What’s Your Type? (The Hot Guy Post.)
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{Warning: Fluffy Post Ahead. Proceed at your own intellectual risk.}
Once upon a time, I had a Type. You know, a list of qualities, attributes (light-haired, light-eyes, athletic) and a ready set of examples to illustrate my Type in the event someone was confused. Brad Pitt was always an easy way to get across to my friends the kind of creature I meant. Ah, yes, Brad Pitt. How original, no?
I remember walking around the world and noticing boys and men and deciding whether they fit the bill and saying things like: He’s really cute, but he is not my type. Or: He’s totally my type, but eh. I remember having long talks with friends about this topic. I went to Cannes, France the summer between high school and college with two good friends and I recall sitting on a sun-soaked balcony, eating baguettes and butter and talking all about this stuff. It felt important, critical.
I remember walking my college campus, eyes wide, noticing my fellow students, putting some of them on my Cute Boy List. I don’t think I called it this, and I’d be embarrassed if I did, but that was the point. I made a mental list of the guys I thought were, well, cute. And, yes, I kissed a few of them in time. Go me.
When I met Husband, yes in a bar, I immediately thought: Wow. He’s handsome. So my type. Husband has light brown hair, blue eyes, is tall and athletic and kind. Yes, my Type. Fast forward ten years and here we are, sitting squarely in our good life, a life full of little girls and big dreams, a life full of happy exhaustion. A busy life wherein I swig coffee and race around and write words and hold tiny hands and think very little about cute boys.
I don’t think I have even thought of the expression My Type in years. Maybe it is no longer relevant, a linguistic relic of unencumbered youth, times past. Maybe because I’m married, it’s no longer appropriate to talk about attractive men, and whether they are indeed crushworthy? Maybe. I don’t think so though.
If you were to ask me who I think is cute in the world (other than the man I adore and deeply), I would be a bit stumped. There would be no list to pull from. I would fumble around and I would probably say it, still say it: Brad Pitt. And, yes, he is not a bad-looking man. His six kids seemed to have aged him a bit, but I find that real and sexy. Anyway, the point is, the superficial but maybe not totally superficial point is, that I am not even aware of particularly hot and famous men. What gives?
Okay. It is 6:07am and time is of the essence and I must skedaddle from Starbucks and run back to my guy and and my girls, but I swear there is something interesting in this odd and frivolous musing and I apologize that I have yet to articulate clearly just what that is. I guess it’s time to punt to you guys and ask:
Did you once have a Type? Do you still have a Type? Is your husband/wife/partner your Type? If you are in a committed relationship and/or are raising a family, do you still have harmless crushes on physically or intellectually beautiful people? Who are some of the hottest guys (and girls) out there? No rules here – It can be the UPS man, that chipper barista, your kid’s coach, or the hideous charmer that is Brad Pitt. Anything goes.
Okay, I am going to list two guys to kick things off even if it takes me to come up with this few:
- Matt Damon (Sister C – I know he’s yours, but I likey too)
- Tom Brady (Sorry Giants fans, sorry Gisele)
What’s kind of interesting here is that part of the reason I think Matt Damon is so hot is that he seems very real and very devoted to his wife and four girls. I have seen him a handful of times around the neighborhood and he seems like a real person, albeit a very famous one. And Tom Brady? I don’t know much about him other than the fact that he is very good at football, dates a beautiful but righteous model, and left a woman when she was pregnant with his child. This last bit should ruin it all for me, and maybe it does.
Ah, I sniff substance here after all: Maybe as we get older, and wiser, hotness becomes about things other than looks and encompasses more important things – how people treat others and approach the world and live their lives…
Yes, I’m commenting again. Which is fine, I decided. Anyway, back on the home front, and the kids are munching on their terribly healthy SpongeBob yogurts and peanut butter muffins and Husband is stretching before his run. Here’s the conversation we just had:
Me: I just blogged about hot guys.
Husband: No response. {Continues to stretch.}
Me: I mean I don’t even think about types anymore, and ponder who is hot.
Husband: What about me?
Me: You’re hot and I say that! I just mean other than you.
Husband: Ah.
Me: Who do you think is hot? I will add it in the comment box.
Husband: More stretching.
Me: How about I just say that you think I’m hot? That would be cute!
Husband: Okay.
Me: Great. And Julie Bowen from Modern Family is hot too, right?
Husband: Yes, she is.
Alas. Deep thoughts chez Rowley. Must go and search for the missing library book, very appropriately called Ducks Disappearing…
You’re turn, guys! Come on – I think this might be even more fun than baby naming.
My sister and I were laughing the other day about how we still swoon over Kurt Browning (Canadian figure skater, national and world champion from 88-91, still skating professionally) – he’s short, bald, and well, old. But the instant he steps on the ice, we turn into giggly schoolgirls. And part of it is that he’s a beautiful, beautiful skater, but another part is that we love the fact that he is, despite his busy career, a devoted husband and father, committed to always putting his family first. Now THAT’S swoon-worthy!
I was always into the tall, dark, and handsome type as a teenager – and that is the kind of man I married
Although Matt Damon is pretty smokin’, too.
There is something distinct and wonderful about sports crushes. My older sister adored Chris Mullin and as many of you know, I was all about Larry Bird. Clearly, Larry is not the hottest commodity around, but he was made more beautiful by his talent and drive. Isn’t it so fun to talk with sisters about this stuff? Part of me can’t wait until my girls are older and I catch them chatting about such things. Then again, I imagine such chats will come at a time when they cause a little bit of (totally predictable and appropriate) trouble.
Our types sound very much the same…tall, athletic, light eyes, but I always go for dark hair. I clear 6′ in heels so height has ALWAYS been a huge factor for me. My “type” has also always been extremely intelligent, with a dash of nerd thrown in. Any time I meet a new man all my friends ask the same three questions : Is he tall? Is he an engineer? Is he catholic? Which makes me chuckle…because about 90% of my ex-boyfriends fit the bill by happenstance. That being said I absolutely LOVE Colin Firth. I find this even stranger considering he doesn’t fit my “type” and is about twenty years my senior. I blame this crush on the movie “Love Actually”. If I were to go with the more traditional idea of a hot man I would have to put Tim Tebow (the perfect amount of scruff) and Ryan Gosling on my list. Love them.
Ryan Gosling – not bad. Not bad at all. And I think it’s kind of interesting that I focused so much on physical attributes when discussing the type topic. Something I find kind of interesting: Despite being immersed in a world full of Ivy Leaguers, actual and aspirational, I knew I didn’t want to end up with that “type.” I knew that I wanted someone from a slightly different world, and a slightly different perspective. Perhaps this is not fair at all; I would be the first to argue that Ivy Leaguers are not a one-size-fits-all breed but still, I knew. Not sure what to make of this…
COLIN FIRTH!!!!!!
I find Mr Darcy a bit of a drip, but I watch Pride & Prejudice just for Colin Firth. He makes cravats look GOOD.
Agreed on Colin Firth. Indeed!
Colin Firth for the win!
This is so fun! My type is Don Draper, George Clooney, Dermot Mulroney (sp?) and I married an Irishman who is *nothing* like my dark, tall and handsome celebrity crushes! My husband is short, bald and handsome nevertheless because he is so special. He’s just not at all what I expected I’d fall in love with!
My type was tall, dark and Greek – I ended up with a light German farmer! At least he’s tall… and agreed to live in Chicago – forever. 13 years and 3 girls later, I think I made the right decision
George Clooney is hot as is Dylan McDermott (now I’m dating myself!)
My type is TALL. Not sure why because my dad is 5’6″ and I did not grow up in a tall family. But my last three boyfriends (including my husband back when we were just dating) were all 6’3″ or 6’4″. I also care about intelligence and prefer a pretty dry sense of humor. And someone who loves kids. Seems I hit the jackpot with my husband.
As for celeb type crushes… Ryan Reynolds, Ryan Gosling, Dwayne Wade, and I’ll second your motion on Brad Pitt. As for hot women, GAP would agree with Husband on Julie Bowen, although he’s even more inclined to swoon over Sophia Vergara.
I’m with Gale on these guys, but I just don’t get the Ryan Reynolds thing. At all. (I know I’m in a clear minority on this one, given the People Magazine thing and all…)
Somewhere around 18 it changed radically from tweedy academic with wicked eyes to broad-shouldered, muscle-y calves with wicked eyes. Possibly because I graduated from high school where there was nary a broad-shouldered muscle-y calved man to be found. Pierce Brosnan is about perfect as a representative.
Okay, clearly I enjoy this post. Perfect light/not-so-light thought fodder for a Thursday afternoon.
I guess I have a type and, luckily, I suppose, my husband fits it: tall, dark hair, smart, and funny. Viggo Mortensen, George Clooney, Idris Elba, Colin Firth (yes, he’s worth mentioning again).
I must admit that I like guys who are muscular, as long as they’re not too muscular; the ones who look like bodybuilders are too extreme for me. But I like the ones who make an effort to take care of themselves, because it also shows that they care about their health. And I also have to admit that since I go to the gym on a regular basis, I think it’s only fair to want a guy who also makes an effort to stay fit. But of course, looks only matter to a certain extent. I also like guys who have good manners, are genuinely kind, and don’t think it’s funny to be condescending to other people, including me.
Wow – I have a list Idris Elba, Colin Firth, Tyson Beckford, David Beckham. Maybe I’m just the multicultural type admiring British and American guys!
Ryan Gosling. The more movies I watch with him in it, the more I swoon. Besides the hair difference, my husband actually looks rather similar! More than that, I believe that the personality of Ryan Gosling in the movies he acts in is similar to my husband, which is probably why I find him so attractive (the actor). Maybe it’s because we married so young and met when I was 16, but I have always compared guys to my husband, who, to me, is the prototype.
I’ve never really had celebrity crushes. Not really. Until Dane Cook. I don’t know what it is about him, it’s not just his at-times rugged good looks, but his comedy, his sweet honesty, his New England roots to which I can sense and relate, his love for his mom and dad and the sadness you could see in his dealing with their cancer.
I can recognize attraction (George Clooney, Ben Affleck over Matt Damon any day) but personality is so ridiculously important to me I can’t even get beyond that.
My type? The guy I just had. Everything about him. He was athletic, he was kind, he could sing beautifully (bass nonetheless):swoon:, he adored me, my quirks and we challenged each other to be better people on a daily basis. Only problem? Turns out the stars weren’t aligned in the kids arena. (He already has two.) I want a family of my own. He didn’t approach this tactfully and instead shut his heart off to me.
Besides that, everything we had. the connection, the sharing, the communication, the understanding, the love of trying and learning new things, together. I don’t want to be one of those chicks who compares my ex to any new man… but I’m only two weeks post break up. Still processing. Glad I knew I didn’t need him, but I adored having him, I wanted him. Until that last bit of rash and selfish thinking on his part, of course. Sigh. Yeah.