I’ve always thought that Ryan Gosling was a delightful piece of man-candy.
After watching Stay, Half Nelson and Lars and the Real Girl, I was convinced that no celebrity could ever match his level of attractiveness. He’s portrayed a man-whore, a guy who falls in love with a blow-up doll and a junior high school teacher with a drug problem, but you just can’t deny it: he is one sexy, sexy man.
Oh, and he wasn’t so bad in The Notebook.
This summer after seeing Crazy, Stupid Love, my boyfriend admitted that Gosling was indeed a “total hottie.”
Cue my heart exploding with joy.
It wasn’t just that he shared my love for Gosling. Rather, it was the first time I fully realized that one of the seemingly never-ending awkward phases of youth was over. The one where attractive qualities could only be perceived as sexual; the one where jealousy reigned instead of an appreciation for a star.
Celebrity crushes have evolved.
Growing up, I knew a lot of girls who pasted J-14 magazine spreads of shirtless guys on their bedroom walls. When we were nine years old we giggled about kissing a Backstreet Boy or being Jonathan Taylor Thomas’ girlfriend.
Celebrity crushes were sexually charged even at that age – no matter how light on the sexual side. (Hand holding was a big deal, okay?) As I grow older though, star crushes are turning into more of a recognition of beauty and personality than anything.
The end of the awkward phase meant the truth could come out: My name is Julia and I have a girl crush on Natalie Portman.
Celebrity crushes have become less of a teenaged, sexually-tense proclamation and more about recognizing who you’d invite to your dream dinner party. They transcend barriers of gender and sexuality and instead represent characteristics one admires.
My brother recently told me Clive Owen is one of his celebrity crushes.
“He’s just a handsome man,” he said. “Even I can see that.”
Maybe the end of the awkward phase is just a more obvious sign that we’re maturing. We worry less about being judged and feel more confident about our choices.
And ladies, if our choices include dating boys who can appreciate the rugged good looks of men like Ryan Gosling, George Clooney and Michael Fassbender, I think we’re doing just fine.
