Guys, Why Aren’t You Sending More Bulge Pics?

Brianna, a 30-year-old woman living in Canada, does some quick mental math and calculates that she’s received 2,000 dick pics — at minimum — in the past 18 months. Most of these dicks were delivered over the past nine months, the time she’s been single. Brianna’s “probably one of the only girls on the planet who can actually enjoy a dick pic,” she assures me, but still, something’s been largely missing from her collection of cock.

That’d be a good, fat bulge.

Only a fraction of those 2,000-some images are bulge pics, she laments. That’s what she really wants — photos of a man’s package, hidden behind boxer shorts or sweatpants. Maybe there’s a hand gripping the bulge, or maybe he’s pulling the fabric taut enough to outline the head and shaft. Either way, it’s counterintuitive thinking for guys trained to assume bigger and harder is better.

“A lot more can go wrong with dick pics — and a lot of girls do not want to see them, under any circumstance — so I have to say, overall, bulge pics are way way better,” Brianna says.

Rin, a 21-year-old in Florida, agrees. When she sexts with her boyfriend, she prefers that he keep his clothes on. She loves a good bulge, whether it be in his boxers, dress pants or shorts. “It’s like a gift, and I can’t wait to unwrap my surprise when he gets home,” she explains. “It makes me drool just thinking about it.”

Fran Walfish, a family and relationship psychotherapist in Beverly Hills, says there’s a reason Brianna and Rin might prefer a bulge over full-on flesh. Psychologically speaking, she says, it’s easy to see why a bulge pic is more of a turn-on. “Showing visual images of non-nude ‘bulge photos’ of the male crotch elicit the viewer’s imagination,” she says. “Engaging fantasy and imagination when looking at sexual pics or porn is a highly eroticizing experience for both men and women.” What’s more, the level of excitement when looking at “non-nude photos can be significantly higher than actually seeing a fully nude picture.”

In a review of available studies on how men and women react to different sexual stimuli, Heather Rupp found women “may reflect a more complex approach to sexual stimuli that focuses not only on sexual aspects of a stimulus, but also on nonsexual and perhaps more contextual factors. … Women are aroused primarily by stimuli allowing projection.”

So just because you, a dude, prefer straight-up nudes, that doesn’t mean she does. Honestly, it’s kind of sad we haven’t figured this out yet.

Plus, bulge pics are more forgiving. They give you a sense of shape and size “without every vein or ripple,” Brianna points out. “A pair of grey sweatpants or boxers covering that big, hard D eliminates the element of untamed pubic hair, pimples, redness and any lack of groin hygiene. All of which makes the bulge pic more friendly to look at.”

On Reddit, there are subreddits dedicated to the male bulge, specifically r/Bulge_Acceptance and r/Bulges.

Lust for the bulge is so strong, it has redeemed what might otherwise be the sloppiest of male leisurewear: gray sweatpants and basketball shorts.

Rin compares bulge pics to lingerie: She loves the anticipation and finds what’s left to the imagination thrilling. “Seeing my boyfriend with nothing but his boxers on and his excitement showing through is incredibly sexy,” she explains. “I love to turn on my boyfriend in public with sexts, a little nibble on his arm or a playful wiggle of my butt and seeing his bulge and how he can hardly contain himself.”

“Once you see the dick, it’s kinda just like, ‘Well, here it is.’ You have nothing else to look forward to,” adds Kevin, a guy who loves bulge pics. “Whenever people ask me what I’m into, I always let them know that I prefer bulge pics over straight-up dick pics. That said, I haven’t gotten many.”

When Kevin solicits a bulge dick outright, he says guys are usually surprised and confused. “Dudes’ reactions to me asking to see just bulge pics, and not nudes, are pretty funny,” he says. “The bigger the size, the quicker they are to try and show it to you, so it catches them by surprise when someone asks for a soft bulge pic.”

Rin also asks her boyfriend for bulge pics rather than dick pics, because the former is more of an artistic challenge. “[Dick pics] are usually just the same angle of full-frontal dick, and it’s just not very interesting or artistic in any way,” she explains. “But with bulge pics, you can get creative with it. You can with dick pics as well, but it’s harder to get a good bulge pic, so you have to get creative in order for it to work well.”

Brianna agrees. As the pics are “slightly more SFW,” guys have to work a little harder. “[Bulge pics] usually require good angles and lighting that add dimension in order for the bulge to be seen clearly. That means guys got to be a little more artistic in the way they take the photo.”

All that work makes the recipient of the bulge pic even more excited. “Think about it, guys: When you see a hot girl in a bikini, lingerie or a sexy pair of yoga pants that makes you throb, the clothes she’s wearing are enticing you to take them off of her and get a piece,” Brianna says. “Well-fitting clothing accentuates figure and shape. [That’s what] they can do for us seeing your rock-hard bulge. This python is ready to burst out and storm the pink fortress.”

So, guys, maybe it’s time to retire the dick pic as a first move. Or at least try to tease it a little more, says Brianna. “My advice? Stand up and take a picture in the mirror so we can see how big it is in relation to your body — but still don’t send it unless she asks to see a little more.” Sounds fun, right?

“PS,” she adds, “DM me your bulge pics.”

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Quinn Myers

Quinn Myers is a staff writer at MEL. He reports on internet culture, technology, health, masculinity and the communities that flourish within.