SJP Sexy?

Last week, the actor Sarah Jessica Parker admitted in an interview with Grazia magazine that she was hurt by a list that named her the Unsexiest Woman Alive and her comments were widely reported. "Am I really the unsexiest woman in the world?" she asked. "Wow! It's kind of shocking."When something unflattering is written about a celebrity the typical reaction is to pretend they haven't seen it or to not dignify it with a response, the fact that Sarah Jessica Parker acknowledged the list at all is unusual.

But, the list that she referred to was in Maxim magazine which doesn't really rate an appearance on a measure of things to be legitimately hurt about. It makes no sense at all why Sarah Jessica Parker would take this Maxim list to heart? Why would she expect to fit the ideals of its audience? Why would her husband; Matthew Broderick, also be stunned by her appearance on this list? "It upset him because it has to do with his judgment, too," she said. This I don't understand. Was he always secure in his judgment about her until the Maxim magazine list came along and suddenly forced him to reconsider everything? Did this list really have that kind of impact?

I mean, whatkind of effect can a list expect to have? You never hear someone say, "Well, I used to think the unsexiest woman alive was Madeleine Albright but now that Maxim says its Sarah Jessica Parker, I have to reassess." If a list is seriously going to change someone's opinion, how much weight should that opinion be given? Moreover, the criteria Maxim readers use to define what they consider to be sexy can't be overlooked.

As Carrie Bradshaw, Sarah Jessica Parker inhabits a world where women are in charge, they live free and interesting lives and are asked out by men every day. I can see why none of this would appeal to readers of Maxim. Est Tu Maxim?