The writer Alberto Olmos, a brilliant columnist, has had the idea, almost the temerity for these times, to write a book about hot chicks. More than about hot aunts, about hot aunts: about the concept itself as an anthropological phenomenon to which no one, neither men nor women, remains oblivious. A hilarious and essential essay (“Two years ago it was bullshit and now I have it here, with 300 pages. That’s wonderful”). A singular occurrence that does not leave you indifferent.
It seems almost reckless nowadays to title a book “Hot Aunt.”
Why it is called that is one of the things I have found out after writing it: because everyone understands it. When a man sees a spectacular woman, what comes to mind is a “hottie.” It is the exact verbal shortcut, the reflection of female erotic capital in the male gaze. She could not be titled “feminine beauty,” nor “flag-bearing women.” It had to be titled “Hot Aunt.”
And the look is important for the hottie.
As I wrote it, everything referred to him. Chanel appeared on television, the television presenters were all pretty and young, the politicians too, the songs talked about hot chicks… It is a topic that seems frivolous but is, in reality, everyday life. And so broad, that I decided to limit myself to the nuance of the look: seeing pretty girls what they provoke in men and why some women want to provoke that. And I realized that in almost every environment (a company, a bar, a classroom) there is always a woman who plays that role; that every day, in that environment, she decides that, when they look at her, others think “how good she is.”
So it’s a choice.
Completely. It does not depend on good genetics. It’s a way of being, a way of speaking, a way of acting, that makes you be the hot chick. It is mere will. And then there is a lot of tricks at the service of it: clothes, makeup, filters…
When does a woman decide that she wants to be a good aunt?
There is a moment in puberty when girls realize that they have a kind of power, and that if they cut their necks and fit, and are not chubby, suddenly the men on the street look at them, people treat them better. , men get nervous. And they understand that they have something that others want and that they can manage in their favor. And it’s very difficult to give that up. Even with all the current feminism, the rare thing is that a twenty-year-old girl who has realized this puts on jeans and a t-shirt and goes out into the street like that. Because she knows that, if she is cute, the guy on the bus will wait for her outside the stop, the guy who has the bar full will let her in, the guy who is closing the store will serve her… When faced with a very cute girl, we men turn very stupid
So, value is in the look of man.
Men look at women and women look at themselves being watched. There is a desire to be looked at.
Doesn’t it conflict with current feminism?
This conflict between feminism and biology has been resolved by saying that, if a girl wants to look stunning and exactly the way men like it, that is also feminism. And she is already there. Because if not, it doesn’t work: they would have to recognize that she is giving value to the man’s gaze. For a girl to decide to show her navel or cleavage means drawing attention to her, making everyone notice her and judge her. There is some benefit, obviously, and some harm. And today no one has given up on that. There is no ideology or discourse that goes against that because they would conflict.
What if the hottie wants to be valued for something more than her physique?
It would be as if Messi wanted to be valued for something more than the quality of his game. I’m not interested in your feelings, Messi, or if you cook well. I’m sorry. This is how the world works today, and the obsession with physicality can create a huge void. But you have managed to look very good, killing yourself in the gym, dressing sexy, putting on makeup at all hours, and now you want us to value you for something more. Well, it’s complicated, especially for men, if what you propose from the start is “look how hot I am.”
The hot uncle is then not analogous to the hot aunt.
The difference is that any man with any physique, if he achieves a level of social success, is attractive to all the hotties. Man, by biological imperative, has the advantage that at fifty years old, with a certain personality and a certain striking professional status, he is very attractive to very pretty young girls.