Masculinity is back — and it's coming from the most unlikely source



What happens when overtly feminized programming accidentally creates an uncontrollable star out of an accused chauvinist and sexist?

Television magic and unfettered populism.

'If you don't want to love me, [it's] up to you.'

One look at TLC's schedule, and it becomes abundantly clear the programming isn't courting a male audience.

"Double Lives of Suburban Wives" focuses on St. Louis housewives who make pornographic content (which has included fart porn), "1000-lb Roomies" focuses on two morbidly obese roommates, and "Sister Wives" focuses on polygamist families.

The shining star of the network though is "90 Day Fiancé."

With more than 20 spinoffs that include behind-the-scenes, reaction, and reunion shows, the universe revolves around couples who are from two different countries with a focus on trying to acquire a spousal visa in the United States; not exactly a conservative male viewpoint.

Accidental star

The show does huge numbers and inspires countless memes while overwhelmingly pushing pro-immigration and feminist positions.

Enter Sarper Güven. This Turkish national has allegedly slept with 2,500 women, recording his sexual encounters with a color-coded black book full of "X" marks that denote how attractive the women were.

With his wife shown as being constantly upset after getting new, horrid glimpses of his promiscuous past, Güven was immediately positioned on the show as the misogynist pig who needed desperate reformation.

There was only one problem: He refused to apologize.

"I never apologize because [it's] who I am, but I know I make mistakes," Güven told Blaze News in an interview.

Despite consistently admitting wrongs in an attempt to improve his marriage, Güven has endured constant browbeatings in both the recorded programming and group shows with other castmates. Yet despite how he is portrayed and focused on as what not to do, he has only become more popular.

Prized pig

Güven set out on a North American comedy tour earlier this year and has been selling out across the continent. At the time of this writing, the new stand-up comic has seven sold-out shows in Toronto, Canada.

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Thomas Trutschel/Photothek/Getty Images

It's not Güven's past that audiences have identified with; it's his willingness to stand up for himself on a show that rarely rewards such behavior. When Güven''s American wife told a Brazilian cast member, "Go back to your country," he defended his partner and refused to back down, despite being an immigrant himself, on a show surrounded by immigrants.

The obvious pro-immigration sentiment of the show was finally challenged by a pair of people who weren't necessarily bothered by the immediate social consequences.

"I'm not perfect, not even close to being perfect," Güven said from a hotel room in Western Canada. "But that's me, and if you want to love me, that's me. If you don't want to love me, [it's] up to you. I come so honest and transparent. Maybe people love that, especially men love that."

Marital blisters

Güven's stand-up comedy routine sounds as much like a parody and a character as his on-screen appearances do, but he is vehement that it's all real.

Part of that has been his ongoing confession that marriage has changed him, with his commentary on the topic being what men relate to most.

Transparently, Güven talks about how he has changed from a flirtatious lady's man into a docile husband who just wants "peace."

"I don't see women using that word, term, a lot, you know, 'peace,'" the 45-year-old said. "It was not like this when [the relationship] started because I was an alpha male ... now whatever she asks we just do it as men because we don't want a fight."

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Michael S. Schwartz/Getty Images for AB

The majority of Güven's set is a reflection of his marital woes — which he admits his wife hates — and it is garnering him more outside traction with those who don't know him from the show than was expected.

"Whoever comes to my show will relate something with their lives," he explained, providing more than a couple of hilarious anecdotes.

"Everything changed with marriage. I always [say] that before the marriage, even my sweat was sexy. She was smelling me all every day, and she was saying, 'I love your sweat so much, Sarper. You smell like a real man.' And we got married, brother, in two weeks: 'Did you eat garlic today? Did you take shower?' What happened, girl? I'm the same guy.”

Whether it's his Turkish way of talking in proverbs or his brutal honesty, Güven's inability to change himself from his factory settings has produced massive results and garnered him huge respect with men in an overwhelmingly female mediascape.

“If a man would be an electronic device, we probably would be a freaking toaster. Push the bread in, let the bread come out. Simple, one action at a time. Bread in, bread out for you. But a woman would be probably a mobile phone, a very smart, I mean the iPhone 16 Pro Max," he stressed.

"I sleep with one every morning, [and] I find everything changed, new settings, new rules, new update, you know. But always new terms and conditions for me."

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Reality star makes more than $100,000 selling farts in a jar: Report



Reality star Stephanie Matto, best known for her her stint on TLC's "90 Day Fiancé," is selling the results of her flatulence in jars at $500 a pop — and the item is apparently popular: Matto has reportedly made more than $100,000 over the last month alone selling her own personal aroma.

What are the details?

Matto, a 31-year-old wannabe celebrity, has been sharing posts to her social media channels about selling her gas.

In November, Matto tweeted, "Whats the perfect holiday gift this year you ask? A beautiful packaged, wrapped, and custom made fart in a jar starting at $500 ..."

Later that week, she made a TikTok video boasting that she made nearly $50,000 that first week selling the jarred flatus.

In the video, a smiling Matto insisted that she likely moved as much product as she reportedly did because she has a "really good personality."

"And also because I'm hot," she added.

She later told BuzzFeed that she decided to embark upon the endeavor as a publicity stunt to "get a lot of people's attention."

"[I]t has definitely worked," Matto insisted.

In a November Instagram photo, she shared photos of the jars and captioned the snap, "Due to popular demand I have finally decided to start selling my jarred farts over on my unfiltrd page! Alongside my spicy content you can now also purchase my farts in a jar! I’m super excited to share this with you all, and after seeing how many people wanted this, I figured I’d finally give the people what they wanted[.] sale starts today and lasts only 10 days! First 100 orders get their farts 50% off — only $500!"

The smell is most prominent for the first two days, Matto told viewers in the video.

"This holiday season," she concluded the video, "buy a jar and support local, small business."

@stepankamatto

Now the only question remaining… did I really poot 97 times in 2 days? Leave your theories below! 😉❤️ #90dayfiance #NBCAnnieLive #DealGuesser

An 'immersive experience'

Another video showed Matto boasting how she's able to produce such a large quantity of gas. (Spoiler: She eats a lot of beans.)

She also told Buzzfeed that while she normally follows a "pretty strict diet," she allows herself one or two cheat days per week in order to supplant her stockpile.

"[T]hose are the days that I will indulge in specific types of foods that I know will make me more gassy," she revealed. "I also like to combine my 'product' with something that smells like me, so I spritz one of my favorite perfumes into each jar to give customers the most immersive experience ... I put a small fabric petal or flower into each jar — it's aesthetically pleasing and also allows the scent to attach to it and last longer."

@stepankamatto

Don’t hate the player! Hate the game! #90dayfiance #90daysinglelife #ASOSChaoticToCalm #VansCheckerboardDay

A lot of 'energy and exertion' goes into creating those farts'

She also recently defended herself over allegations that the jarred fart schtick is a rip-off — and announced that her business continues to boom.

In a YouTube video, Matto said, "When you take into account the cost of shipping and handling, the amount of food I have to eat in order to produce the farts, the amount of energy and exertion it goes into creating those farts, the flower petals that go into the fart jars which then capture the scent and also every single fart jar comes with a handwritten note, that takes time."

I MADE $100,000 SELLING MY FARTS IN A JAR! www.youtube.com

She continued, "Time equals money. So when you total up everything, all of the effort and the natural resources that go into creating this once-in-a-lifetime product, then it really is a good deal when you think about it."

In a Wednesday TikTok video, she hit out at critics and said, "People judging me for selling my jarred farts. Them not knowing I've made over 100k and own a beautiful home and multiple cars."

@stepankamatto

Respect the hustle? #SnowballFightAgainstHunger #MyBrawlSuper #JBLGreekOut