Look at him over there. Such dark hair and eyes, and those washboard abs. Looks like he’s well over six feet tall. And check out that smile! His eyes are brightened even more when he smiles, as is his entire face and the faces of everyone around him.

Do you think he’s sexy? Would those around you think he is?

“Sexy,” a word fairly recently added to the language, has evolved into a term possessing varied explanations and interpretations fluctuating, sometimes greatly, from the formal definition. The term has quickly become a commodity in everyday language to the extent that it is used to describe not only people, but also material possessions and events. The American Heritage Dictionary defines “sexy” as “arousing or tending to arouse sexual desire or interest.”

“Sexy” has quickly turned into a universal word. In many languages the word is not even translated; the English word is simply used with the same significance as the original definition in English.

While the definition has stayed consistent, the interpretation of what defines and makes something “sexy” has no fixed criteria. My opinion of sexiness may differ, sometimes greatly, from the beliefs of my peers because of my background, especially my culture and my religion.

Given the plentiful diversity on the American University campus, it would be expected that the opinions students on campus have of what “sexy” mean would also be diverse. And indeed they are.

“Sexiness is a culmination of physical appearance, attitude, intelligence, and personality,” student Janice Smith said.

The majority of students interviewed noted physique as the most important factor in their understanding of the word “sexy.” Attributes such as eyes, smile, hair, muscles, dark skin, light skin, blond, brunette, tall, average height, short, skinny, and curves were frequently expressed.

But others used terms such as confidence, attitude, knowledge, and humor to express what they thought was the true meaning of the word.

“Sexy is an attitude, the way you see yourself and present yourself. It’s not defined by the clothes you wear or the way you look,” student Sara Golieb said.

While the term “sexy” likely originated to refer to people, in popular culture it has come to describe almost every aspect of life. Certain types of clothes are “sexy.” Various books can be synopsized as “sexy.” Unique settings (such as parks or beaches) can be described as “sexy.” And popular films and theater productions are considered “sexy.”

Although the media, especially magazines, increasingly present material possessions as examples of what is “sexy” or not, only a few people interviewed indicated that material possessions were stimulating.

“What is sexy depends on each person’s point of view. For me, it’s the body. I’m not into sticks,” an anonymous student said. “I like what I see in magazines and all that, but at the same time it doesn’t always seem real. Models are changed through computers. Real people don’t look like that. It’s all stereotype.”

When asked why this stereotype has come to be, the student responded with a version of the advertising rule-of-thumb, “Sex sells.” Magazine ads, especially, place their products next to “sexy” people, leading readers to try to imitate that sexiness. One dangerous example of this is with the thinness of women represented in the media, the student said.

“People get touchy about girls becoming anorexic and all that, but what do you expect? Television, movies, and magazines are telling them to be like that.”

According to the Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention web site, the media’s portrayal of sex appeal is a big contributor to eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia.

“We are bombarded on a daily basis by images of ‘the perfect body’ as defined by culture and media in the Western world,” the site reads. “It is disheartening to realize that our social norms reinforce extreme thinness as an attractive quality.”

While media tend to have input into individual opinions, they are not always dominant enough to sway the public. In the case of students interviewed for this article, their responses represented every type of physique and character trait imaginable—not just the dominant ones portrayed by the media.

Sexiness is, in any form, a personal ideal. What I consider sexy depends the person’s attitude towards himself and others, his ability to distinguish himself the crowd, the knowledge they possess, and certain physical traits (e.g., the eyes). All four aspects are of equal importance.

Images in the media have never been stimulating for me because they only depict one aspect of the person—physical features. But sexiness is multilateral, a combination of many traits that, only when all put together, constitute “sexy.”

The idea of sexiness in general will always be a controversial one. It will be a matter of personal opinion, bound to change and develop overtime no matter what the newest issue of Vogue magazine might portray.

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