Sex symbol

A sex symbol is a celebrity or fictional character widely considered to be sexually attractive.[2]

For other uses, see Sex symbol (disambiguation).

According to the BBC, "Marilyn Monroe is perhaps Hollywood's most enduring sex symbol".[1]

History

The term sex symbol was first used in the mid-1950s in relation to the popularity of certain film stars and pin-up models, including Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot, and Raquel Welch.[3] This concept was a reflection of the post-World War II increase of sexual and economic emancipation of women.[2]

In the 20th century, sex symbols could be male as well as female: actors such as the romantic Sessue Hayakawa and the athletic Douglas Fairbanks were popular in the 1910s and 1920s. Archetypal screen lover Rudolph Valentino's death in 1926 caused mass hysteria among his female fans.[4][5] In Hollywood, many film stars were seen as sex symbols, such as Errol Flynn, Gary Cooper, and Clark Gable. The "bad boy" image of the 1950s was epitomized by sex symbols such as James Dean and Marlon Brando.[6]

In his Elvis Presley obituary, Lester Bangs credited him as "the man who brought overt blatant vulgar sexual frenzy to the popular arts in America,"[7] in the 1950s and 1960s, through his overtly suggestive dance moves.

Fictional sex symbols

With regard to fiction, Rotten Tomatoes states that the 1930s cartoon character Betty Boop is "the first and most famous sex symbol on animated screen".[8] Jessica Rabbit (voiced by Kathleen Turner) from the 1988 live-action/animation crossover film Who Framed Roger Rabbit has been described as a sex symbol as well.[9]

Video games have had a few characters that are considered sex symbols; one example would be Lara Croft,[10][11][12] who has had several appearances in mainstream media. Other sex symbols include Rayne, the first video game character that appeared in Playboy, in its October 2004 US issue's article, "Gaming Grows Up";[13] and Nina Williams, voted "Hottest" Female Fighting Character in Guinness World Records, Gamers Edition 2008.[14]

See also

References
  1. "BBC World Service – Witness, The Death of Marilyn Monroe". BBC. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  2. Pam Cook, "The trouble with sex: Diana Dors and the Blonde bombshell phenomenon", In: Bruce Babinigton (ed.), British Stars and Stardom: From Alma Taylor to Sean Connery, pp. 169–171. Quote: "– the sex symbol is usually defined in terms of her excessive sexuality"
  3. Flexner, Stuart Berg; Soukhanov, Anne H. (1997). Speaking freely: a guided tour of American English from Plymouth Rock to Silicon Valley. Oxford University Press. p. 373. ISBN 978-0-19-510692-3.
  4. Hutchinson, Pamela (22 February 2016). "Last of the red-hot myths: what gossip over Rudolph Valentino's sex life says about the silents". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  5. "The Queen at 90: The key events of 1926, in pictures". The DailyTelegraph. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  6. Weinberg, Thomas S.; Newmahr, Staci, eds. (2014). Selves, Symbols, and Sexualities: An Interactionist Anthology: An Interactionist Anthology. Los Angeles: Sage Publications. ISBN 978-1483323893.
  7. Rodman, Gilbert B. (1996). Elvis After Elvis, The Posthumous Career of a Living Legend. Routledge. pp. 58–59. ISBN 0-415-11002-5.
  8. "Betty Boop: Boop Oop a Doop". Rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  9. "Amanda Knox Is Like Jessica Rabbit". Sky News. 27 September 2011.
  10. Barboza, David (19 January 1998). "Video World Is Smitten by a Gun-Toting, Tomb-Raiding Sex Symbol". The New York Times.
  11. "Channel 4 Top 100 Sex Symbols internet poll". Channel4.com. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  12. "Boom Raider". Telegraph. London. 24 June 2001. Retrieved 5 March 2008.
  13. "AT's Top 10 Video Game Chicks". Actiontrip. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2007.
  14. Limited, Guinness World Records (2008). Guinness World Records, Gamers Edition 2008. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-904994-20-6.

Further reading
  • Donna Leigh-Kile, Sex Symbols, Random House Inc, Aug 28, 1999, ISBN 188331951X
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