Page 2 / News, Trends, Gossip and Stuff To Do : Express Yourself : It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than 10

On the 20th anniversary of the movie “10,” it might be time to consider how some expressions work their way into the national lexicon. All it takes is one cultural event and soon everyone understands the meaning of a new phrase. “Ten,” as a rating for women, is such a term. We won’t even debate here the obnoxious objectifying employed in grading a woman on her looks alone. But like it or not, people do it.

Everyone knows that a woman who’s a 10 is perfect in appearance, as good as it gets, on a scale that ranges from one to 10. The concept was popularized in 1979, thanks to “10,” the Blake Edwards comedy in which Dudley Moore pursued Bo Derek. In fact, Derek in a bathing suit and cornrows was Moore’s vision of an 11, and the movie’s message was that 10s are rarely a satisfying choice, even for a man in the throes of a midlife crisis. Nevertheless, the popular film’s title put “10” into wide circulation as a label meaning knockout.

Has the concept of what rates a 10 changed in 20 years? Is Michelangelo’s David still a hunk? Some things aren’t greatly altered by time. A 10 is still an ideal of youth, beauty and sexual availability. And, while we hate to be a killjoy about it, the truth is that certain models and actresses are groomed and trained to project those qualities. A wise man doesn’t confuse them with real, flesh-and-blood women, but the ideal still serves its purpose.

So Derek, as she is preserved on celluloid, would undoubtedly still be a 10. The rating would probably not apply to her as the beautiful but mature woman she is today. Once a year or so, People magazine will celebrate beauteous babes older than 40, (“Gee! 41 and still desirable,” they seem to be saying). Yes, Rene Russo is one hot mama, but the norm is that a 10 be younger than 40.

Following the criteria established two decades ago, there are lots of contemporary goddesses who could earn the number, including Elizabeth Hurley, Jennifer Lopez and models Heidi Klum and Laetitia Casta. Hurley has class going for her, in addition to a sense of humor about herself. Lopez has the extra dazzle that talent and confidence provide. Klum and Casta are models with pretty faces and extraordinary bodies. Enough said.

Perhaps the only good thing about the rating is that one rarely hears lesser grades. A beauty might be described as a perfect 10, but it’s unlikely her less lovely sister would be called a 6. The top grade is impressive, the stuff of dreams. Anything else doesn’t seem to be worth talking about.