It boy
An "it boy" is an attractive young man who is perceived to have both sex appeal and a personality that is especially engaging. The term was coined as the male equivalent of an "it girl".
History
In 1950, actress Clara Bow, for who the term "it girl" was coined, identified Robert Mitchum as an it man. In 1995, Entertainment Weekly referred to Leonardo DiCaprio as "Hollywood's 'It' Boy" because of his "blazing talent and dashing baby-faced looks – a combination of the mystic and the mischievous – that have the praise faucets gushing buckets".In 2024, Vox published an article titled "Every Hollywood 'it' boy is a white guy," criticizing the entertainment industry for focusing almost exclusively on white actors in the 2020s.
Examples
2010s
- BTS, South Korean boy brand founded in 2010.
- Timothée Chalamet, American and French actor.
2020s
- Yeonjun, South Korean singer, songwriter and dancer.
- Jack Schlossberg American political commentator and author.
- Bach Buquen, French influencer and model.
- Jacob Elordi, Australian actor.
- Callum Turner, English actor.
- Romeo Beckham, English model, son of David and Victoria.
- Manu Ríos, Spanish actor and singer.