Needs Help: Pretty Boy

It's not outright bad, but Avatar being what it is, the character seems to comply a bit more with the Bishōnen aesthetic than the western Pretty Boy one. (This is one of the main reasons why I don't like the tropes being split the way they are, but that's a different discussion.)

Do you think we could find a more traditional example?

edited 7th Jan '13 2:58:07 PM by TropeEater

I don't mind the current, but as an alternative, what about Legolas? 1, 2◊

How about going back a ways, to one of the earliest movie Pretty Boys, Tony Curtis:

edited 7th Jan '13 4:05:27 PM by Madrugada

...Maybe this is me, but he doesn't look that pretty.

Pretty Boy is not "androgynous". Does he look "ruggedly handsome" or "typically masculine"?

edited 7th Jan '13 4:29:51 PM by Madrugada

The current image is bad. I can't tell if that's a man or woman. The suggestions don't make it clear that we're supposed to see him as pretty. If there were girls fawning over him in the background that would help.

Actually, yes? To the latter, at least. (I agree he wouldn't be 'ruggedly handsome' even if he managed to grow Perma-Stubble.)

I think #3 is the best choice so far. It illustrates the trope better than Lego Lasse.

#2.2 is fine, but #3 is better as it's illustrative (though I thought the trope was just "western bishie" at first) and a less common example.

edited 7th Jan '13 11:15:09 PM by Telcontar

I can live with 3, although I don't get "pretty" from him like the others.

3 looks kind of looks like a girl. Leo◊ would be better with that hair and that smile.

I think he looks more like a girl than #3.

Yeah, Leo to me fits more than 3.

What about Chase◊? He doesn't look like a girl but he's still pretty.

He's usually pretty. That's not it. That fuzz just looks weird on him.

I thought about Chase when this first came up, but that's not a good pic...first or second season was when he was at his prettiest.

I notice there are quite a lot of links to images in the page examples (...some of which might better suit another trope, but nevertheless).

It's true. The page makes it clear that this is not the same thing as Dude Looks Like a Lady. If that's what an example is then it shouldn't be on the page. We're trying to find a picture that looks pretty but still like a guy.

First or second season like [1]◊ [2]◊ or [3]◊?

I still like #3 more. That one emphasises his prettyness rather than just being a shot of someone some people think is pretty.

I am leaning towards 3. I do not find that guy particularly attractive, but he does the best job of illustratining the supposed difference between this trope and bishonen.

Although some of the examples seem contradictory to our purported "difference", I suppose that is not Image Pickin work.

edited 9th Jan '13 11:56:48 AM by willthiswork

3 is too cute to be pretty. (I figured out how to articulate my dissatisfaction!) The most solid adjectives in the description are 'slender', 'slight', and 'fine facial features'. 3 is none of those.

(Separated to avoid double-post)

Here are some images linked from the page itself that seem plausible:

• Franco Corelli◊
• Gregory Peck◊
• Ezra Miller
• Syd Barrett◊
• Sauron◊ (Source?)

edited 9th Jan '13 5:45:37 PM by Noaqiyeum

I thought about that, but I think he looks too stylished and neat to be cute.

As for the other suggestions, the only one remotely close to illustrating the trope is Gregory. They're otherwise just subjectively pretty.

edited 9th Jan '13 5:58:46 PM by AnotherDuck

Since when is good grooming incompatible with cuteness? o_O

How is pretty incompatible with cute?

edited 9th Jan '13 6:32:05 PM by AnotherDuck

The same way ornate is incompatible with elegant? See next page.

edited 9th Jan '13 7:30:48 PM by Noaqiyeum