Amazing, isn't it? I mean, I'm sure the dude was adorable in his youth, but that isn't exactly what I would call a Greek God and objectively sexy. Admittedly, I've been struggling to summon any picture of Grey in my mind simply because for all the fawning description, there is no character there. He has sculpted lips/jaw/cheeks and eyes that can shoot lasers of contempt and rage and he's kinda fuzzy? He can also look super preppy and kind of bad-ass? But those (to me) are largely carried by the personality so how does this- augh.
Any mental image I can summon of him are kind of hazy poster-boy type things. Seeing this picture made me realize why I've had such a hard time picturing him.
See the dude in the first half of the picture? My brain recognizes he is conventionally attractive, but thinks he looks kind of weird and alien. I am repeatedly being told I should find Grey super-sexy but I'm a little strange, I can't find someone super sexy on the outside unless I think they're funny. No, that isn't a joke or an exaggeration. That isn't to say I'm into anyone who I think is funny (I would be unable to be monogamous and have friends if I was) simply that humor and personality play a big role in my attraction to people.* I struggle to summon a picture of Grey's face, I do not struggle to picture his personality. Which is where the divide comes from (for me). I struggle to find Grey's personality anything but awful, which means I'm just not going to be into it.
Which brings me onto Grey being Objectively Beautiful. I just don't think there can be such a thing as objective beauty, and what EL James is trying so forcefully and desperately to portray is conventional beauty, which is a very different thing, and still changes drastically from one period of time and place to another.
Also don't forget to cast your vote for what you'd like to see the Something Short and Snappy book club to read!
*This has served me so well.
