Selleck as victim/punk?

All that presupposes the nutbar doing the choosing is ruled by logic.

In fact lots of "big guys" get through life never having to learn to fight, just because their size keeps them from being victimized. In prison, I could see a psycho like jingles, who is also a very big guy, believing he could further enhance his reputation by making Jimmie his kid.

At first Jimmie seemed intent, on not allowing himself to be provoked, that is until Virgil clues him in.

I see your point. Both Selleck and Eastwood were very handsome, but not exactly pansy looking. Perhaps it's a flaw in the script, but it's a minor flaw. And in both films, although Jingles and Wolf threatened to go after Selleck and Clint for sex, neither actually made a sexual advance. As I think about it, it was dramatic license to create a situation that allowed Selleck and Clint to take out and beat up a repulsive tough guy.

In the case of Selleck, it would have been nice, after he shanked Jingles, if he also cut his balls off. However, that probably would have created too many enemies among the brothers. Still it was great that Selleck took Jingles out.

In the case of Clint, it was great to see him stuff a bar of soap in Wolf's mouth and to see Wolf's ugly fat asss sticking up in the air, after Clint gave his fat stomach a workout. It's too bad that film didn't include Wolf getting taken out, but that would have messed up the theme of the film.

Having never been in prison, I don't know who in reality the cons usually go after for sex.

Well I certainly wouldn't mess around with Selleck cuz he is indeed a big guy. But bully's like Jingles (especially ones with a posse of thugs) can sense when someone is nervous or afraid or even just a nice guy & they see that as a weakness. That's why a big guy like Selleck or Eastwood or even Tim Robbins (another big guy) were targeted by other inmates despite their imposing height/builds. It's just as much mental as physical.

Jingles messed with Jimmy because Jimmy is simply white.

The black guy Jingles is even larger than him, and that is really not the point. These are hardened criminals, that are in prison gangs. Selleck's character was just a normal citizen, so this world is completely alien to him. They realized that much right away. So Selleck is a pretty big guy, but he is not a hardened criminal like these guys, and he is not going to be able to fight off 5-6 people. After he shanks Jingles he changes, and gets some jailhouse respect from the other convicts. He had to do that, or otherwise he would have been passed around like a bag of oreo's.