How the Grinch became a sex symbol

The New York Times has a, uhh, fascinating new piece on the rising trend of Sexy Grinch Cosplay:

On Instagram, anyone can achieve a similar transformation with a "Cute Grinch" filter created by Manuel Borrero, which adds luminescent green skin, long, curly eyebrows, bright green eyes and thick black lashes to a selfie. Mr. Borrero, who lives in Los Angeles, said he debuted the filter last December, after an earlier, less glamorous Grinch filter he created never took off. "Users want to see a sexified version," he said.

[…]

The memes are part of a broader genre of sexualized Grinch content; it includes video after video of costumed people gyrating and pole-dancing at home, outside and onstage, and has grown from niche into a new kind of Christmastime ritual.

Cosmopolitan also explored the topic, earlier this month:

His personality is kind of endearing. Like every good fuck I've ever known, the Grinch is a jaded sad boy with a tragic backstory, one that has caused him to be defensive and impossible to work with. His bad boy demeanor, something that changes for the better in the end, gives him huge alpha vibes that, scientifically, make him extremely fuckable.

When paired with the love he shows Martha May and Cindy Lou Who, it's clear the Grinch is ultimately someone who's a soft boy looking for love despite his tough exterior. And for that reason, his change of heart in the end adds a layer of fuckability that catapults the Grinch to God Status Sex Appeal. 

Sure, he's a bad boy, but he's an attainable bad boy. The kind who would fuck you in the car right before meeting your mom and dad. 

… and if that's not enough, there's also this glorious button at the end:

If his heart grew three sizes that day, just imagine what his dick can do. 

You're a thirst trap, Mr. Grinch …

How the Sexy Grinch spiced up Christmas [Valeriya Safronova / New York Times]

An In-Depth Analysis on Why the Grinch Is So Freaking F*ckable [Meggie Gates / Cosmopolitan]

Image: Prayitno Hadinata / Flickr (CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Full disclosure: I also write for the Wirecutter, which is part of the New York Times Company, which publishes the New York Times.