What is Sexy?

[freddy333]

I was just having a conversation with a friend about a particular car that she described as being very 'sexy'. She explained that sexy is different than cool or pretty. But when I asked her to qualify what it was about the car that makes it sexy, she was completely unable to describe anything tangible. So, I began to wonder -- in a broader context -- what makes an object (excluding the human body) sexy? What makes a watch sexy as opposed to cool or pretty or whatever other positive adjective 1 might attribute to an inanimate object?

[gran]

something exiting...

[By-Tor]

I feel it's just some kind of "metrosexual thing" to call something "sexy". I never call anything "sexy" unless it has something to do with a woman.

Naah... I think it's just another way to describe "cool".

[Nanuq]

When it evokes an image, a correlation to something else "not a car" that she might find, um, appealing. Ahem.

She is equating a characteristic of strength or power or capability to the car, that she no doubt finds appealing in YOU, Freddy.

Got cologne? Go get 'er!

[dluddy]

Sexy = the new Cool

werd

[deniz21]

i bet she saw one of these

[Jkay]

Someone said it first, but I agree; when something makes you think of an attribute that you, personally, find sexy then that object is sexy to you.

When I lived in the country, a lot of women said pickup trucks were sexy. They did not want to rub themselves on a truck .. they wanted a man who was rugged and strong and outdoors-type.

I suppose women who say sports cars are sexy could want a few things. Cheap and dirty sports cars like a Mustang prolly feels like a bad-boy ... where an Aston Martin reeks of money and power.

Sexy is whatever turns you on. Thin people, fat people, strong people, needy people ... everyone has a turn-on

[txcollector]

A Smart is cool

A Mini is pretty

A Lambo is sexy

I would agree with Gran that it would fall in the exciting category. Some things are pleasant to look at but not coveted. A sexy thing would be something that cause some kind of stimulus no matter how many times you look at it. Somehow this image comes to mind

[Ronin]

So, I began to wonder -- in a broader context -- what makes an object (excluding the human body) sexy? What makes a watch sexy as opposed to cool or pretty?

I agree on the term being used as simple non-definable slang. I will never forget the time I was in an Apple store and some hipster referred to Mac's as "sexy". Ummmm, not a word I would use to describe a computer.

However, anthropomorphizing in the automotive world is age old. You can look to headlights as eyes, rear quarter panels as hips, etc.

(For the life of me I can't find the design study/actual pose)

The Porsche 356/911 basic body style shape for example was derived from a classic nude pose. See below picture (this is not THE pic, this is the best I could manually come up with - the original classic nude has the woman more heads down, knees up. You would know it if you saw it, and after seeing it, you will never look at the car the same).

Actually more like this pose:

So that is one example of "seeing" sexy in something for me. It is perhaps subconscious, and actually related to the female/human form.

The other possibility with "Sexy" is association. I will use my sister for an example. Back in the late 70's early 80's she was in love Magnum P.I / Tom Sellek. In Magnum he drove a Ferrari 308. Because she thought he was sexy or had sex appeal, the car therefore was sexy.

Our brains make some amazing connections.

[TeeJay]

I agree on the term being used as simple non-definable slang. I will never forget the time I was in an Apple store and some hipster referred to Mac's as "sexy". Ummmm, not a word I would use to describe a computer.

However, anthropomorphizing in the automotive world is age old. You can look to headlights as eyes, rear quarter panels as hips, etc.

(For the life of me I can't find the design study/actual pose)

The Porsche 356/911 basic body style shape for example was derived from a classic nude pose. See below picture (this is not THE pic, this is the best I could manually come up with - the original classic nude has the woman more heads down, knees up. You would know it if you saw it, and after seeing it, you will never look at the car the same).

Actually more like this pose:

So that is one example of "seeing" sexy in something for me. It is perhaps subconscious, and actually related to the female/human form.

The other possibility with "Sexy" is association. I will use my sister for an example. Back in the late 70's early 80's she was in love Magnum P.I / Tom Sellek. In Magnum he drove a Ferrari 308. Because she thought he was sexy or had sex appeal, the car therefore was sexy.

Our brains make some amazing connections.

You're quite right about the Porsche, and it's interesting how the human form does find its way into things. I remember hearing that the design for the Seaquest included Arnold Schwarzenegger's bicep, and Sharon Stone's hip.

[Limestone]

Maybe not the answer on WHY it is ... but here

[freddy333]

Cool:

Sexy:

Good comparison with these 2, but, for the life of me, I cannot put my finger onto exactly what it is about the Alfa that makes it sexy, while the Ferrari, which is 1 of my favorite cars, is not. Similarly, I once bought a car, primarily, because 2 different women, whose opinions I trust, told me the car (only in a particular color) was sexy, while all of the other cars I cited lacked that essential missing (sexy) ingredient. I often hear the same comment ('sexy') from women with regards to my Mystery DJ, even though I have a gaggle of other watches that I think are cooler or rarer or thinner or thicker or swoopier or more algular or more esoteric or more/less blingy.

Why is this watch (the watch, not the picture) sexy

& this is not

Weird.

[freddy333]

When it evokes an image, a correlation to something else "not a car" that she might find, um, appealing. Ahem.

This is not limited to a specific person (I often hear similar comments about other objects from others), but I think you may be onto something there.

She is equating a characteristic of strength or power or capability to the car, that she no doubt finds appealing in YOU, Freddy.

Got cologne? Go get 'er!

[Jkay]

The Lambo and the Ferrari are technical like a spaceship from a movie. The Alfa and the Maserati are organic, cat-like; curved like a body.

SEX

[Ronin]

@Freddy333 - Just for you... The human brain is something else...

Daniel Paul Tammet is a British high-functioning autistic savant gifted with a facility for mathematical calculations, sequence memory, and natural language learning. He was born with congenital childhood epilepsy. Experiencing numbers as colors or sensations is a well-documented form of synesthesia, but the detail and specificity of Tammet's mental imagery of numbers is unique. In his mind, he says, each number up to 10,000 has its own unique shape and feel, that he can "see" results of calculations as landscapes, and that he can "sense" whether a number is prime or composite. He has described his visual image of 289 as particularly ugly, 333 as particularly attractive, and Pi as beautiful. Tammet not only verbally describes these visions, but also creates artwork, particularly watercolor paintings, such as his painting of Pi. (source: 15 Real life Super Heros)

[Jkay]

The plain gloss black face of the "Mystery" DJ implies a void .. a question .. a mystery .. maybe even death. A lot of women are attracted to a mystery. The "quiet guy" .. the guy who's attributes they fill in for themselves and whip into a sex frenzy.

[lhooq]

Maybe not the answer on WHY it is ... but here´s my thoughts about cool and sexy when it comes to cars.

Cool:

Sexy:

Maybe a bit simplistic, but I think "mid-engine=cool and efficient" while "front-engine=sexy and evocative".

And to those of you who might counter with a Dino 246, please tell me with a straight face that it has more raw sex appeal than a 250 GTO or a Daytona!

[Bike Mike]

SOB

[RLudlowe]

Sexy is quite simply - successful

The problem with that is "what does a person consider successful?"

To a cowgirl, successful may be brawny or powerful like a pickup truck, to a debutante it may be elegant and luxurious like a Bentley. To a biker chick, successful may be the guy with the most tattoos.

In women, generally people from areas(or times)where food is scarce see full figured women as sexy, as that denotes success in finding food - whereas people who come from areas where food is abundant see slim women sexier as it implies success in self-control and moderation. Men who see child-bearing as important usually prefer women with full hips and large busts(better breeding stock), whereas men who don't see children as quite so important often prefer slimmer, more athletic figures.

In men, a cowgirl might like big muscles and chiseled features as these intone a rugged man who would be successful as a rancher, a city girl puts less importance on muscle and look more at intelligence, clothing and manners that would serve a man well in the urban social scene (and job market).

Of course, it's a lot more complicated than that and there are thousands of variables, but the important thing is that sexy is different to every person because everyone defines success differently. But almost everyone defines sexy in terms of what they consider successful, well proportioned and effective in their particular environment.

[jeff g]

IMO this is SEXY...and COOL.