not have been the entire reason we bought the tape.

Armie Hammer & Timothée Chalamet in Call Me by Your Name

OK, so we did not grow up watching 2017’s Call Me By Your Name on VHS tapes. But that flirty sunscreen scene between Oliver (Armie Hammer) and Elio (Timothée Chalamet) has ingratiated itself in our psyches all the same. Before kisses and peaches, the couple’s electricity starts with the magic of a simple touch. If you must, call it a sexual reawakening because we could watch this moment –– and the entire film –– on a loop.

Ryan Phillippe in I Know What You Did Last Summer

I Know What You Did Last Summer isn’t just a slasher film. It’s a slasher film with hot people. And while Barry Cox –– portrayed by ’90s it-boy Ryan Phillippe –– ultimately suffers an untimely death, he does take a particularly steamy and spooky shower first. Suffice to say, one scene is a lot more rewatchable than the other. But between this flick and 1999’s Cruel Intentions, Phillippe solidified himself as the pinup boy hanging inside a locker in our minds for the rest of time.

Freddie Prinze Jr. in She’s All That

Nothing says late nineties quite like Freddie Prinze Jr., some spiky hair, and a pleasantly nondescript pop song. As the son of Puerto Rican stand up Freddie Prinze, the I Know What You Did Last Summer actor was naturally comfortable in front of the camera. But no role was quite as iconic as Zack Siler in She’s All That, the big man on campus who semi-problematically decides to give nerdy girl Laney (Rachael Leigh Cook) a makeover. Nevertheless, we were more than willing to forgive him after watching the way he showed off his volleyball skills at their pivotal (and perfectly-lit) beach date. Not to mention that graduation scene with the well-placed soccer ball.

Matthew Broderick in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Let’s be real here –– you either wanted to be Ferris Bueller or be with Ferris Bueller. In the 1986 John Hughes classic, Matthew Broderick created a character as charismatic as he was adorkable. You can’t help but fall in love during Bueller’s endlessly rewatchable opening monologue –– and the fact he stripped down, made a shower head joke, and struts around in just a towel doesn’t hurt either. TBH, he still makes us want to cut class. (And Sloane did not know how good she had it!)

Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing

We’d pay good money to have an ’80s Patrick Swayze saunter over to us and whisper, “Nobody puts baby in a corner.” With a title as salacious as Dirty Dancing (and abs as sculpted as Swayze’s), it’s perfectly understandable why the film became a pop-culture phenomenon and invented dreams of being lifted up by a handsome, muscled man in our heads. Swayze’s appeal was universal, and it’s safe to say gays weren’t the only ones rewinding this sensual sequence back.

Zac Efron in High School Musical 2

High School Musical 2 may be a more recent addition to the canon, but there’s no denying the chokehold a shirtless Zac Efron had on generations of queer men. A proclivity towards musicals typically signifies “friend of Dorothy” status, but the reason we kept returning to the summertime flick had less to do with its soundtrack and more to do with the rising actor’s poolside moments. (Don’t even get us started on that lil’ number where Lucas Grabeel and Corbin Bleu randomly switched clothes.)

Taye Diggs in How Stella Got Her Groove Back

A beefy, young, and smooth-chested Taye Diggs –– in his first-ever film role –– helped 40-year-old Stella (Angela Bassett) get her groove back in this breezy 1998 rom-com. And while we may not have been able to empathize with the struggles of a single mother as teens, we could certainly understand why Stella fell head over heels. Especially when we watched Diggs jump into that pool. Over and over again.

Chris Evans in Not Another Teen Movie

The singular image of Chris Evans wearing a whipped cream bikini has transcended beyond its parody film origin in 2001’s Not Another Teen Movie. Honestly, the circumstances that led his jock-spoofing character to don this “banana split” outfit don’t even matter. The movie may have been Evans’ first leading role but it garnered him an immediate legion of gay fans, who would eventually stomach multiple Marvel movies to support “America’s ass.”

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2 Comments*

  • Dwight

    Tom Cruise in Top Gun couldn’t hold a candle to Rick Rossovich in that scene.

  • aL2000

    Absolutely correct !

Comments are closed.

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