The New Hunks

There’s been a recent spate of movies that put women and female sexuality front and center: Babygirl, The Substance and Anora.

At the same time (and what’s equally noteworthy), is that there’s been a new crop of young male actors who are often the objects of female (or gay male) attention and who defy the muscular stereotype of yore.

In Babygirl, Nicole Kidman plays a powerful executive who falls under the spell of a kinky young intern, played by Harris Dickinson. While it’s somewhat shocking to see an A-list actress like Kidman completely naked (see also Demi Moore in The Substance), what may be equally noteworthy is the attention paid to Dicksinon, particularly in an extended slow dance scene to the tune of George Michael’s “Father Figure.”

Harris Dickinson in Babygirl

In Queer, Drew Starkey is the object gay writer Daniel Craig's attention. I’ve already written about how the camera lingers over Starkey’s naked body, illustrating Craig’s desire.

Drew Starkey in Queer

The New Hunk is tall and lean (and occasionally tattooed), unlike the steroid-enhanced gym bunnies of just a few years ago. (Hi, John Cena!)

Of course, the prototype of the New Hunk may be Jacob Elordi, who burst onto the scene in Euphoria and subsequently was the obsession of the nerdy character played by Barry Keoghan in Saltburn. (To be fair, Keoghan’s character in the movie is actually bisexual.)

Jacob Elordi in Saltburn

What’s also notable about this new crop of sexually frank films is that many of them were directed by women (Babygirl’s Halina Reijn, The Substance's Coralie Fargeat, Saltburn’s Emerald Fennell) or gay men (Queer’s Luca Guadagnino*). They also tend to be produced by upstart, independent companies like A24 and Neon.

All of these films represent a welcome departure from the typical heterosexual male point of view.

*While Luca Guadagnino has been in a long-term relationship with Ferdinando Cito Filomarino, he has not publicly identified his sexuality.