Surprise greets IOP 'sexy' rating

Publication says beach one of 6 sexiest in U.S.

The Post and Courier
Thursday, June 18, 2009


Could a beach, not Justin Timberlake, actually be bringing sexy back?

Is Isle of Palms, the beach where they turn out the lights at night to protect nesting sea turtles and tried to ban sand castles as a public hazard, the definition of sexy?

photo

The Post and Courier

Vacationers on the Isle of Palms. Of Maxim's rating of the beach as one of the country's six sexiest, Mayor Dick Cronin said, 'Good golly.'

According to the men at Maxim magazine, it is. They recently voted Isle of Palms one of America's six sexiest beaches.

Huh? Isle of Palms? The place where SpongeBob arm floaties are the latest trend, and there are one-piece bathing suits, not bikinis, as far as the eye can see.

According to Maxim, "This seven-mile-long and one-mile-wide barrier island has pristine beaches littered with smoking-hot rich ladies lured in by high-end shops all over the island. It's like chum for sharks. (Sharks who are into really expensive handbags.)"

Are they talking about the same beach that has drawn families for

decades? The place where women are more likely to carry diaper bags than Gucci ones.

Anyone who has visited the island can assert that the shopping is best at the Red & White Grocery Store. And unless oversized T-shirts decorated with palm trees or cheap plastic platform flip-flops are now considered high fashion, there seems to be something odd about this assessment.

No one was more surprised about the rating than Isle of Palms Mayor Dick Cronin.

"Good golly. This is totally unexpected. Well, I guess they must have been doing their rating when the City Council squared off against the Charleston Police Department in a volleyball game at the Windjammer."

The serene, kid-friendly beach more than makes up for the lack of shopping, but it leaves one wondering why Maxim, the trendy magazine targeted at men in their 20s and 30s, chose to highlight shopping as the sexiest part of Isle of Palms instead of the Windjammer's ocean-side volleyball court. There, fit shirtless guys serve aces while girls lounge on the sidelines cheering.

Rex Porter, a bartender at the Windjammer, said, "Isle of Palms definitely is sexy because there are always beautiful girls coming in and out of the Windjammer, and there are volleyball players constantly enjoying the court outside."

When Dan Bova, executive editor of Maxim, was asked what high-end shops the magazine referred to, he had the good grace to reply, "Our editorial GPS may seem to be broken, but the gift shop at the Holiday Inn Express ... where else can you buy a $9 tube of toothpaste?" Bova also said that they meant Charleston's shops when referring to "the high-end shops all over the island."

Hmm. In this case, "Isle" means island, and Charleston's shops are 15 miles away.

Maxim needs to check its GPS. Maybe it's aimed at the wrong satellite.

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Comments

goosecreek_guy (anonymous) says...

Somewhere in South Carolina has positive press and a local tries to make it fodder... good job. Isle of Palms could easily classify as sexy with all of the beach goers. Charleston shops aren't that much of a stretch. So, good for the Isle of Palms and way to mess it up for the author of this article.

June 18, 2009 at 3:33 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

mb300sl (anonymous) says...

IOP has two great golf courses...FORE!

June 18, 2009 at 6:51 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

dogwoodroad (anonymous) says...

seriously? there aren't words...

June 18, 2009 at 7:14 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

postman01 (anonymous) says...

Utterly retarded. Beaches are not and can never be sexy. Humans, as opposed to beaches, can.

June 18, 2009 at 9:35 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

eatmorecollards (anonymous) says...

Maybe we could change the name of Isle of Palms to Carmel East.

There is a couple of golf courses.

June 18, 2009 at 9:36 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

maeko (anonymous) says...

this is just kinda weird. what's sexy about $9 toothpaste or expensive handbags, or city council vs the police dept.?
why do they want to "chum" for "smoking-hot rich ladies"? does the head count of females on a beach mean a beach is sexy?

...i dunno, seems like a bunch of creeps or something.

June 18, 2009 at 10:06 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

will2297 (anonymous) says...

I find this so hilarious. My boyfriend and I were just remarking this Saturday, as we sat out on Folly Beach, how much slimmer everyone is there compared to IOP. Seems like all you see when you go to IOP are a ton of kids and obese parents. Yuck! What in the world could possibly be sexy about that?

June 18, 2009 at 12:04 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

counterpoint (anonymous) says...

http://www.the-windjammer.com/bikini....

June 18, 2009 at 12:55 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

FlipFlop (anonymous) says...

Is "everyone" really slimmer on Folly? Wow. You are just as observant as the dude who wrote this crappy article. Remove the dreads from your face, put down the Natty Light, and notice that people are actually out and about doing things. It's a clean beach and town with plenty to do. Much to love about IOP.

June 18, 2009 at 1:05 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

craigdelk (anonymous) says...

F IOP

June 18, 2009 at 1:55 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

iopflygirl (anonymous) says...

Counterpoint... really?

And nobody tried to "ban sandcastles". They just don't want any huge holes left that baby turtles could be trapped in or people could fall into and break a leg while walking on the beach at night. Way to go, P&C, you sure do know how to insert your opinion where facts should be. Still, it sure is hard to believe that IOP would be anywhere near "sexiest beach", but we'll take it. I do think it's a pretty great place to be, which is why I live here.

June 18, 2009 at 4:40 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

abitskeptical (anonymous) says...

I agree with others that the use of "sexy" to describe or characterize a beach is a silly use of "sexy".

However & unfortunately "sexy" does not now always mean what it used to mean. It is now recognized as having the slang definition of: Highly appealing or interesting; attractive.

Personally, only under certain circumstances, do I equate charming, inviting, glamorous & attractive to "sexy". If everything which is attractive & charming is now also sexy...then "sexy" has become an ineffective & anemic descriptive for certain things.

Being old school I tend to think of the word "sexy" as being appropriately applied, directly or indirectly to a person, or something about the person, which
arouses or tends to arouse sexual desire or interest.

Frankly, thinking of a beach, in & of itself, as sexy seems a bit weird to me.
But then again, I suppose there are stranger things that have been called "sexy".

June 18, 2009 at 8:16 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Crackbaby (anonymous) says...

Sage smoked crack while I was in utero. There's nothing sexier than that.

June 19, 2009 at 11:22 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

BKLYNIRISH (anonymous) says...

"Posted by craigdelk on June 18, 2009 at 1:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)

F IOP"

Bad experience, craigdelk?

June 20, 2009 at 11:33 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

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