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My Dearest Readers,
As some of you may know (or may not), I write VERY steamy historical romances. So steamy, in fact, that my daughter won’t be reading them until she turns 35. That said, I am always looking for inspiration as to what my hero and heroine would define as sexy. Needless to say, everyone’s definition of sexy is different. Which is why I’m posting. Because I want to know what YOU find sexy.
According to a general poll that had been done in 1995 (yes, it desperately needs to be updated but it was all I could dig up at this moment) here are the top five things women find physically sexy in a man. Ranking from most popular to least.
1.)Height. Six Foot or taller. (Taller than six feet and I’m scared, truth be told…but then again, I’m 5’2″)
2.)Imposing body massiveness. (I am assuming they are referring to muscles. Not doughiness. Ehm)
3.)Broad shoulders (Oh, yes, please)
4.)A large YOU KNOW WHAT (Who says size doesn’t matter? Apparently it does)
5.)A full head of hair (As opposed to…?)
To take this a bit further, the dictionary defines sexy as “sexually exciting or excitingly appealing.” Hm. I suppose that would be a very stripped version (yes, pun intended) of what I would personally define as being sexy. Sexy to me is something that evokes my curiosity, sometimes causing me to mentally pause and sometimes causing me to physically stare. It could be all of these things combines or bits and pieces of them at a time. I do know this. Physicality is what catches my eye. But it isn’t what keeps it. And when I am writing about my hero and heroine, I usually have them follow my taste. To an extent. My favorite definition of sexy is this fabulous quote by Colette who was a French novelist: “When she raises her eyelids it’s as if she were taking off all her clothes.” Oh yeah. Now THAT is sexy.
So the two things that I find sexy? You will be proud to know that I am anything but superficial. I lace the physical with his character.
1.)His presence. Meaning he is neither overbearing toward others nor so shy that you have to lift a rock for him to crawl under.
2.)His mouth. The way he talks, the way he smiles, the ways he eats (ESPECIALLY the way he eats, LOL), the way he kisses, the way his lips move across his teeth and the way he conveys emotion through them.
So go on. Impress me. Define two things you find sexy.
Cheers and much love,
Delilah Marvelle
Filed in: Jaunty Post
Jan 16th
2009
10:26 am
RobynDeHart Said:
Interesting, Delilah. I’m not sure I would agree 100% with the 1995 lady, though admittedly I have a weakness for The Professor’s long, long legs. *sigh*
For me the sexiness comes in through the eyes and through the mind. I can tell a lot about a man through his eyes, plus they convey so much emotion and then they have these great long lashes and often intense eyebrows. Eyes are sexy! The mind though that’s what will keep me after I’ve noticed any of the external stuff. And in fact the mind can be forgiving of any less-than-GQ-readiness on the outside. I think the perfect example of this is Jeff Goldblum, there is nothing sexy about his exterior (outside of him being very tall), but the way he talks, he exudes intelligence (or at least the characters he plays do) and he’s super sexy. Or what about House? Though I think Hugh Laurie is physically more attractive than Goldblum he’s no cover model, yet the sexiness is totally there.
I love the smarties…
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Jan 16th
2009
10:40 am
Margo Maguire Said:
A great sense of humor and the ability to put people at ease.
But I think real life is different than romance novels. I have a couple of friends who are married to alpha males that could have stepped right out of a romance novel. These guys are truly awful.
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Jan 16th
2009
10:52 am
Nancy Robards Thompson Said:
At first glance, broad shoulders do it for me. But he has to have something between those shoulders to keep me interested – I find a great sense of humor devastatingly sexy.
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Jan 16th
2009
3:03 pm
Emily McKay Said:
Great examples, Robyn. I find House very sexy, even when he’s being a jerk. I think it’s the super smart thing.
For me, behavior is sexier than looks. It’s true in life as well as fiction. The man who’s smart and protective will always be sexier to me than the man who’s good looking. In fact, I find men who are too polished, too metro, very unattractive. For me, there’s nothing less appealing than a man who styles his hair. (okay, that’s an exaggeration. A serial killer with body parts in his freezer would be less appealing …)
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Jan 16th
2009
3:49 pm
Kathryn Said:
What defines sexy is very personal and can be quite odd… eyes, wide shoulders, slim hips, long legs… all of those contribute to my personal view of sexy.
However, sometimes there is an odd one who defies my norm… If I described a man as skinny, average height, older, big mouth you might wonder what I was on. BUT that is a description of Mick Jagger who can be very sexy even though listed singly his physical attributes are not impressive. I might also point out that the same description applies to Keith Richards who definitely is not sexy in my book!
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Jan 16th
2009
4:31 pm
Shirley Karr Said:
I have to disagree with Kathryn … some of what Mick Jagger sings might be sexy but the man himself, physically? No way.
I do agree with the other ladies — smart is definitely sexy. Also, the way a guy treats you, as though he thinks you are the most attractive woman he knows, will make you think *he’s* sexy. Jeff Goldblum does that well.
And to balance this with some superficiality, the way a guy’s butt looks in the perfect pair of jeans… mmm. (Which is why we describe our Regency hero’s rock hard thighs while he’s on horseback rather than his derriere, because Regency breeches are not flattering from the rear.
)
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Jan 17th
2009
6:19 pm
Delilah Marvelle Said:
I totally agree with all of you ladies. Because the point is, we define sexy, not society. Bravo for staking your claim on sexy!!
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