This year, Patrick Dempsey has finally been named the sexiest man alive after appearing in the magazine as a special mention for years before. People Maganzine’s Sexiest Man Alive competition is a 37-year tradition that started in 1985, when Mel Gibson was the first recipient.
“McDreamy deserved it a long time ago,” said Brinkley Bolton, a junior chemistry major. “I am glad he finally gets the title.”
With the growth of woke culture, there have been some discussions about whether the award for the sexiest man alive is outdated and continues the objectification of people. Because women have dealt with objectification for all of documented history, some wonder if the sexiest man alive award may be seen as “leveling the playing field.” However, most women do not want to level the playing field by objectifying men; they just do not want to be objectified.
“We are not there yet, to where we can say there is gender parity,” said Amanda Respess, a mass communication professor at GC.
Respess feels that society is not in a place to be able to say that the objectification of men and women can be compared. If there were a Sexiest Woman Alive, it would likely be completely different from the current award.
According to Good Housekeeping, the sexiest man alive award is chosen by focus groups and celebrity interviews and has a lot to do with the titleholder’s activism and social awareness.
People Magazine also extends this award in humor and with good intentions. Some people believe that would not be the case if the award were for women. It is likely that it would be chosen in a demeaning way and would continue the perpetuation of idealistic body standards.
“As a society, I do not think we are in a place to be able to nominate a sexiest woman alive and be able to do that with humor,” Respess said.
According to the interviews People did with each of the winners, especially those most recently selected, all of this is done with good humor, and the men take it exactly like that. The nomination is not just about who the sexiest and most popular is at the moment.
“Chris Evans is one of my favorite men ever,” Bolton said. “When he won, I knew he would be funny about it.”
With the interviews, the men who are nominated are given the opportunity to talk about their philanthropy or upcoming projects. Evans, 2022’s winner, used his interview to, as the magazine quoted, “plug education.”
“That is d*** sexy,” Evans said.
2020’s titleholder, Micheal B. Jordan, used his moment to talk about the Black Lives Matter movement and women’s activism. Both subjects are still very prominent but were all over the media in 2020 due to the protests that were occurring across the nation in response to George Floyd’s death, making his statements appropriate and timely.
“It gives them a chance to talk about whatever platform they want to talk about,” Respess said.
Sexiest Man Alive continues to be something that people look forward to every year. As long as it continues being used as a positive outlet for humor and activism, it does not seem like it is going anywhere.
