Top, bottom, vers – these terms get banded about frequently in queer culture, particularly in the gay community. While tops are generally considered to be the more dominant partner and bottoms the submissive, the truth is there’s a lot more to these dynamics than these simple names suggest. There are power bottoms, femme tops, switches and more.
While some folks don’t like to label their sex this way, as it can be reductive and restricting, there’s no denying that others love the surety labels like these can bring to their identity.
And listen, everyone loves to know who’s doing what in the bedroom, and declaring your sexual dynamic is one way to let fellow queer folks know what you’re into.
So, without further ado, let’s meet the people shouting it from the rooftops!
Bowen Yang (bottom)
On Saturday Night Live, Bowen Yang revealed he was a bottom during a skit with that week’s host, Simu Lu. Later, in a video with BuzzFeed, Yang read out thiiiiirsty tweets and proudly declared his “spit-bottom” status.
“I guess I’m here to declare mussy. With an mhmhm.”
Lil Nas X (power bottom)
In a heated exchange with right-wing bigots on Twitter/X following Lil Nas X’s BET Awards performance, where he kissed two men on stage, he proudly declared his power bottom status.
“Next time, I’ll just fuck the guy on stage,” he tweeted. Tongue in cheek? You decide.
Haaz Sleiman (bottom)
Haaz Sleiman had us gagged when he announced he was a “total bottom”.
In a Queerty report, Sleiman was clear that he didn’t subscribe to the tired tropes of bottoming = bad.
“We say, ‘Tops are better.’ And then we eye roll when we hear that someone is a bottom,” he said. “We hear that men are more worthy than women, and men are the center of the world. It is the same when it comes to the dynamic between bottoms and tops. It is OK if he is f*cking another man but it’s not if he is being f*cked by another man. I don’t accept this. This is not the world I want to live in.”
Ryan O’Connell (bottom)
When Ryan O’Connell spoke about his intentions for his stand out Netflix show Special based on his memoir of the same name, he said he wanted to make something really disabled, gay and horny.
We also learned that O’Connell isn’t just a bottom, but a power bottom. Kudos!
David Archuleta (top)
While answering comments on TikTok, David Archuleta may have let slip his bedroom preferences…
“I was going to say, being a bottom is a full-time job…” said the commenter, with Archuleta responding, “…can’t relate.”
And I oop!
Bob the Drag Queen (top)
On his YouTube account, Bob The Drag Queen spilt all when answering his fans’ most googled questions about him.
“Why are so many people googling that?” said the Drag Race champion, before answering, “I’m a top”.
I mean, Bob gives top energy, no?
Daniel Newman (top)
Daniel Newman’s very frank and honest explanation for where he stands in the bedroom department…
“I’m a TOP. I’m too lazy to bottom!” the star of The Walking Dead wrote on Twitter (ahem, X).
Fair enough!
Ross Mathews (top)
Way back in 2013, Ross Mathews revealed how he likes to get down in the bedroom to host of SiriusXM, Howard Stern.
“Not like a… I don’t, like, ‘give it’. I’m not like, ‘Come here, I gotta give it to ya,'” giggled Mathews.
Oh, hey there femme-top!
Jerrod Carmichael (top)
Jerrod Carmichael let us know he was a lifelong top in OUT Magazine‘s 100 issue… but did he also cop to being open to switch things up?
We’ll let you decide…
Nico Tortorella (vers top)
While Nico Tortorella prefers to top, they’ve been open about their fluidity, depending on the person, the vibe and place. They’ve also been very vocal about breaking stigma around bottoming or being in a receiving position, saying there’s “nothing more masculine than bottoming.”
Abso-fucking-lutley!
Joel Kim Booster (vers)
For Joel Kim Booster, the vibe is everything. From the time of day, the clothes he wears to the person he’s with, this vers likes to explore the role of femme and masculine roles, telling OUT Magazine that if he wears “leather if I’m topping, lace if I’m bottoming.” And when asked about time of day, “morning if I’m topping, night if I’m bottoming.”
So there you have it!
Troye Sivan (vers)
It’s so good, it’s so good… that Troye Sivan has opened up more about his sexuality.
Sivan told Emily Ratajkowski on her High Low podcast that his song ‘Bloom’, about bottoming, had made his fans assume that’s what he was all about. “People took that and ran,” he said.
But he told Ratajkowski that he was “not a bottom”, so glad we’ve cleared that up. Kind of.
