HNT Editorial: Only one out of nine

happy HNT

[Thanks, J. --fl]

the nips...make me wanna bite...

peace...

[Lips are made for kissin' nips are made for... nippin? Take two, they're small. :-) Thanks, Monkey. --fl]

I don't know about the actual numbers...but I know you are. : )

[Thanks, AAG. I appreciate it. --fl]

I'm not surprised that only one in 19 people think they are sexy....actually I would have guessed higher. :)
I love your pic :)

[Oops! No wait, I did say one in nine. Still, I wish it were even higher. Thanks, Chelle. --fl]

Yummy, Fig. Happy HNT.
And for the record, I'm getting sexier the more confident I become. :)

[Cool, DN! Yeah, you know what sexy means for me? Confident, healthy, happy, proud. Sometimes I see it in people, other times I know it would just take a little push, a chance to stand next to them in the mirror and say "here, and here, chin up, smile, that's what the world sees, that's you." For so many people they just need to look at themselves through other's eyes for a minute and then they'd see too. I know you see it and that's just great. Thanks! --fl]

Mmmmm...very sexy!

Happy HNT! :)

[Thanks, MKB. --fl]

I see beautiful people everywhere I turn. Maybe not model fine but beautiful in their own way. There are a ton of sexy people out there. I say 50-50 at least. hhnt fig
TG

[Thanks, TG. --fl]

I agree...we are all sexy! I'm surprised at the statistic of 1 in 9 people thinking that they're sexy. I figured that many people are too harsh or critical of themselves more often than not.

This is a very sexy photo, by the way. ;)
Happy HNT!

[Thanks, Marie. --fl]

VERY sexy pic. Very yum.

[Thank you, Wenchy. --fl]

I think I'm sexy. I think you're sexy. And I usually find someting highly attractive about most people I meet/ see.

And I second the lavishing of attention to your lovely nipples on your sexy chest.

[Hmm. Lavish. Lavage (as in to lave?) Tongues maybe? Sounds nice. Thanks, Bella. --fl]

I'd stick myself in the 8 yet I'd agree that in looking around, even if I just stick to people I know, I think more than 1 in 9 of them has 'got it going on'.

I am too tough on myself. One day I hope I can change this forever.

This was my favorite bit "everyone is someone's cup of tea".

And nice pic. Jeans with a belt is the way to go:)

[That's my favorite bit too, J. When I said "at least 50/50" I didn't mean everyone would make the same picks. I remember a woman I used to work for years ago said she thought this actor named Herschel Bernardi (a short, heavyset, middle-aged man with balding hair and a thick mustache) was just about the sexiest man she could imagine. I was painfully thin back then, and tall as a bean pole so I just wasn't her type at all. The point is that everybody has their preferred type, you never know what it's going to be, and it's never quite the same for one person to the next. No need to be hard on yourself, whatever your type you're someone's cup of tea. Thanks. --fl]

one in nine, Im with u I think there could really be more then that, but I am one of those 8 who deal with all the what's sexy and what's not of the world..

Love the shot nice nice nips can I nibble?

[Thanks, Mz. Naughty. --fl]

My answer to the question would be that I think I'm sexy 1 out of every nine times I look in the mirror.

Some times I think I am incredibley sexy and sometimes soooooo not.

Very nice HNT makes me wanna snuggle my face right into the middle of your chest.
*sigh*

[Pretty brilliant insight, Madame. I'm sure hardly anyone thinks their sexy all the time. Thing is, though, that an awful lot of people think "sexy" means "totally prepped and polished" for them... even though they think their partner is still adorable first thing in the morning. Another one of those contradictions where we won't forgive in ourselves what we actually desire in our partners. Cool, cool point, X. Thanks! --fl]

Love the pic; quite yummy, both the bod and the pose. Love the belt!! I must say that one of the sexiest things about you is your intelligence; I really get off on a man who can think and express himself lucidly. Your blog is one of my favorites, though this is the first comment I've posted. Keep writing, lovey, and I'll keep reading!!!

[Yikes! That's very nice of you, Rhia! Thanks. --fl]

i'm 1 of the 8, you fit as #9 happy HNT!

[Shush, Lime. It's not *entirely* up to us to whether we're sexy or not. We might be right. We might be wrong. But before we can be sure we need to survey a larger sample. Thanks. --fl]

Well, no matter what I've said about my self, I don't just think I'm sexy - I know. :)

I've seen a lot of people, and I have to say there is something attractive about everyone - you just have to be willing to see it.

[And the funny thing is... "knowing" your sexy makes you sexy. Almost everybody thinks it's the other way around but they have it backwards. Thanks, Autumn. --fl]

Excellent Article! Sexy is all in the eyes of the beholder. I personally find fat people sexy whereas other people find them disgusting. I truly believe there is a characteristic in everyone that is sexy - it's up to them to present it.

[Thanks, Donna. That's what I mean when I say its not entirely up to us to say whether we're sexy. Other people have a say in it too. --fl]

I think it's Andy Warhol (or maybe it wasn't) who said, "If everyone isn't a beauty then no one is." I can find something good in just about everyone but myself. Sometimes I get flashes but they don't last very long. You, on the other hand, are lovely as always.

[I'm not sure that was Warhol but it's a great insight. Thanks, KT. --fl]

Wow what a thought provoking post fig. I have to say I don't think I'm sexy. I try to make sure my HNTs are ok but in my eyes, I see each thing that I wish was a little different. I am just hardwired to think that I don't quite measure up. Especially post baby.

However, I do feel incredibly sexy when I see the look of desire and sometimes raw lust for me in a lover's eyes. That is when I feel truly sexy.

Happy HNT and btw, YUMMY chest and belly...very easy to want to nibble.

xx

[You're not hardwired, Blondie, you're softwired. Yes it's deep but malleable. The hardest thing, I think, is to give up our images of ourselves we were as teenage boys or girls and recognize that though age and babies change us we grow into a deeper, and frankly more lasting mature sexiness. The girl you were may be gone, Blondie, but as your lovers reveal with their eyes, you're now one hot momma. (Hey, if mommas weren't hot how come that phrase really is hardwired into our culture?) Think about that, Momma! Cool, huh? --fl]

On the money as usual, Figleaf. You are as sexy as you feel. The state of mind can overcome self perceived physical flaws. Confidence, attitude, love of sex, zest for life, these all convey a undeniable sexiness.

Happy HNT.

Interesting and thought provoking post indeed. I wonder where 'they' got those stats? A related thought: sexy/unsexy is not a binary proposition. People are sexy by comparison. For example you might be sexier than me, but not as sexy as Brad Pitt. Also, other factors besides looks come into play in the sexiness equation. Take a look at www.laddertheory.com for a more complete discussion of these matters. No, I didn't write it, I just think it's funny and largely accurate as well.

[I've seen the ladder theory and while I think it's technically right it, like a lot of other reductions-to-line-drawings, omits a lot of detail. As you point out it's not a binary proposition so yes, while everybody might be on at least one such ladder when you draw back you see so many ladders the world looks like it's growing hair. Thick hair. Thanks, Andy. --fl]

Yeah we are all barbie damaged! You, on the other hand, look so sexy I could scream! happy HNT!

[Thanks, Susie! --fl]

Nope, I don't think I'm sexy, I KNOW I am.

[Good on yer, Ceeci! That's all it takes. Oh yeah, and the color red suits you but never underestimate the erotic appeal of sweatpants. Thanks! --fl]

Great post, Figleaf... and nice pic, as always.

Yes, I think I'm sexy. But I also know that sexiness is much more than skin deep. I've met many men that weren't much to look at, but as soon as they said something witty or flashed a nice smile, I felt a little tingle.

So, I think I'm kinda sexy to look at... but I think I'm quite sexy after you spend a few minutes (or longer) with me.

[Of course sexy isn't skin deep. I have to say that one of the cool things about HNT photos is that they're sometimes "clumsy" in a way that captures motion when the shutter's too slow, or catches you in the "wrong" pose when the timer goes off too soon that hints, just hints, at who people really are in a way that ordinary light coming off surfaces can't reveal. The loss in resolution is more than made up for in depth. So yeah, you're totally right. Thanks, Lily. --fl]

An interesting blog to go with your HNT...I agree, most people are sexy in their own way...more people need to tap into that!

Happy HNT!

[Thanks, Gabby! --fl]

My thoughts on my own sexiness ebb and flow like the tide and currently I am at the low ebb.

I wonder if you took those 9 people and asked them once a week if they were sexy, would they give the same answer every time.

I know I sure wouldn't.

[Yeah, Madame X made the same point. I think you're both right there. I still think you'd only get one out of nine, though, and I still think people would be consistenly underrating themselves. Thanks, LM. --fl]

Happy HNT!

[Thanks, PG. --fl]

great post, everyone is someone's cup of tea, I think that is great!

great picture, you definitely fall in that sexy category!
Happy HNT!

[Yup. I was reminded of that this morning when my partner, trying to remind me of who is a parent of who at school, described someone as "{this} height, {that} color hair, and really cute." Her idea and mine being so different (though admittedly equally valid) that I thought she was talking about someone else entirely. Same general description, totally different results. Thanks for thinking I'm sexy, Mergrl. I appreciate it. --fl]

Hmm, I don't think I'm especially sexy, actually. I don't think I'm unusually unsexy, I suppose, but I would never have been answering with the 1 in 9, not now and not when I was a teenager, either. On the other hand, if truth be told, I don't find Brad Pitt all that sexy, either (though Angelina Jolie kind of is); I just tend to use him as an example because I know he's goodlooking and that most of the rest of the world seems to find him sexy, even if for whatever reason I don't.

[I think the key here is "especially sexy." I agree about the Pitt/Jolie examples -- they're certainly attractive people but not the ultimate or only ones -- but I still think people have this mental transaction when they process the question that includes "not compared to..." This compares to, say, people in the top one percent of income who say they're not rich because "they're no Bill Gates." The answer, therefore, needs to be not whether one is exceptionally sexy but whether one is sexy at all. Thanks, Lynn. --fl]

Damn fine shot, I must say first.

Thanks for the pep talk -- at least that's what it was for me. You're right -- I see a higher average, so maybe I need to think more highly of myself.

HHNT.

[That's exactly right, Robin. It's being who we all are it's understandable but not entirely fair (or productive) to hold ourselves to higher standards of attractiveness than we hold others. Thanks. --fl]

Actually, now that I think about it, the thing is that if I were surveyed and asked "do you think you're sexy," I'd assume the question was something like the question "do you think you're strong" (no, I don't, because I think more than half of the population can beat me on how much weight they can bench press), and not one like the question "do you think you're healthy" (yes, I do, because I'm adequately healthy and am well more often than I am sick). So, unless I think most people would say I was sexier than 90% of the rest of the people they know (or at least sexier than 80% of the rest of the people they know), I feel obligated to say no, I'm not sexy. If a lot of people think like me, it's no surprise that only 1 in 9 say they're sexy.

[Again, I think it's a mistake to say yes or no based on your perception of other people. Ordinarily I'm perfectly comfortable with relativism but there are limits. For instance I could imagine being in a room with ten people and answering the question one way, and then being with ten other people and answering differently because one group was more sexy in the aggregate than the other group. It wouldn't make sense though since in both situations I'd be no more and no less objectively sexy (or strong, or healthy, or educated.) (I hope that makes sense.) Thanks, Lynn. --fl]