| From a pool of about seven billion, those hard-working | | | | scheming, backstabbing high schoolers." Just what |
| geniuses at People magazine have managed to find | | | | America needs. More future business executives and |
| the hundred most beautiful people in the whole wide | | | | politicians. |
| world. And-get ready for the surprise-almost every | | | | The first few years, when the magazine editors could |
| one of those beautiful people are rich American | | | | find only 50 beautiful people, there was a fairly even |
| celebrities. | | | | split between men and women. This year, about 90 |
| For almost two decades, People's editors believe they | | | | percent are women. Except for six athletes (three |
| have been given the divine right to anoint who they | | | | men and three women), the rest are actors, singers, |
| believe to be the most beautiful people on the planet. | | | | dancers, and models. |
| The ethnocentric celebrity-fawning People editors are | | | | Three years after the first list came out, People |
| so secure in their self-imposed knowledge that they | | | | recognized the elderly. Of course, the elderly were |
| don't even tell us what criteria they used to make their | | | | Paul Newman, Faye Dunaway, and Barbara Babcock. |
| determinations. Not even an "editor's note," common in | | | | This year, there's a special color spread deep in the |
| most magazines. | | | | magazine on pages 174-175 for 40 celebrities, 10 in |
| For the first few years, People etched their version of | | | | each of the categories of 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. |
| reality into our minds by attaching cutesy capsulated | | | | People once selected size 5-foot-11 size14 model |
| biographies to full page color pictures of the most | | | | Emme as a beautiful person. It championed her as |
| beautiful. This year, the writing is minimal, the design is | | | | representative of the "burgeoning large-size modeling |
| almost to the level that a good college journalism or | | | | industry." Of course, these vacuous editors have no |
| graphics arts student could create and, except for a | | | | idea that a size 14 isn't large-it is the average size of |
| few full page and two-page spreads, most pictures | | | | American women. This year, the only large size |
| are no bigger than thumbnail size. | | | | models are in full page ads for Jenny Craig diets and |
| Leading off the 69-page special section is actress | | | | Curvation underwear, which declared, "Style starts with |
| Kate Hudson. Advance stories about her selection | | | | the Side Shaper Underwire bra and shaping panty." |
| appeared in just about every American newspaper | | | | Teachers, social workers, and medical researchers, no |
| and major website, all of which think stories about | | | | matter how beautiful, didn't make this year's cut. But, |
| celebrities are more important than stories about the | | | | they shouldn't worry about it. Neither did Miss America, |
| recession. Also on the list are Taylor Swift, Miley | | | | Miss USA, Miss World, Mr. Universe, or, for that matter, |
| Cyrus, Ashton Kutcher, and Norah Jones. The seven | | | | Miss Crustacean, Ocean City, New Jersey's, salty |
| member cast of TV's "Gossip Girl" made the list. | | | | tribute to hermit crabs, and a spoof of the beauty |
| "Onscreen," People told us, "they are gorgeous, | | | | contest that once inhabited next-door Atlantic City. |