Tricia Romano takes down People Magazine’s 'Sexiest White Man Alive'

LA said:
And that's pretty much all there is to it. We can search for why's and ponder on the deepness of the meaning but really isn't that deep.

People magazine caters to... well, you know. And Ebony magazine caters to... well, you know.

End of story.
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Then someone explain the older white dudes I listed who were picked over their younger better looking white male counter parts?
 
JamalSpunky said:
Let me say this first : the problem with the black-male-celeb-sex-symbol-idol thing is that there really aren't enough of them in the entertainment industry. To be blunt I see better looking black guys working 9 to 5s in non-entertainmnet jobs than I do those working in front of the camera for TV , film or music (with some exceptions of course). This has been my take for awhile. The media has NO USE for black guys who could be sex symbols for women of all races. Maybe they are too much of a threat to the status quo. Here's a small example: E Network recently selected a group of guys who could play Lando in the next film if there was a Star Wars reboot. The four black dudes they came up with were a joke. Common. The less said about that the better. Jeffrey Wright. A fantastic actor who is way too old (or at least LOOKS too old), and not nearly suave eneough for the role. Anthony Mackie. A great actor who is closer to the ideal age but unfortunately lacks overt sex appeal. Idris Elba. Here we go again. From suggestions of Bond to Lando. Look the guy is attractive to an extent and has presence but I don't think I know of any other black actor who has been more overrated in terms of his looks than Elba.

Billy Dee Williams was both a pretty boy and a man's man. He could fit in with the old male stars of Hollywood's golden age if it had room for black stars (which it did not). Being the recovering SW nerd that I am a short time ago I came across Empire's list of the best Star Wars characters of all time. The writeup of Lando, by a British female no less, emphasized his sexuality, his matinee idol looks. That's what Billy Dee Williams brought to the role. As a heterosexual male myself I could see that plainly just as well as a straight woman recognizes the overpowring sex appeal of a gorgeous female. Now....do any of the four black men listed above bring that charisma to the screen? In my opinion the answer is a definite "no" although I'm sure the Elba folks will make a solid argument.

There lies the problem. Either Hollywood and or white people in general have no interest in black men with sex appeal or they simply fail to acknowledge that characteristic in regards to black men in the first place. How else would those clowns at E pick that group of men to play the Ultimate Charmer of the Star Wars universe? Do you think they would pick a bunch of mostly average-joe white men to take on the Han Solo role?

But that may be a topic for another time. Right now let me give props to Ms Romano. When I came across her article this weekend I was pleasantly surprised. For any woman to write such an article that can be viewed as slighting the media-driven push of white men as the lone sex symbols in the universe takes guts. For her to be a white woman means her writeup was beyond bold, especially since the men of color she was pushing the most were black men. Let's just say people don't handle that too well. Frankly it is the type of writeup I would think black females would piece together, sort of the equivalent of the articles or blogs by black guys who complain about all the white women on the covers of magazines. Then again black women are generally far more interested in the fight to make the media think of them as sexy as white women, they don't seem to have nearly the amount of interest in how black guys are viewed. So I applaud Ms Romano. I do wish however there were better examples of black male sex symbols out there for her to back up her argument. Right now the leading black male sex symbo is STILL Denzel and how old is he? Close to 60? Crazy.
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you have a lot to say on the matter. I have to say...the gay meter is going off
 
I always had a lot to say on the subject. As some here can attest to. I know how the business works. The key to success is sex appeal...most of the time. If people want black actors to get better parts and more love interests and love scenes (a common topic on this board) then one of the first things needed is a superior crop of young, appealing black actors to get their share of opportunities. It is called putting your best face forward. It is done for white people, for Arabs, for Indians, for black women, the list goes on. But any nigga will do it seems for Hollywood when it comes to black men which is why big roles are tossed out at rappers while Hollywood scours every corner of the Earth for attractive white actors. Let's get real. And if pointing that out in a number of sentences makes me gay then someone must explain why I suck at interior decorating. :D

Jokes aside...folks just don't want to seem to confront the issue of black male sexuality and by that I mean hetero black male sexuality. It is something that Hollywood is uncomfortable with. The only era of overt black male sexuality on the big screen (black men being portrayed as potent lovers just as likley to bed women as white guys did) was doing the blaxploitation era of the 70s. And it is no coincidence that that era took place during a time period in which the gatekeepers of Hollywood fell away and numerous new mavericks were allowed entrance into the filmmaking community (just so long as they could make a buck).
 
On a side note about Denzel, I found this -


Denzel Washington Is America's Top Choice To Play Jesus In Vanity Fair/60 Minutes Poll

In the December 2012 issue of Vanity Fair magazine, a 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll...asks readers a series of random questions such as...."if you were directing a new film version of the New Testament, which actor would you cast to play Jesus?"

...In response to that last question about what actor...the majority vote, 21%, chose Denzel Washington, beating out Daniel Day-Lewis (14%), Al Pacino (13%)...
 
Tatum had a HUGE year. The Vow , 21 Jump Street(funny as fuck) and Magic Mike all made over 100 million domestically. So he was really popular with the ladies this year.
 
The Dark King said:
I know you're gonna get on me for posting since I'm on suppose to be on vacation but something Loki said the other day made sense to me. We who know the truth are responsible for using it to refute mistruths.
I think its easy for those who have had access in being able to relate to the mainstream to ignore certain norms or even more to the point absences. Especially when the type of person being spoken about is your individual preference. The black man's dilemma has in fact been that he can be borrowed from, emulated, and on rare occasions praised for his sexuality (whether it be myth or fact) but the things that makes a man sexy like intelligence, character, and success are rarely celebrated. Granted I won't dispute that black women in fact have it far worst in that arena that isn't the topic being discussed right now. Black men still struggle with being seen as actual human beings and not just walking dildos.
So I have to respectfully disagree.
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TDK cryin about the plight of da black man again. Give it a rest already! No one wants to listen to your sob stories (not even this bm). Do you complain like this to your gf all the time too?:smt042:smt042:smt042
 
Iggy said:
Tatum had a HUGE year. The Vow , 21 Jump Street(funny as fuck) and Magic Mike all made over 100 million domestically. So he was really popular with the ladies this year.
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All those film sucked. They weren't heavy advertised to be special. Just another generic chick-flick. Plus, if that was the case Robert Patterson should be above him; as he had most success.
 
The Dark King said:
Then someone explain the older white dudes I listed who were picked over their younger better looking white male counter parts?
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I have a theory. One reason for all the 50+ guys is because young men will always be desirable. While, middle-aged men not so much.

So showing Sean Connery, and many older men to women. Keep drumming it, drumming it in......constantly. Making all men interesting regardless of age. James Bond will never be played by a 26 year old (because 26 year old are always hot), but the women who star alongside him are always pretty youthful.

You have to remember that most of these magazines are owned by old men.
When they're looking for a new trophy wife, it's good to have her....pre-programmed :D


This JUST a theory though.


On a side-note. Anyone who has seen a genuine male model, will know none of the men in the list are true beauties. Taye Diggs is no where near as attractive as Tyson Beckford.
 
Bulma said:
I have a theory. One reason for all the 50+ guys is because young men will always be desirable. While, middle-aged men not so much.

So showing Sean Connery, and many older men to women. Keep drumming it, drumming it in......constantly. Making all men interesting regardless of age. James Bond will never be played by a 26 year old (because 26 year old are always hot), but the women who star alongside him are always pretty youthful.

You have to remember that most of these magazines are owned by old men.
When they're looking for a new trophy wife, it's good to have her....pre-programmed :D


This JUST a theory though.


On a side-note. Anyone who has seen a genuine male model, will know none of the men in the list are true beauties. Taye Diggs is no where near as attractive as Tyson Beckford.
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Attractive doesn't automatically translate to sexy. If it was a competition of mots attractive man on earth, then yes I would agree, but it is not.
For example:
James Bond will always be played by an "older" mature man that drips sex-appeal - because that is who 007 is. And the men that have played him have not necessarily been the most attractive, but they really DO ooze sex-appeal for the general woman. Has nothing to do with "attractiveness".

Btw, the men who own the papers do not decide what will go into the paper per se to "drum up" older men - they go with what sells. Period.

And what sells equals "who is their reader demographic". That is for the most part ww and what the magazines perceive they want. Channing Tatum made the ww wet their panties w that idiotic movie (I refuse to go see) so that was an obvious (but dumb) choice... because they wanted to ride that movie and sell more copies. That is why there arent more bm on this list - First off, the % of bm to choose from is less compared to wm and they must be mainstream for magazines to put them in there.. in the name of selling copies. Tragic and sad, but that is how it works imo.

Those most sexiest list are dumbed down for the masses to sell more so that is why they are bogus, everybody should know that. Bogus dumb lists that pisses me off.

In my world, Morris is the sexiest man alive and everybody knows I am right!!!!:smt050
 
Bulma said:
All those film sucked.
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Not true. 21 Jump Street was hilarious and has a 85% approval rating on RT. (174 positive reviews while only 31 negative reviews)

And I havent seen Magic Mike and most likely will never see it(lol) but it got really good reviews as well (80% approval rating on RT)

Face it. Tatum tore it up this year and probably is worthy of this topical award. Honestly I wouldnt lose sleep over it folks.
 
I am just amused that more men have an opinion on this subject than the women do. Channing is not my cup of tea...To me the honor would go to Shemar Moore :D
 
Iggy said:
TDK cryin about the plight of da black man again. Give it a rest already! No one wants to listen to your sob stories (not even this bm). Do you complain like this to your gf all the time too?:smt042:smt042:smt042
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Nah I complain to yours. Bitch uses too much damn teeth "black man"
 
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