It boy

For the 2013 film, see It Boy. For the song by bbno$, see It Boy (song).

An "it boy" (sometimes "it man") 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".

Robert Mitchum was one of the first male movie stars to be labeled an "it man" in 1950s.

History

In 1950, actress Clara Bow, for who the term "it girl" was coined, identified Robert Mitchum as an it man.^[1] 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".^[2][3]

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.^[4] This phenomenon has also been coined 'Twitter's White Boy of the Month' online.^[5] Names often associated with this trend include Jacob Elordi, Paul Mescal, Jeremy Allen White, Robert Pattinson, Josh O’Connor, Matty Healy and Logan Lerman.^[6][7]

Examples

2010s

South Korean boy-band BTS was called an "It boy" band by Billboard in 2017.^[8] In 2018, Vanity Fair referred to Timothée Chalamet as an 'It' Boy".^[9] In 2019, Jimin was first called "it boy" for his role in the world of fashion by the Spanish website Flooxer Now and described as such by other media.^[10][11]

2020s

In 2021, Teen Vogue referred to Yeonjun, as "K-pop's fourth-generation 'It' boy" due to his participation in New York Fashion Week.^[12]

In 2024, American journalist Jack Schlossberg has been described by Politico as an "internet it-boy",^[13] and by the New York Post as "political it-boy".^[14] Jin was named a 'fashion 'It' boy' by Elle.^[15]

Gallery

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  Robert Mitchum
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  BTS
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  Jimin
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  Jin
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  Timothée Chalamet
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  Yeonjun
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  Jack Schlossberg