We all know about the "it girls", but who are the "it boys"? The answer depends on who you ask
Edie Sedgwick, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, Chloee Sevigny, Paris Hilton, Alexa Chung, and the list goes on. We all know who the it girls are. But what about their male counterparts? Some would name Harry Styles, Timothée Chalamet or Jimin from BTS, but there doesn't seem to be a unified consensus like there is with the it girls. It seems to be merely a list of attractive and fashionable celebrities who are far from possessing the elusive and distinctive uniqueness that those who deserve the title "it" should have. Perhaps part of the problem is that it boy is a fairly new label, created in the age of social media and not comparable to the legendary concept of the it girl, which instead has been defined and changed shape over decades, evolving in parallel with the position of women in that period and the position of mass media.
Who are today's it boys?
If you can't tell a real It Boy by his work, we should cross names like Timothée Chalamet, Jacob Elordi, Penn Badgeley, Bad Bunny, Troye Sivan, Manu Rios and others off the list. Part of the appeal is that you don't really know what these people do, or rather, that they do so many different things at once. Often without distinction and not at a level where they are somehow "overshadowed" and engulfed by such activities. They fall into this pattern: Alton Mason, backup dancer, model and Elvis performer; football player and TikTok star Noah Beck; skateboarder, streetwear influencer and star of the Gossip Girl reboot Evan Mock; actor/artist Paul Hameline; but also Jordan Barrett or Kendall Jenner's friend Fai Khadra.
It boy or just celebrities and cute boys?
To say whether the concept of the It-Boy actually exists is difficult. Maybe it just doesn't match the idea we associate with girls, be it the original one, the 1990s one or the social era one. Some believe that the confusion is due to our different approaches. An it girl is fuelled by the media, by other girls who look at her in an aspirational way and attribute this mysterious pound to her. It's different with men: even if they are a reference point, it's because of a certain quality, be it beauty or talent. Not because of some indefinable attraction. So it's guys who are celebrities or just cute guys who get our hormones vibrating. Where does the truth lie?
