Sex symbol

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.

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.

Compare teen idol.

Some female sex symbols:

• Christina Aguilera
• Pamela Anderson
• Josephine Baker
• Theda Bara
• Brigitte Bardot
• Clara Bow
• Louise Brooks
• Claudia Cardinale
• Mariah Carey
• Laetitia Casta
• Helena Christensen[?]
• Marlene Dietrich
• Carmen Electra
• Farrah Fawcett
• Janina Frostell[?]
• Betty Grable
• Jean Harlow[?]
• Heidi Klum[?]
• Anna Kournikova
• Hedy Lamarr
• Dorothy Lamour
• J. Lo
• Sophia Loren
• Madonna Ciccone
• Jayne Mansfield[?]
• Marilyn Monroe
• Evelyn Nesbit
• Betty Page[?]
• Jessica Rabbit[?]
• Britney Spears
• Sharon Stone
• Elizabeth Taylor
• Tina Turner
• Raquel Welch
• Mae West

Some male sex symbols:

• Backstreet Boys
• Ben Affleck
• Charles Atlas[?]
• Humphrey Bogart
• Sean Connery
• Tom Cruise
• Matt Damon
• James Dean
• Leonardo DiCaprio
• Kirk Douglas
• Douglas Fairbanks
• Errol Flynn
• Mel Gibson
• Rock Hudson
• Enrique Iglesias[?]
• Mick Jagger
• Tom Jones
• Ricky Martin
• New Kids on the Block
• Luke Perry
• Brad Pitt
• Elvis Presley
• Keith Richards
• Axl Rose
• Justin Timberlake (and other members of NSYNC)
• Mark Walhberg[?]

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Fictitious or virtual sex symbols have also been popular. Recent examples include Lara Croft[?] and Aki Ross.

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Alternately, "sex symbol" can refer to the two symbols used to represent the biological sex of an organism: ♀ for females, and ♂ for males.