People shocked after seeing ‘pathetic’ list claiming to show the five ‘unsexiest women alive’ in 2007
Back in 2007, Maxim magazine decided it was a good idea (spoiler: it wasn’t) to release a list of who they deemed to be the 'Unsexiest Women Alive'.
Perfectly epitomising peak Y2K media misogyny, the legacy of the list is still leaving many people shocked to this day - despite being nearly two decades old now.
It resurfaced on social media once again after one Reddit user shared it to the platform, prompting a number of people to hit out over the 'ridiculously cruel' ordeal.
So, without further ado, let's get into what Maxim said about just a handful of the famous celebs they included on the, frankly, totally heinous rundown.
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Sarah Jessica Parker
Yep, the Carrie Bradshaw herself was crowned number one with Maxim claiming she was the 'least sexy in a group of very unsexy women'.
As if that wasn't sh*tty enough, the outlet then took it a step further and compared her looks to a horse - rhetoric which has been a running, and cruel, 'joke' for decades now.
Considering she was the face of Sex and the City, the irony couldn’t be louder.
"How the hell did this [racehorse] Barbaro-faced broad manage to … star on a show with ‘sex’ in the title?" the listing read, as per News.com.au.
Amy Winehouse
Despite being hailed to this day as one of the most talented vocalists of her generation, the 'Tears Dry On Their Own' singer was reduced to cheap insults about her hair and body. The magazine slammed her 'rat’s nest mane' and even her signature eyeliner look.
Amy, who died four years later of alcohol poisoning, was blasted for what Maxim branded her 'openly haemorrhaging translucent skin, rat’s nest mane and lashes that look more like surgically attached bats'.
Sandra Oh
Before she became everyone’s fan-favourite in Grey’s Anatomy and Killing Eve, the actress found herself on this list purely for not fitting Hollywood’s narrow beauty ideals.
Maxim also snarled over her allegedly 'cold bedside manner and boyish figure'.
This particular inclusion on the heinous list left many rightfully outraged and pointing to how racist and misogynistic this pick really was.
Madonna
Even the bloody Queen of Pop wasn't shielded from Maxim's tyranny as she was mocked for just, you know, being so dare as to age in public.
At the time, she was pushing boundaries with her music and stage presence, but Maxim decided her muscles and style made her 'unsexy'.
"Self-righteous bellyaching and rapid postnuptial deterioration," is how the outlet branded the 'Like a Virgin' music sensation, likening her to Nosferatu actor Willem Dafoe.
Britney Spears
Bear in mind, this list came out in 2007 - yes, the same year that Britney was going through her infamous breakdown.
And instead of showing a little empathy, the media piled on with the lad mag calling her 'unsexy' because of her weight fluctuations and tabloid drama.
Maxim said Britney was 'filling chicken-grease-stained sweatpants on the cover of every trashy tabloid and gossip blog on the Internet' and had 'gained two kids, two useless ex-husbands, and about 23 pounds of Funyun pudge', per Pajiba.
The bottom line
As shocking as the list may be, it's important to remember that this highly insulting and degrading way men and the media in general have been discussing women's bodies didn't take place all that long ago.
Instead of just providing simple shock value, it should serve as a reminder to ensure any further commentary like this gets called out and shut down before it can ever get the same traction it did back in 2007 - a cautionary tale, if you will.
Rhiannon Ingle