A sex symbol is a famous person, male or female, who is found sexually attractive by the general audience. The term was first used circa 1911.
Sources
The movie industry played an important part in the rise of sex symbols. It disseminated
images of beautiful people around the world, especially in the time of silent
film, when there were no language barriers. One of the first sex symbols was the Danish actress Asta Nielsen in the 1910s and 1920s.
Although movies are still important, sex symbols nowadays are often created by television in general and soap operas and music videos in
particular. Many "supermodels" of the fashion industry are also regarded as sex
symbols.
Sometimes male sex symbols can even be people who are not portrayed as physically attractive, but possess other qualities that
make them desirable. For example, powerful political figures such as Condoleezza Rice, Madeleine Albright,
Henry Kissinger or Margaret Thatcher have often been admired as sex symbols. As Kissinger himself once put it, sometimes
"power is the greatest aphrodisiac." Even Adolf Hitler was regarded as a
sex symbol in Nazi Germany.
Many teen idols are also sex symbols. In particular, boy bands are frequently regarded as sex symbols by adoring fans. Fans frequently focus their attention on a
single member of the group, but the entire group is seen as a sex symbol by association.
Fictitious, animated, or virtual sex symbols also sometimes achieved popularity. Especially among fans of anime and manga, referred to as otaku, fictitious characters frequently featured in fan-authored dōjinshi, some of which are erotic (ecchi) or pornographic (hentai) in nature. See also: bishōjo and
bishōnen. Besides anime and manga, non-Japanese animation and video games are the source for a number of
fictitious sex symbols.
Businesses
Several notable businesses operate on the premise of hiring and using only attractive people to sell their services. Strip clubs (such as the Chippendale dancers) and
pornographic magazines, websites, etc. are part of this category. However,
many businesses use sex appeal to sell their products and services, which may be neither pornography nor prostitution.
Many businesses use sex appeal in advertising, often hiring sex symbols to
film a commercial. Other businesses use sex appeal not only in advertising, but in the presentation of their service itself. Some
of these non-pornographic businesses have achieved national or global publicity to the point where the business itself is known
specifically for its sex appeal. These businesses adeptly use sex symbols for profit.
For example, the U.S. restaurant chain Hooters hires only attractive females as waitresses. According to the company, "sex appeal is legal and it sells."
The Coyote Ugly bar's business model consists of "beautiful girls + booze =
money." Bars and restaurants like these generally do not employ famous sex symbols, though future sex symbols may begin their
careers in such businesses. It is the businesses themselves that are well-known enough that, for example, the phrase "Hooters girl" is popularly associated with sex appeal.
Alternate meaning
Alternately, sex symbol can refer to the two symbols used to represent the biological sex of an organism: ♀ for
females, and ♂ for males.
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