There’s a Montreal magazine called Urbania, that happens to have its offices in the same location CloudRaker is, so we often share and comnunicate amongst ourselves. Such occurence happened today, and left me thoughtful. They will be coming out with a new issue shortly, and I’m assuming – wildly – that it will be something about beautiful ladies. So, they emailed everyone a simple question: “Who is Quebec’s female sex symbol?”

It may sound easy or obvious, but I assure you it is not so! Wikipedia defines “sex symbol” as such:

A sex symbol is a famous person of either gender, typically an actor, musician, model, teen idol, or sports star who is found to be sexually attractive by the public or by a substantial niche audience. The celebrity “star system”—the tabloid papers, paparazzi, and gossip talk shows — play an important role in creating and sustaining the public perception of which stars are viewed as attractive. These media industries are in turn sustained by a strong public demand for sexually alluring photographs or footage of celebrities, including both posed, scantily-clad publicity shots for magazines like Maxim and unauthorized beach or nightclub photos taken by pararazzi with zoom lenses.

Obviously, Quebec is not the United States: we have very little paparazzis, beaches and international celebrities. So I started thinking about who I thought was worthy of being labeled as a nation’s sexual symbol. The problem with that is pretty fast to emerge: it’s all a matter of taste. And I don’t mean taste like “I like brunettes more than blondes”, but rather one’s influence, how much one watches television, goes to sponsored parties, hang out in celebrity spots and such. There’s also a big factor to consider: generation. older people are not necessarily in touch with today’s young rising starlets, and they tend to stick with a fantasy that has stuck with them throughout the years, dating back from the days they actually paid attention to such things (on a more serious level anyway). So I made my own personal list, sent it to the editor and then figured it would be amusing to ask around and see who the people I know deem sex-symbolism worthy.

My personal choices, along with the ones I found along the way after the jump.

Marie-Mai Bouchard

Bianca Beauchamp

Rachelle Lefèvre

Izabelle Desjardins

Jessica Paré

Bianca Gervais

Anne-Marie Withenshaw

Mahée Paiement

Maxim Roy

Elisha Cuthbert

Mariloup Wolfe

Caroline Dhavernas

Julie Couillard

Caroline Néron

Véronique Cloutier

Karine Vanasse

With those helpers at hand, can you confidently say you have a favorite? Have I missed any that should be here? I can’t make up my mind as to which one of those ladies is the prettiest – but that’s not the hard part, I’d happily stare and evaluate them all day, but it’s a national title we’re talking about here! We’re saying to the world “Okay world. We’re Quebec. This lady here is the prettiest of our ladies, and she’s authorized to represent the women of Quebec on any physical basis” – that’s big! I can’t wait to see who they actually pick. I wonder if they’ll make a poll or something. Anyway, there is a Facebook Group and a Reddit thread to discuss this, the ultimate goal is obviously to let the fine folks at Urbania know your feelings, so drop them an email with your answer at sexe@urbania.ca! Feel free to post your personal nominees for our next Quebec sex symbol here as well!

Edit: I have just found out about one serious potential contestant. Misa Campo! I had no idea she was from Quebec, but she was born in Montreal, and, well, just look at those pictures! She’s clearly Quebecoise. Click on thumbnails for full sized glory. More pictures of her delicious self here, here and here (some may be NSFW). Who knew Filipino and Dutch was such a delightful mix?

Misa Campo

Misa Campo

Misa Campo

Misa Campo