Back in May of this year when Psychology Today published an article by evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa that stated black women are “less physically attractive than all other women” based on his “objective” research, there was understandably and rightfully huge backlash. Nevermind that physical attractiveness is purely subjective, the “study” failed to take into account that part of the reason those interviewed would rate black women lower in attractiveness is because eurocentric ideas of beauty dominate the culture and shape our perceptions what is and what isn’t attractive. Black women, by-and-large, are not going to fit that criteria.
Less discussed, however, is how eurocentric standards of beauty effect black men. It’s for good reason: black men are not constantly under attack for their looks in the same way black women constantly are. Still, there are certain ways in which black men are viewed and categorized that differs from their white counterparts.
In a recent interview, actor Idris Elba, best known for his acclaimed roles as Stringer Bell in the HBO series The Wire and Detective John Luther in his latest BBC crime drama Luther, had this to say: “Black men, we’re never called sexy. We’re called athletic, intense, we’re described as being the strong type, the silent type. But we’re never really described as being sexy… in general the word sexy doesn’t apply to black men, particularly.”
I personally know of a lot of women and quite a few men who believe Elba to be sexy. And he’s not the lone black man exalted for his sex appeal. I hear Boris Kodjoe, Blair Underwood, Lance Gross, Will Smith, Laz Alonzo, Michael Ealy, and others constantly praised for their physical attractiveness. The caveat, however: most of those doing the praising are also black.
In mainstream (read: white) America, these same men do not receive the type of adoration they’re accustomed to in the black community. There is a very particular relationship mainstream America has with the black male body, and it doesn’t lend itself toward sexual gratification.
Sidney Poitier was one of Hollywood’s great leading men in his prime, but nearly every character he played was de-sexualized. Even in the critically acclaimed film Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?, who’s plot revolves around a married couple, Poitier is more strong and defiant than suave and debonair.
Billy Dee Williams is perhaps the most suave and charismatic man to ever grace the big screen, but you would have to be familiar with the films that didn’t produce great fame for him to know this. Williams is portrayed as the epitome of cool and male sexiness in his roles in Mahogany and Lady Sings the Blues, but as Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars movies he takes a backseat in sexiness to Harrison Ford’s Han Solo. Where he is appreciated for his exceptional good looks in a predominantly black cultural context, when presented in a multi-racial ensemble Williams becomes simply another non-sexual actor.
In the moments where black men are allowed some sexual expression, black male sexuality is typically portrayed as Othello-style forbidden fruit, as in the case of Sean Patrick Thomas in Save the Last Dance, or terrifying in a King Kong type way, where a 50 foot tall savage gorilla (a stand in for black men) attacks a helpless white woman. There is little in the way of honest and true black male desirability.
There are a few exceptions, such as model Tyson Beckford and singer Lenny Kravitz, who have transcended and become sex symbols in mainstream America. Most recently, the “Old Spice guy” Isaiah Mustafa, through a series of absurdly funny commercials that often featured him shirtless, became a national sex symbol in a way most black men don’t.
But these men are exceptions, coming few and far between and hardly garnering the same press as a George Clooney or Brad Pitt, both of who are two-time winners of People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” award. As a matter of fact, in the 25 year history of People’s “Sexiest Man Alive” honor, the national barometer for male sex appeal in pop culture, there has only been one African-American honoree when Denzel Washington was named in 1996.
There are very real cultural differences in what makes for attractive features. In a recent print ad, Nivea for Men grooming products shows a clean cut, clean shaved black man holding in his hand a head with a large afro and goatee.
In bold letters across the page, the ad reads “RE-CIVILIZE YOURSELF” and in the upper right-hand corner “LOOK LIKE YOU GIVE A DAMN.”
There are other ads that feature two white men as well as a black man, but this one in particular is culturally insensitive and reveals much about what it would take for a black man to gain recognition as physically attractive in mainstream society: a denial of quintessentially black features and an acceptance of eurocentric standards of male grooming.
So long as these ideas persist, Elba is right, and there will continue to be a segregated application of the word sexy. But in the black community, these men will find no shortage of folks ready to defend and revel in their sex appeal.