Green’s Dictionary of Slang

candy-ass n.

1. a coward, a weakling, an over-sensitive person [candy-ass adj. (1)].

Spectrum (UC Santa Barbara) V:1 110: ‘Candy ass!’ someone yelled, ‘candy ass!’ Sergeant Morris did not restrain the shouting and more of the soldiers joined in.
[US]H.S. Thompson letter 19 Nov. in Proud Highway (1997) 416: The impression that writers are a race of finks, queers and candy asses.
[US]R. Blount About Three Bricks Shy of a Load 204: The general public came to think of him as a candy-ass.
[US](con. 1969) M. Herr Dispatches 27: Well, big deal, candy ass [...] You were scared.
[US]J. Ellroy Silent Terror 96: Are you husky? pardon my French, but this is no job for a candy-ass.
[US]B. Hamper Rivethead (1992) 5: The only reason he retired was his disdain for the new breed of autoworkers [...] He referred to them as ‘candy-asses’.
[US]J. Stahl Plainclothes Naked (2002) 270: It’s bullshit. Candy-ass this, candy-ass that [...] Two-time loser? Full-time loser’s more like it.
[US]M. Karp Rabbit Factory (2007) 55: Corporate type, but not a candy ass.
[Aus]J.J. DeCeglie Drawing Dead [ebook] Smoldering red-hot at this candyass.

2. (US gay) an attractive young man, thus a term of abuse by non-gays [SAmE candy + sfx -ass sfx].

[US]Maledicta IV:2 (Winter) 229: On the East Coast my informants [...] report candy ass, cute buns.
[US]G. Indiana Rent Boy 84: Bobby used to be a regular boyfriend of that priest [...] one of those misguided youths with a big prong Father Candyass set up in a studio love nest.