John Krasinski is People's Sexiest Man Alive. What that says about us.
John Krasinski is People's "Sexiest Man Alive." I, for one, couldn't be more pleased.
So when multiple colleagues – I won't name names – disagreed with me over the announcement, I seethed with a quiet rage like a character in his film "A Quiet Place." What do you mean? This man is hot. He's funny. He seems like a good husband to Emily Blunt. A good dad to his daughters. A good friend. Did I mention he's hot?
I empathized with many on social media: "Any John Krasinski slander that comes across my feed today will result in immediately being blocked. You have been warned." "People finally got the memo that funny guys are the sexiest guys." Many were also critical, but they can sway you for themselves.
Sure, the "Sexiest Man Alive" moniker has always been subjective and could include more diversity, whether by honoring more people of color or showing some love to the LGBTQ+ community. One person's "sexy" is another person's "cringey." Labels complicate things and cause conflicts. But what if we accepted that sexiness is subjective, and also took time to think about what that says about us?
Heads up:Social media is giving men ‘bigorexia,' or muscle dysmorphia. We need to talk about it.
John Krasinski, Jeremy Allen White and thirst
People have always thirsted over hot men. But should they? The subject reached a scorching fever pitch in culture, though, when Jeremy Allen White caught everyone's attention while starring in FX's "The Bear" and a risqué Calvin Klein ad earlier this year.
This type of ad harkens back to the admiration of muscles that dates as far back as ancient Greece. People can justify the act of admiring muscle. But "it's also highly sexual, right?" University of Vermont history of gender and sexuality expert Paul Deslandes previously told USA TODAY.
Erotic and sexual imagery has increased exponentially over the 20th century, especially with the advent of social media. So much so that "the line between what some people would call pornography and some people would call mainstream popular culture, those things sometimes get a little blurred," Deslandes says.
People's photos of Krasinski are more tame, but they can still spark interest. And if you are only thinking of this person as a sex object and not as a human, maybe that's when you should wipe away your drool and get back to your life.
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The truth about 'sexy' and how to think about it
The fascination with celebrities like Krasinski isn't much to worry about. Have some fun! Look at the men you find hot! But that doesn't mean you can't think about how these images affect your own body image expectations.
The more you engage with this type of content, the more you're likely to see it. And "it does also set up unrealistic expectations about body," Deslandes adds, "that there is a tendency to see these men in these advertisements as ideal specimens that younger men in particular, but also older men compare themselves against, and that can be really uncomfortable, and that can make people sit back and reflect on what they perceive as their own deficiencies."
Going forward, viewers should consider images of any body and wonder: What am I looking at? Why am I looking at it? Do I find this person sexy? What am I gaining from this? What am I losing?
And if you're my boyfriend reading this, pretend you didn't.