Nearly two decades after its publication, Maxim Magazine’s now-infamous “Uns*xiest Women Alive” list is back in the spotlight, and the backlash is even more severe today than it was in 2007.
Originally published as a twisted counterpoint to the men’s magazine’s annual “Hot 100” rankings, the list is being called “shockingly cruel,” “sexist,” and “shameful” by outraged readers online after it resurfaced in a viral Reddit thread.
At the top of the list was S*x and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker, with Maxim holding nothing back when describing their reasoning.
“How the hell did this [horse] Barbaro-faced broad manage to be the least attractive woman in a group of very unattractive women and still star on a show with ‘s*x’ in the title?” the article infamously asked.
‘Cruel’ Maxim top 5 list stunned readers by displaying intense body shaming and sexism
Image credits: Maxim
In a later interview with Grazia, the actress expressed how hurtful the piece had been at the time.
“Am I really the most unattractive woman in the world?” she asked. “Wow! It’s kind of shocking. It’s so brutal in a way, so filled with rage and anger.”
Image credits: Getty / Bravo
The list, which appeared in Maxim’s October 2007 issue, has since been scrubbed from the internet, but not before it was widely reported and archived by several outlets, such as Today and Pajiba.
Image credits: Wikimedia Commons
Coming in at number two was the late singer Amy Winehouse, who would pass away just four years later at the age of 27.
Maxim was brutal in describing her appearance, talking about her body as if describing a corpse.
The article said that Winehouse had “openly hemorrhaging translucent skin, rat’s nest mane and lashes that look more like surgically attached bats.”
The list was widely panned when it was first published and has since been scrubbed from the internet
Image credits: Getty / Gareth Cattermole
Sandra Oh, then best known for her role as Dr. Cristina Yang on Grey’s Anatomy, was ranked number three and attacked for her “cold bedside manner and boyish figure.”
Madonna, at the time 49 years old, was listed at number four, with the magazine claiming her “self-righteous bellyaching and rapid postnuptial deterioration” had rendered her “uns*xy,” and then comparing her to “Willem Dafoe with hot flashes.”
Image credits: Instagram / iamsandraohinsta
Finally, Britney Spears was named number five, with Maxim mocking her weight gain, her divorce from Kevin Federline, and her public breakdowns.
“Filling chicken-grease-stained sweatpants on the cover of every trashy tabloid and gossip blog on the Internet,” the magazine wrote, adding she had “gained two kids, two useless ex-husbands, and about 23 pounds of Funyun pudge.”
Image credits: Instagram / iamsandraohinsta
The editorial tone throughout the article was supposedly trying to evoke a satirical roast but was delivered with such mean-spiritedness that even at the time, many considered it a misfire.
Image credits: Instagram / madonna
Following its release, the list was thoroughly criticized for being in poor taste and stunningly sexist.
“Everyone engaged in this circle of human bear-baiting, with this handful of women held up as the acceptable targets,” said Pajiba writer Kayleigh Donaldson.
“The word ‘trainwreck’ had never been more utilized in the media vernacular.”
Many took the list as proof of how hostile the early 2000s were to women in entertainment
Image credits: Instagram / madonna
While the author of the list was never revealed, the fact that it was released in a publication aimed specifically at a male audience was seen as an example of how hostile to women the media landscape was in the early 2000s.
“We don’t talk enough about how ridiculously cruel the 2000s were to women’s bodies,” one user wrote. “Jessica Simpson could not dare to add half a pound without some low life tabloid turning it to the headline.”
Image credits: Getty / David Crotty
Others reflected on the selection, seeing it as proof of the harmful beauty standards the entertainment industry pushed at the time.
“So, two Jewish women with prominent noses, an Asian woman, a 49-year-old woman, and a woman who had recently aged out of her sexy-baby marketing,” the user wrote.
“Let’s call it like it is: none of these women fit into the young, white, blonde, small-nosed, big-breasted, flat-stomached, and barely legal category, so sadly I’m not surprised,” another added.
While Maxim has yet to publicly address the renewed outrage, the fact that links to the original slideshow have long since disappeared from the internet is perhaps its own kind of admission.
Despite their efforts, the decision to publicize the list continues to haunt them to this day.
“Disgusting.” The list continues to outrage readers almost 20 years after it was released
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