Return of the Beautiful Uglies
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It must be the season of the listicle. Too lazy to write an article, or, heck, even create a charticle, print and online writers turn to the list in an attempt to draw as many list-loving readers as possible. The latest comes from the folks at Nerve.com, who have seen fit to list: "The Twenty Sexiest Ugly People." Fair enough. I've long been enamored with the "beautiful uglies," or what the French refer to as jolie laide: "the aesthetic pleasures of the visually off kilter: a bump on the nose, eyes that are set too closely together, a jagged smear of a mouth."
Nerve's collection of the seemingly hideously sexy—or is that sexily hideous?—includes Daisy De La Hoya (if you don't watch VH1, never mind), Marilyn Manson (his screeching anthem "The Beautiful People" comes to mind), Iggy Pop (for some reason I can't quite explain, I must admit I would not kick him out of bed for eating crackers), Sandra Bernhard (a "jagged smear of a mouth," indeed), and Biz Markie (interesting choice, no matter how you slice it).
Some picks are spot on, I think: Tilda Swinton I adore, Mickey Rourke embodies the concept perfectly, and the twisted features of the terrifically transgendered Amanda Lepore hypnotize (me, at least). Some others, I don't get: Woody Allen? Amy Winehouse? Paul Giamatti? I can't say I associate any of those three with any kind of burning sexuality, above or below the surface. Of course, it's all so subjective when it comes to looks, sexuality, attraction. In any case, it's sort of delightful to see a list that celebrates something other than the cookie-cutter looks of Brad, Angelina, and George. Enough of that already. Bring on the sexy freaks.
Susannah Breslin Freelance journalist, blogger, photographer.
Comments
I don't quite get the idea
By: Dubious | Wed, 06/03/2009 - 17:52
I don't quite get the idea that most, if not all, of these people are ugly. I just don't see it. It's disarray, or it's not the smooth, seamless, wax & polish and ziplock look of eighty percent of Hollywood's leading actors & actresses- but that's not bad.
These people? They look like people. The ones you work with, buy things from, hang around, spend your time silently commiserating with while you wonder when they're going to announce boarding has started or announce "Next customer, please."
Some of them, you can't use their teeth as a straight rule. Some of them have wrinkles. Some of them are bigger, or older, or do their best to match an aesthetic that is outside the default options.
But they're human. And they're people. And perhaps more than anything else, they are more- a lot more- than what they look like. I don't know that this makes them somehow ugly.
Of course such a list will
By: IAinND | Wed, 06/03/2009 - 11:20
Of course such a list will have people more divided (for example, I would say a big no on the Iggy Pop one) than your standard "beautiful people" rundown. I must, however, say a huge YES to Paul Giamatti -- it's his eyes.