Mormon Beefcakes

Sometimes I miss the presidential primary season. Remember Mitt Romney? It seems like every day he had to explain a little bit more of the insanity that is the Mormon faith. Golden plates? Magic underpants? Black people came from where? So it's news like this that warms my heart. Former Mormon Chad Hardy has been excommunicated by the church for producing a calendar chock full of shirtless missionaries. His goal, he says, was to challenge some of the stereotypes about the church's male youth--namely, that they're humorless young men whose bike riding skills outweigh their critical thinking skills. But the church found the images didn't really fit with their desired image. For one thing, they don't believe in nipples. (This may or may not be true, but would that be any crazier than the magic underpants?) Frankly, the problem with this calendar is all in the marketing? Who harbors secret sexual desires for Mormon missionaries? I understand the taboo appeal of sampling the bodily juices of clergypeople, but Catholic nuns and priests ramp up the va-va-va-voom with those sexy outfits. Who wants to make love to a sweaty dude in a bicycle helmet and a starched button-down? More details here.