What is sexy? Ask your best friend, your sibling, your colleague, your mom—and odds are good you’ll get very different answers. (“Really? Salman Rushdie? Wow.”) But, still, there is some common ground. Or is there? We decided to contact some of Westchester’s resident experts to find out. We asked our specialists—a sex therapist, a historian, an anthropologist, and a photographer—to define sexy. Their answers follow.
“Sexy is being uninhibited, being willing to try new things, and having a sense of humor.”
– Sex therapist Bat Sheva Marcus of the Medical Center for Female Sexuality in Purchase
“Predominant definitions of sexiness have varied considerably over time, but they have in common an enduring preference for bodies whose appearance connotes health and wealth. Today, lean bodies with sun-darkened skin and sinewy muscles look sexy. They suggest a lifestyle that features seaside vacations, membership in a gym, and meals purchased at Whole Foods instead of McDonald’s.”
– Priscilla Murolo, professor of U.S. history at Sarah Lawrence College and director of the graduate program in women’s history
“Due to globalization, images and depictions of sexiness in American popular culture are reshaping notions of beauty and sexiness in the non-west. I am finding that Indian actresses and models are increasingly drawing on American fashions, feminine ideals and body type. Yet, this incorporation of western notions of sexiness is being filtered through local Indian traditions, customs and values. So, sexiness in the Indian popular culture and media has not necessarily meant an abandonment of traditional clothing, but modes of wearing it that draw from western fashions and styles.”
– Cultural anthropologist Dr. Ahmed Afzal, assistant professor of anthropology at Purchase College, State University of New York
“I think sexy is being uncluttered yet complex and never taking yourself too seriously.”
– Photographer Richard Dubin of dubinphotography.com
