The Curse of the "Pretty Boy"

Lock up your daughters.
From Elvis to DiCaprio to boy band icons, I explore the draw of “pretty boy” artists and the price they often pay for falling into the type. 🌷



🕦TIMESTAMPS:🕝
0:00 – Intro
2:31 – “Pretty Boys” and the Media Machine / History of Matinee Idols
4:25 – Fangirls (& the appeal of “pretty boys”)
9:15 – Hate for “pretty boy” stars
12:12 – Fangirls vs. misogyny
14:32 – Beatlemania and its critics
16:32 – The craze for Elvis
17:37 – Gendered fandoms and double standards
19:41 – The pitfalls of “pretty boy” typecasting
21:02 – “The McConnaissance”
21:48 – Breaking out of the “pretty boy era”
24:48 – Rise of the softbois
28:00 – K-Pop, K-Media, and “soft masculinity”
30:50 – Rise of the western male beauty market
33:00 – The trend of “looksmaxxing”
37:20 – “Pretty privilege” & male beauty standards

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📄Main Sources Used: 📄

the rise of the "medium uglies" and unconventional male beauty (Madisyn Brown)
   • the rise of the "medium uglies" and unconv...  

Zac Efron: The New American Heart Throb
https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movie...

Who runs the world? Not teen girls.
https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/223...

Why Early Critics Hated the Beatles
https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2...

The menace of Beatlism
https://www.newstatesman.com/archive/...

The Subtle Misogyny Behind the Belittling of Women’s Interests
https://unewsonline.com/2022/04/the-s...

Some Elvis Critics in the Fifties Urged Parents to React Violently
http://www.elvis-history-blog.com/elv...

Matthew McConaughey: ‘My agent said no to romcoms. And then there was nothing’
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017...

The fall of Johnny Depp: how the world's most beautiful movie star turned very ugly
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020...

Flowerboys and the appeal of 'soft masculinity' in South Korea
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-4...

From bone smashing to chin extensions: how ‘looksmaxxing’ is reshaping young men’s faces
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandst...

Young Men Seek Answers to an Age-Old Question: How to Be Hot
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/06/st...

Attractiveness has a bigger impact on men’s socioeconomic success than women’s, study suggests
https://www.psypost.org/attractivenes...

Green screen overlays (credits) 🎞️
‪@jilliannoreen‬
‪@HeyitsFaith‬
‪@ximenaromero564‬
‪@SalmaSophis‬

Music from Epidemic Sound.

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*Inspired by a conversation I had with my best friend where she told me Chalamet looks like Mr Tumnus in that red jumpsuit of his. Hey Cheyelene, if you’re reading this - thanks for the inspo 😂 you’ll also never convince me that the hemsworths are more attractive than timothee idc idc

#prettyboys #softboys #fangirls