Daily Inspiration Quote by Michael Bergin

A body becomes a product the moment the camera stops caring who’s inside it. Michael Bergin’s line lands because it’s funny in the bleak, industry-insider way: the repetition of “the abs” turns him into a prop you can light, frame, and ship. It’s not just that he’s objectified; it’s that the process is mechanical, almost logistical. “Sent the abs on their way” sounds like a package leaving a warehouse, which is exactly the point. In a culture that sells fantasy at scale, the human being is the inconvenient part.

The subtext is sharper than simple vanity or insecurity. Bergin is describing a hierarchy of attention: the photographer’s gaze doesn’t even wander toward his face, the traditional seat of identity and emotion. The message is clear without being spoken: your personhood isn’t part of the deliverable. That’s why “humiliated” hits. Humiliation isn’t merely embarrassment; it’s a social demotion, the realization that you’re being treated as less than fully human in front of other people who consider this normal.

Context matters here because Bergin’s career is tied to an era when men were increasingly commodified in glossy advertising and entertainment, but often without the language afforded to women’s objectification. The quote quietly flips the script: the male body can also be reduced to parts, and the supposed privilege of being desired doesn’t cancel the sting of being erased. The intent reads like a confession that doubles as an indictment: the industry didn’t just photograph him; it edited him down to a feature.