Big Muscular Men Playing With Cats
Tony Stamp is here with Totally Normal, #39.
Hi,
I'm really glad to have Tony Stamp back today the first time in 2026, with a new edition of Totally Normal – edition #39.
It's Tony's job to round up the best and worst parts of the internet so you don't have to. He's been doing this for Webworm for the last five years, and somehow he's still breathing. This week Tony writes on the manosphere, looksmaxxing, jestergooning and chadfishing. And cats. It's well-timed, given that my twin Louis Theroux has just released a new documentary on this stuff.
But quickly before we get into that, some admin. You pay for Webworm, and it's really important to me that you are getting the best experience possible with this lil' email newsletter. If you are confused about anything to do with your account or the way Webworm works – email me your questions!
I am always davidfarrier@protonmail.com. Or ask in the comments.
I take you funding Webworm seriously – and part of that is being your personal tech support. There is a FAQ (so check that first), but I'm here for you. Because I'm grateful you let Webworm exist. It's my main outlet for journalism, and I was reminded why that's so important to me while reading What My Bones Know, a memoir by journalist Stephanie Foo:
"This was how I discovered the power of journalism – not just as a force to right wrongs and change the world, but as a force that turned my anguished brain into a functioning machine. I liked that it was one thing people thought I was good at. I liked that it gave me a reason to go out into the world, like an explorer heading into the jungle to collect specimens. And I liked that journalism was a puzzle. I could take feelings and injustices and even tragedies and figure out a way to shape them all into something purposeful. Something controlled."
Again: davidfarrier@protonmail.com. Or ask in the comments.
And thanks for all your comments (well worth reading through) in regards to Doug. A lot of you shared really personal stories, and they hit at a time I needed it.
Now, onto Tony (who also makes really beautiful music, btw).
David.
Totally Normal 39: Big Muscular Men Playing With Cats While Working Out
with Tony Stamp
Last week I got a text from my mum: “We just watched the first episode of Adolescence! He’s only 13!!”
For those who haven’t seen the show, it deals with the influence of ‘manosphere’ influencers like Andrew Tate on young male minds, and was generally praised as eye-opening by the general public, while those of us on this particular beat since Gamergate bid everyone a weary hello.
Here’s something though: this man is benchpressing two cats.
Men took another hit recently with the release of further Epstein files. Even heavily redacted, they contain one staggering revelation after another (the dinner between Peter Tiel and Noam Chomsky broke my brain), and will hopefully set a new baseline for our expectations of the mega-rich (mega-rich men that is) for years to come.
X’s AI Grok spent much of January outputting pictures of real women and underage girls in bikinis or less at the request of male users, the kind of obscene public display that would have been unthinkable to our parent’s generation but was largely shrugged off by both media and the app’s owner.
David Farrier
Investigations and a few bannings ensued, then a tightening of restrictions, leaving it all feeling like an awful fever dream. A sense remains though that many men’s attitudes toward consent and pedophilia is unfathomably lacking.
Anyway, check out this guy doing pushups with his kitty.
Men: we’re not ok! Internet consumption has smoothed out everyone’s brains to a degree, but it certainly seems like one half of the gender divide spiralled off into more extreme territory than our female and nonbinary siblings.
Initially I was delighted when I saw a screenshot of this tweet: “Clavicular was mid jestergooning when a group of Foids came in and spiked his Cortisol levels. Is ignoring the Foids while munting and mogging Moids more useful then [sic] SMV chadfishing in the club?”
What on earth could any of this mean?! I looked up each unfamiliar word, and immediately regretted it (suffice to say: misogynistic).
The ‘Clavicular’ mentioned in the post is a looksmaxxing influencer, the latest in a long line of creeps to creep out of their creepy internet bubble and into the periphery of average people. He’s the kind of internet personality who’s repellently fascinating then quickly just repellent, and while it would be easy to dredge the depths for this whole column, I’d just rather not.
Instead let’s enjoy this muscular man playing with his cat.
It’s worth remembering that positive male role models remain. Just look at this Japanese volleyball player, who, moments after hitting a female staff member with a rogue ball, slid across the court on his face to properly supplicate himself before her. Aspirational.
In fact by and large, I think most of us blokes are ok. I think? We understand the unfair advantages the patriarchy has given us, and that we should act within it accordingly? Maybe?
We get the necessity of the term ‘rape culture’, and the horrors that Me Too exposed, and every awful thing since, and, well, the entirety of human history, and are trying our best to progress rather than turn a blind eye? That’s got to be most of us. Right?
Surely this delightful man who’s built a following reviewing sticky toffee puddings doesn’t secretly harbour dark thoughts about women and their place in society?
I’ve been watching a bit of Love Island UK recently. It’s the first time I’ve seen it, and I realise I’m much too late to weigh in on its class politics (which are fascinating), but I have noticed something else. The men involved, generally between 20 & 30, present typically masculine archetypes - muscles and six-packs abound - but deviate somewhat from earlier generations' ideas about manliness.
For one, they're always hugging each other’s shirtless bodies, and there’s just generally a lot of skin-on-skin touching without any sense of discomfort. For another, while tears aren’t common, they do happen, and lead to more hugging and comforting between the blokes.
I hadn’t expected positive affirmation about the modern male from a tacky reality TV show. But there it is.
You know what else is positive? This burly man working out with his tiny kitty.
Another hint at progress: the world of professional wrestling seems to be a much more inclusive place nowadays. It’s an entertainment that’s lingered in my periphery since the 90s, and I recently noticed a shift: progressive things like “Fuck ICE” chants, and pro-LGBT sentiment in general.
Now, I’m only seeing the odd social media post, and apparently things aren’t quite that simple (here’s a good explainer), but still, any port in a storm eh.
After being bludgeoned with one headline after another about awful men doing awful things, it can all start to feel a bit hopeless. Worth remembering that the modern internet is entirely geared around causing this feeling, from ragebait headlines to algorithms.
I’m not trying to suggest that things aren’t cooked (they are cooked). But we’re stronger together, and progress isn’t a straight line, and so on. And if beefy men want to show their softer side by playing with their fluffy four-legged friends they should be celebrated for doing so.
-Tony Stamp
David Farrier
David here again, a man. God, we have to do so much better.
I keep thinking of the US men's hockey team simping so hard for Donald Trump, and FBI Director Kash Patel partying with them after the game. I think of New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon changing the law to make life even worse for unhoused people. Russell Brand turning up to his rape trial with a Bible.
But – cats. I'll take any drip of hope at this point.
Talk soon. Stay sane, stay safe.
David.
