Friday, November 9, 2018

Sexiest Man Alive, 2018: Idris Elba

Issue dated November 19, 2018: Idris Elba

Idris Elba takes the "Sexiest" crown this year, only the second black winner, twenty-two years after Denzel Washington in 1996. So far I haven't seen any pictures of him without his shirt on, but when the actual magazine comes out I'll dive in to see what I can find. Idris was one of the other "sexy men we like" back in 2014, see that cover below, and I'm pretty sure Prince Harry will be one of the other 179 hot men the magazine chooses to feature.

If you can't tell, yes, I'm enjoying all this, but I also believe that like the "Most Beautiful Woman'' issue, this is a feature that needs to go away. People nodded a bit to changing sensibilities about how women look by changing to just "Beautiful" when they spotlighted attractive women back in April, but whether it's women being beautiful or men being sexy, it's still an obsessive focus on the way people look. (And note that I'm very grateful People has stayed far, far away from designating the world's sexiest woman. Try to imagine how rancid that could get.) Although the magazine doesn't come out and say it, they're sending a not-subtle message about what's appealing and what isn't. 

The final version of the cover has a couple of sidebar headlines, including one about Gwyneth Paltrow; when I find a cut-and-pasteable version I'll post it here.

As I was thinking about all the men who've been given the title over the years, and looking back over the full list (see it here,) I realized that it's been 30 years, wow, since JFK Jr. was featured on the cover. If he had lived he'd be turning 58 in two and a half weeks. Twenty years ago it was Harrison Ford; ten years ago Hugh Jackman got the call. Here's a look back at all those covers:

Four years ago: The sexiest man of 2014
<p>Let’s be honest: You didn’t even have to read Chris Hemsworth’s cover story to know he was the perfect pick for Sexiest Man Alive. Not that the interview <a href="https://www.people.com/people/package/article/0,,20315920_20873901,00.html">wasn’t great</a>, especially when he joked that the “bragging rights” would mean he wouldn’t have to do the dishes or “change nappies” for a few weeks (we bet wife Elsa Pataky disagrees). Also, we <a href="https://www.people.com/people/package/video/0,,20315920_20873932,00.html">made him read a vacuum manual</a> – and thanks to that Aussie accent, it was amazing.</p>

Ten years ago: The sexiest man of 2008
<p>The accent! The charm! And oh, that chest! <a href="/tag/hugh-jackman/">Hugh Jackman</a> was named PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive for the first time in 2008 – and his wife Deborra-Lee Furness agrees, calling his physique “the Body of Doom – but I like what’s inside.”</p>

Twenty years ago: The sexiest man of 1998
<p>He’s played a sexy space hero (in the <em>Star Wars</em> franchise) and sexy action heroes (<em>Indiana Jones,</em> anyone?), but Harrison Ford didn’t think he was all that when he was named the Sexiest Man Alive in 1998. “Why this sudden outpouring for geezers?” Ford, then 56, asked PEOPLE. “I never feel sexy. I have a distant relationship with the mirror.”</p>

Thirty years ago: The sexiest man of 1988
<p>One of New York’s most eligible bachelors, John F. Kennedy Jr. had a reputation for being a bit of a party boy when the law student, then 27, was honored as the Sexiest Man Alive. But according to model Audra Avizienis, who had dated the President’s son, “He has this quiet sadness. There’s something pensive and sad about him.” Tragedy struck again almost 11 years later when Kennedy, his wife Carolyn and his sister-in-law Lauren died in a plane crash near Martha’s Vineyard.</p>

Last year at this time: Issue dated November 20, 2017


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