A sex symbol is a famous person of either gender, typically an actor, musician, model, teen idol, or sports star who is found to be sexually attractive by the public or by a substantial niche audience. The celebrity "star system"?the tabloid papers, paparazzi, and gossip talk shows ? play an important role in creating and sustaining the public perception of which stars are viewed as attractive. These media industries are in turn sustained by a strong public demand for sexually alluring photographs or footage of celebrities, including both posed, scantily-clad publicity shots for magazines like Maxim and unauthorized beach or nightclub photos taken by pararazzi with zoom lenses.

Sources

Film

The film industry played an important part in the rise of sex symbols by disseminating images of beautiful people around the world. The first sex symbols were Victorian actress and singer Lillian Russell, Danish silent-film actress Asta Nielsen (nicknamed 'The Silent Muse') and 'It Girl' Clara Bow in the 1910s and 1920s. Although not seen as a real sex symbol, Lillian Gish ('The First Lady of the Silent Screen') became the most popular actress of the era. Theda Bara and Pola Negri, famed for their vamp roles, were also early female sex symbols. Rudolph Valentino was cinema's first male sex symbol.

Film's Golden Age sex symbols include 1930s stars Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow ("The Platinum Blonde"), Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Mae West and Clark Gable. 40s and 50s icons Rita Hayworth (nicknamed "The Love Goddess"), Ava Gardner, Jane Russell, Betty Grable, Bettie Page (in print and underground films), Lana Turner, the three "Blond Bombshells": Marilyn Monroe (the most iconic sex symbol of Hollywood's Golden Age)- Jayne Mansfield - Mamie Van Doren, Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, Brigitte Bardot, Audrey Hepburn, Kim Novak, Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, James Dean, Rock Hudson, Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck and Cary Grant.

Important 60s and 70s sex symbols included Ursula Andress, Mark Hamill, Ann-Margret, Jacqueline Bisset, Barbara Bouchet, Jane Fonda, Sharon Tate, Raquel Welch, Catherine Deneuve, Nichelle Nichols, Pam Grier, Ali MacGraw, Helen Mirren,^[1] Meryl Streep^[1], Sean Connery, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, Robert De Niro and John Travolta.

In the 1980s, other signtificant sex symbols at one point or another during that period included Harrison Ford, Val Kilmer, Matt Dillon, Charlie Sheen, Bruce Willis, muscle man Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Cruise, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mel Gibson, Meg Ryan, John Travolta, Michael J. Fox, Patrick Swayze, Matthew Broderick, Robert Downey Jr., Sean Penn, Kathleen Turner, & Carrie Fisher.

As TV's influence grew during the last three decades there was a shift to TV stars becoming more famous, Pamela Anderson,^[2] Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Carmen Electra, Farrah Fawcett, Lucy Liu, Valerie Bertinelli, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mila Kunis^[3] and Don Johnson, all became sex symbols through TV.

More recent silver screen icons are Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie,^[4]Demi Moore, Scarlett Johansson, Drew Barrymore, Halle Berry, Rebecca Romijn, Keira Knightley, Alicia Silverstone, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jessica Alba, Lindsay Lohan, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, Will Smith, George Clooney,^[5] Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Colin Farrell,^[6] ,^{[7][8][9][10]}Matthew McConaughey, Matt Damon, Jude Law, Megan Fox, Charlize Theron, Christian Bale, Brandon Routh, Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger.^[5]

Cartoons

1930's cartoon character Betty Boop is known as the first and one of the most famous sex symbol on animated screen.^[11][12] After Betty Boop, Jessica Rabbit, who was voiced by Kathleen Turner, is widely considered as the next biggest animated sex symbol.^[13]

Music

Blues musicians were some of the first artists to become sex symbols. Rock n' roll and pop would follow later on. Some classic example of former or older sex symbols are Prince, Madonna, The Bee Gees Andy Gibb, Marvin Gaye,^[14] Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, Grace Slick, Jimi Hendrix, Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey, Steven Tyler^[15][16] , Jim Morrison, Anish Nadh, Sting, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Tom Jones, Cher, Bruce Springsteen, and Rod Stewart set the stage for contemporary examples, such as Beyonce, Nick Carter, Nicole Scherzinger, Rihanna, Britney Spears, Fergie, Jennifer Lopez, Brandon Flowers, Christina Aguilera,^[17] Justin Timberlake,^[17] , Shakira, Tila Tequila, Tarkan, Uhm Jung-hwa, Harisu, Usher, Shania Twain,Ciara, Alicia Keys, Lil Kim, Kylie Minogue, Paris Hilton,koda kumi, Jonathan Scott-Taylor. A few music groups are referred to as sex symbols. Such as Pussycat Dolls, Danity Kane, Destiny's Child, and TLC.

Models

Model Gisele Bündchen

Video games

Video games have had a few characters that are considered sex symbols, although their fame often does not extend into the mainstream. The most well-known example of this category would be Lara Croft,^[4][23] which has had several appearances in mainstream media. The first Lara Croft model, Nell McAndrew, appeared on Playboy on August of 1999, although the magazine was prevented legally from displaying the name "Lara Croft" next to the model..^[24]

Other sex symbols with less notoriety in the mainstream include:

• Mai Shiranui, from the SNK game King of Fighters.
• Tifa Lockhart, who starred on the hugely popular Final Fantasy VII.
• Rayne, the first video-game character that appeared in Playboy magazine, in the October 2004 U.S. edition as part of an article entitled Gaming Grows Up.^[25]
• Nina Williams, voted "Hottest" Female Fighting Character Guinness World Records Gamers Edition 2008.^[26]
• Jill Valentine from the Resident Evil series.
• Cate Archer from the No One Lives Forever series.
• Ivy Valentine and Taki (Soulcalibur) from the Soulcalibur series.
• Rachel from Ninja Gaiden Sigma.

Wrestlers

Wrestler Randy Orton

Teen idols

Many teen idols are also sex symbols. In particular, boy bands are frequently regarded as sex symbols by adoring fans. Fans frequently focus their attention on a single member of the group, but the entire group is seen as a sex symbol by association. Some examples of boy bands are Backstreet Boys and N Sync. Examples of teen idols are Brad Pitt, David Beckham, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Mariah Carey, Leighton Meester, Chace Crawford and Shia LaBeouf, Jesse McCartney, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens.^[27][28]

See also

• People magazine, Sexiest Man Alive
• Sex kitten

References

External links

• BBC: Men pip for the Posh type
• Google Zeitgeist, has a list of the most searched for female celebrities on Google

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