On Nov. 11, the pop culture and entertainment Twitter account Pop Base asked who should win the title of PEOPLE Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive,” which was to be officially announced the next day (PopBase, 2024). Despite the deluge of different replies and pictures of shirtless men, none of them were exactly expecting actor John Krasinski, perhaps best known for his role in The Office from 2005 to 2013. The reaction was swift, with some saying it was “just lazy” to choose Krasinski, who had not been actively working on a high-profile project or promoting one in the past several years (ceejnsight, 2024). Apparently, the “Sexiest Man Alive” label wasn’t purely based on looks — although Twitter users had something to say about that as well. “[T]hey could’ve chosen someone better ngl,” Twitter user @buffys wrote kindly under Pop Base’s announcement on Nov. 12. The real question isn’t whether Glen Powell or Jonathan Bailey should have received the title instead, but rather th...
In its prime, Victoria’s Secret was the golden standard: their angels stood lean, tall, and flawless, intentionally setting an insurmountable bar of beauty. In the most recent fashion show on October 15, 2024, they featured a far more diverse repertoire of models than they have historically, but is it just a calculated move to save a brand that is failing in this changing society? Until the mid-2010s, Victoria’s Secret remained at the apex of its retail sector, but with growing external demands for inclusive promotion of female bodies, they soon faced backlash for the unrealistic and harmful conventions they spearheaded. The most recent show did feature plus-sized and trans models, yet the majority of models still exemplified the original Victoria’s Secret image. The few diverse bodies sprinkled throughout allowed the company to curate a false image of “wokeness”, allowing them to appear as rebranded while staying true to their structural norms. Victoria’s Secret attempted to twist the...