Marilyn Monroe said something to the effect: A sex symbol soon becomes a thing. Her next sentence was either I dislike being a thing or I don't want to be a thing.
I'm not certain being a male sex symbol is the same as being a female sex symbol. Women are automatically more vulnerable and, with the female part of the story, are automatically labeled dumb. On the other hand, men that are thought to be sexually attractive sometimes have "urban legends" about their intelligence attached to them. Paul Newman was rumored to solve mathmatical problems in his head to relax; dance Michael Flately supposedly is a member of Mensa. Women are more likely to be turned on by smart men (I am terrifically attracted to Ryan Stiles as my daughter and her friends are because of his brains and I have to admit that I find Eliot Spitzer attractive.)than men are by smart women.
I always thought that it was success that turned you women on--but intelligence, only to the degree that it is applied. How hot is Spitzer as a savant fry-cook at Wendy's? :wink:
While male and female sex symbols may be perceived differently by others, it can send both down the same path as far as their careers are concerned. Take the exceptional case of Johnny Depp, who never really cashed in on his good looks by doing blockbuster action movies or by taking unimaginative leading-hunk roles like Reeves and Cruise have. Who's the better actor for it? Mind you, the urban legends about Reeves' breakthroughs in quantum mechanics and Cruise's proof of Fermat's last theorem have yet to circulate and may indicate that they are, in fact, not quite bright enough to be accomplished actors (or aren't as sexy as they think). Clearly, though, there are a wealth of roles for leading men that allow them to grunt and deadpan their way to riches without ever exhibiting the slightest nuance of emotion and, consequently, without ever improving their acting.
