List of Sex Symbols

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Marilyn Monroe was one of Hollywood's most enduring [...] symbols.

A [...] symbol is a celebrity figure or fictional character who is widely regarded as sexually attractive. [...] symbols are GeneRally found among popular actors, musicians, supermodels, teen idols and athletes. The term was first used in the mid-1950s in relation to the popularity of certain film stars, including Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot, Marlon Brando, James Dean, and Raquel Welch.

The following sections document the eras in which each listed individual became recognized as a [...] symbol.

Before 1900

Person Year of
birth 		Details

Mary Robinson 		1757 The Times's Deirdre Fernand said Mary Robinson was "the feminist [...] symbol who scandalised England" by having affairs with the man who would become King George IV of the United Kingdom.

Lord Byron 		1788 The scholar John Lauritsen wrote in The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide that Lord Byron was "the reigning male [...] symbol of the early 19th century". His persona was nurtured by his "flamboyant LifeStyle", his "sporadic personal beauty" where he oscillated between corpulence and gauntness, and his relationships with women. Author Mo Rocca said that Lord Byron turned into a [...] symbol in 1811 after he authored the lengthy poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage that featured an "intense brooding hero". Lady Caroline Lamb, who was married, read the poem and requested to see Lord Byron. The two were married to other people but began a "passionate affair that ended melodramatically" where the neglected Lady Caroline mailed Lord Byron some of her pubic hair accompanied by a note with the signature "Your Wild Antelope".

Franz Liszt 		1811 Ivan Hewett called Liszt "the greatest [...] symbol classical music has ever produced", which Hewett said "shows that looks are hardly the most important thing". As a youth, Liszt was very attractive, according to Hewett. Upon walking on the platform and soundlessly taking off his gloves, the women "swooned" over him. Although he had a wart on his face three decades later, women were still interested in him including one who pretended to be a male to travel through Europe following him. Music Professor Craig M. Wright found Liszt to be "The Musical [...] symbol of The Romantic era" who was "handsome, supremely talented, and equally self-confident".

Lola Montez 		1821 Irving Wallace and his coauthors wrote that Lola Montez was "the reigning [...] symbol of her day" because her sensational theater acting captivated men and astonished women. The scholar Mary C. Henderson said Montez was "the female [...] symbol of her age" who "carved a notorious reputation on two continents" and had a short stint in theater performing the "Spider Dance". Montez had numerous fans even though she had a "notable lack of talent as an actress and dancer".

Adah Isaacs Menken 		1835 Scholar Renée M. Sentilles noted that Menken was "a [...] symbol who played male roles on stage". In the 1860s, Menken did an excellent job attracting attention through her short skirts and short hair which disregarded societal standards. She depicted a fighter in the play Menken where in a closing scene her clothes came off, showing her with "flesh-colored tights". [...], she was bound to a horse that was dispatched to the hinterlands. Although her New York audience was stunned, ticket sales did not suffer. Author Justin Martin called Menken "one of the great [...] symbols of the nineteenth century". The Central States Speech Journal said Menken, who became "a [...] symbol in a time of Victorian prudery", was "the Marilyn Monroe of her day". Menken was similar to Monroe in that she was "known more for her voluptuousness than for her acting ability".

Sarah Bernhardt 		1844 The historian Judith Bowers wrote that Sarah Bernhardt was "the greatest female [...] symbol the stage had ever known". In his autobiography, the journalist Maurice de Waleffe said that around 1900, he was in his Sofia hotel room adjacent to a French couple who were on their honeymoon. The woman said, "Make love to me as if I were Sarah Bernhardt!" University of East Anglia reader Stephen Wilson commented that Waleffe's account demonstrated how Bernhardt had turned into a "popular [...] symbol".

Lillie Langtry 		1853 Critic Rosamund Marriott Watson, while writing under the pseudonym Graham R. Tomson, said that George du Maurier's illustrations of Lillie Langtry produced a "new standard of beauty", which was "modernist aesthetics meets [...] symbol" according to scholar Paul L. Fortunato. Langtry exercised every day, giving her a strong figure. Artists thought her face was "a model of classical beauty". She had an affair with the Prince of Wales at the time, who became Edward VII. Upon splitting up with her lover, she moved to the United States. People were stunned by her affairs and were captivated by her "poise, manners, and diction".

Lillian Russell 		1860/1861 Scholar Brett Silverstein said Lillian Russell "may have been the most popular [...] symbol this nation has ever known". Her performances in the 1880s to 1890s frequently were fully booked. Notable magazines routinely showcased her image. Gossip columnists repeatedly wrote in detail about her activities. When she was at the peak of her celebrity, a coal miner pulled the gun's trigger on a friend when the friend dared to say Russell was not the world's most attractive lady. A contemporary columnist said "She looks like Venus after her bath", while a The New York Times journalist about 50 years later said Russell was "the raging beauty of her period".The Saturday Evening Post's Jeff Nilsson wrote that Russell was "admired for her full, statuesque figure, which was widely regarded as the ideal of feminine beauty".

1900s–1920s

The early 20th century saw the emergence of stars of silent films.

Person Year of
birth 		Details

Mata Hari 		1876 Mata Hari was a Dutch exotic dancer who performed at times partially [...]. The author Joseph Bernard Hutton wrote in 1971 that said she despite her not measuring up to present-day standards of attractiveness, in her era she was "a glamorous [...] symbol who excited the imagination of men of all nationalities". She traveled across Europe dancing for numerous rich and powerful admirers. She was well-known for seductive dances while wearing a bejeweled bra, a golden head covering, and a flesh-colored bodystocking.

Isadora Duncan 		1877/1878 The biographer Axel Madsen called Isadora Duncan the "[...] symbol of intellectuals", whose art enticed artists, authors, and rich benefactors.

John Barrymore 		1882 The actor John Barrymore was a [...] symbol nicknamed "The Great Profile". A contemporary writer, Elinor Glyn, found Bow and second movie star to be the only ones with a "[...] magnetism" Glyn called "It".

Douglas Fairbanks 		1883 The biographer Eve Golden said that Fairbanks' [...] symbol status "easily rivale[d]" that of the actors John Gilbert and Rudolph Valentino. He frequently acted as a businessman, a cowboy, or a university student in the 1910s. The 1920 film The Mark of Zorro and the 1922 film Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood helped establish his status as a [...] symbol. He later took on "wild [...] fantasy" roles. Ads portrayed him like a stripper or someone taking part in the New York's Village Halloween Parade. He would be dressed as [...] pirate, Arab, or gaucho, who was partially clothed. In the 1924 film The Thief of Bagdad and the 1926 film The Black Pirate, his "extraordinary physique was set off by wisps of chiffon and lamé, torn bits of black leather, and high boots".

Theda Bara 		1885 Author Mary Flanagan wrote that Theda Bara was the "first cinematic [...] symbol" whose "success as a [...] symbol stems from her construction as a persona without a fixed personal history". Despite her being nearly 30 and having a background, for every one of her movie parts, Fox Film devised for her a new fake background related to the movie. Bara starred in the 1915 film A Fool There Was where she played a vampire, which resulted in the nickname "The Vamp". Bara's depiction in the film influenced women to choose "a new exotic look" that included "bobbed hair, thick bangs, pale facial makeup, dark red lips, and eyes accented with kohl liner and thick mascara". She maintained very long fingernails that had "sharply pointed ends". As "vampish women were viewed as mysterious, aggressive, and seductive", author Victoria Sherrow said Bara was "the movies' first [...] symbol".

Mae West 		1893 American actress, singer, playwright, screenwriter and comedian

John Gilbert 		1897 The biographer Eve Golden called Gilbert "the screen's hottest hearthrob, the top male [...] symbol of the late 1920s and one of MGM's box-office handchamps". She found him "handsome, mercurial, and very talented". Jeanine Basinger, a film historian, said Gilbert was "the male equivalent of the female [...] symbol" who influenced women to have amorous thoughts about him. Gilbert was able to portray a "handsome, passionate, somewhat brooding man" who simultaneously was also genuine and approachable, not someone who would be unreachable.

Joan Crawford 		1904/1908 Joan Crawford was one of the final flappers who were [...] symbols. The author Scott Siegel said that Crawford "soon crossed the fine line from [...] symbol to glamour queen". The Mercury News said she was "MGM’s reigning [...] symbol" in the 1930s.

Clara Bow 		1905 Clara Bow was the first cinematic [...] symbol History professor Patrick Huber called Bow "the greatest fex symbol and the biggest Hollywood star of the late 1920s". Her portrayal of flappers, particularly her depiction of the alluring clerk in the 1927 film It, transformed Bow into a [...] symbol who received the nickname "It Girl". The nickname "It Girl" was used instead of "[...] symbol" since the latter terminology would have been deemed obscene in Bow's era. In 1929, fans were writing 45,000 letters to her weekly. In the 1920s, her intensity and glamorousness typified the freed women. The writer Richard J. Shmelter said that "she was very sexy, with a fantastic figure and looks that would attract attention no matter what the decade was". She was said to have an insatiable appetite for [...] that was renowned. The writer Paul Gallico said Bow exemplified the [...] liberation of the 1920s when she peered into Nickolas Muray's camera with her youthful face and ruffled hair. Frequently paid below-market wages and fighting to be given respect, she believed herself to be stuck in her [...] symbol role, saying, "A [...] symbol is a heavy load to carry when one is tired, hurt, and bewildered".

1930s–1940s

With the transition to sound movies, the Golden Age of Hollywood promoted a new generation of glamorous stars. The war effort ushered in celebrity status for pin-up models, and movie stars were sent abroad to entertain troops.

Person Year of
birth 		Details

Greta Garbo 		1905 Greta Garbo was recruited from Sweden to the United States as a "glamour [...] symbol". She single-handedly revived the vamp role and demonstrated [...] power through just the act of kissing. The film critic Parker Tyler said she "subtly romanticized sexiness itself by looking the 'lady' and seeming a live doll created by [...] dreams". Critics admired her allure and womanliness and adored how she was capable of playing roles across a broad spectrum of ages such as an innocent young woman, a beguiling vamp, and a worldly woman. They occasionally called her a "blond Oriental" and commonly called her "exotic" because of her European looks. She had "high cheekbones, sunken cheeks, and near-almond eyes". During Garbo's time, American saw foreign women as sexually mature as opposed to more chaste Americans.

Louise Brooks 		1906 Louise Brooks, one of the most acclaimed performers during the silent film time period, was a [...] symbol who wore the bob cut. By 1928, the year she divorced film director A. Edward Sutherland, Brooks had experienced a swift ascent to stardom that made her a [...] symbol. Film critic John Anderson called her "a [...] symbol of disturbing volatility", while Kenneth Tynan said she was "the most seductive, [...] image of Woman ever committed to celluloid".

1950s–1960s

In the post-war era, the term [...] symbol gained general acceptance. The [...] liberation of the 1960s allowed further free expression of desire and sexuality in popular culture.

Person Year of
birth 		Details

Bettie Page 		1923 American pinup model

Marilyn Monroe 		1926 American actress

Sophia Loren 		1934 Italian actress

Brigitte Bardot 		1934 French actress

Raquel Welch 		1940 A publicity still of Loana the Fair One in One Million Years B.C., portrayed by Raquel Welch wearing a fur bikini, became a best-selling poster and turned her into an instant pin-up girl and [...] symbol.

See also

  • Bombshell
  • [...] kitten
  • List of [...] symbols in fiction

References

Citations

Bibliography