Love & Sex

So People dropped its annual Sexiest Man Alive list and leading the parade of eye candy is Bradley Cooper (cue the harps and choral angelic music). He is a hottie, oh yes indeedy he is, but he doesn’t wear the crown for all male fineness. There are a heap of men who are sexy — even if you have to appreciate them from afar because they have bodyguards and stuff. These celebs demonstrate qualities that make a man swoon-worthy:

Usher and I grew up together, so to speak. He was one of the many tween boy crushes I professed my love to when I was young. I’m not ashamed to admit that I had a poster of him next to my bed that I actually kissed goodnight. All the things that made him the object of my desire back then still stand true today: a guy who can sing and dance is hot.

Mos Def may not seem like the typical heartthrob but he’s loaded with sexy. First of all, there’s his Brooklyn accent. That’s an appetizer to his intelligence, which amps his loveability. I fell in love with him when I heard him say “the upper echelons of academia.” Phew. Fan me. 

George Clooney is the total package: handsome, charming, and confident, and I hear he’s a good actor, though I can’t rightly remember seeing him in anything besides ER. His passion for social issues also makes him sexy. It’s one thing to be hot and rich. It’s another to have a heart.

Idris Elba will always be on any list I write about hot guys. Typically, if I see a bandwagon is already crowded, I’ll hop on another and ra-ra someone else instead. But I’m right in there with the legions of other ladies holding a fantasy love affair with his debonair wonderfulness.

Mario Lopez has adorable dimples. Mario Lopez has an impressive collection ofmuscles. Mario Lopez has flexing his around-the-way-boy brand of sexy since Saved By the Bell, which — can we be honest? — was way corny, even as kids’ shows in the 90s went. Yet Slater made the 30 minutes worthwhile, curly mullet and all.

Ryan Gosling makes me watch The Notebook when it’s on and between TNT and TBS, that is all. the. time. He’s got quiet, laid-back appeal, like the guy who only talked when he had something snarky to say in high school. And I always liked the guy who only talked when he had something snarky to say in high school.

Lance Gross is the best thing about House of Payne. I love Tyler Perry’s movies but his TV shows leave me feeling empty. If I mute the volume, I can feast my eyes on Lancey Poo in peace, indulging in his heart-melting smile and beautiful, chocolatey complexion. Hell, I might even buy it on DVD just to have regular access to him.  

Josh Duhamel smolders and I don’t even think he tries to. And that kind of accidental, who-me? hotness is a hundred times more sexy that the rehearsed sexy that publicists and managers try so hard to bring out of their clients.

Will Smith was cute in the 90s as The Fresh Prince and he’s cute now as a blockbuster maker. Any role that requires him to wear a tank top makes the movie worthwhile, but even in a Styrofoam superhero suit, his fun-loving personality and sense of humor add to his mmm hmm.

Djimon Honsu is deep and introspective. I love a guy I can engage in heated debate with who can teach me new things.  

Trey Songz is too young for me. But that doesn’t mean my values wouldn’t buckle like a cheap card table if I had a chance to stand next to him. Watch the “I Invented Sex” video if you don’t know why. 

T.I. clearly has trouble staying out of trouble, but that wanna-do-right-but-keep-doing-wrong conflict is the essence of his swagger and bad boy flavor. But at his core, he’s generous — he’s always giving back to his community.

Anderson Cooper impresses me as a fellow journo with his commitment to getting his story, no matter what. But he does it with a sensitivity to the subject matter that makes it obvious that he’s not just self-serving. Integrity is sexy. Plus he’s just cute, plain and simple.  

What qualities make a man sexy to you?

Image via tixgirl, Bouzardphoto, DASANIPlantModelFashionShow, mikeyallswell, Daniel Ogren/Flickr