Why IS Ryan Gosling so sexy?

No, this isn't a gratuitous post about attractive actors... this post is the result of a discussion I was having both on- and off-line about why Ryan Gosling is so sexy. And that conversation arose because I was trying to describe what made a character sexy - they weren't good-looking, but yet they had a definite appeal.

Now, I understand that many people will disagree with me on this, but I don't find Ryan Gosling classically good-looking. But, I do find him sexy as hell. Mind you, when I Googled "What is considered good looking" (hoping to find a line-diagram of what is considered good-looking), the first image that came up was of Ryan Gosling, so what do I know?

From: https://www.kisspng.com/png-golden-ratio-face-mathematics-decagon-facial-1115755/

According to a variety of (not entirely scientific) sites, key features that make a male face attractive, include a square jaw, stubble, high cheekbones, thick eyebrows, fuller lips, a symmetrical face, a higher facial width to height ratio (i.e. a wider face rather than long face)... and I'm not 100% convinced that if you did a photo-fit with those characteristics, you'd come up with Ryan Gosling's face. I think his jaw isn't all that square and some might argue his eyes are a bit too close. That said, there was an article in Marie Claire that took a variety of facial measurements and came up with the 'top 10' men, and apparently, Ryan Gosling has a perfect nose... (the article is here, if you're interested). The slightly odd image above is one which creates a face from various ratios/ measurements, based on the Golden Ratio (though I'm fairly sure you can create any measurements you want from that, to make it fit your theories of beauty...).

At this point, after trying to research what was considered an attractive face, Ryan Gosling had appeared on so many lists, that I've accepted that I'm wrong, and he is classically good-looking... but, that still doesn't answer why some men (and women) are not necessarily physically attractive, but yet are sexy as hell. There are a number of actors (male and female) that I think are incredibly sexy, but not necessarily handsome/pretty and I've genuinely been trying to think what it is about them that's appealing. Likewise, there are several good-looking men and women that I think aren't sexy at all.

I can't say that I've come up with an amazing list for you. The biggest things (for me, at least) are their smile and how active their eyes are - do they move their brows? Is there a look of mischief in their eyes? Do any lines on their face indicate that they smile more than they frown? Do they appear warm and genuine? Are they quietly confident, rather than overtly so? Do they seem happy in their skin?

What do others find appealing? If you were describing why someone was sexy, what would you include? As writers, there's the mantra 'show don't tell' - how would you show that someone was sexy, rather than telling the reader? Drop me your thoughts in the comments?

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