Classic/LAU Lara can be considered to have more sex appeal but she is also, in my opinion, smarter and more badass with a deeper hunger for artifacts and ancient lore.

Lara’s sex appeal has been as hot topic for a while. But as a gay guy I think sex appeal in women is more than just for “men’s pleasure”. I think it can def be something beautiful in a non-sexual way and can tell a story about a character as a person. High sex appeal can suggest the character is confident in their own skin. And that couldn’t be more fitting for Lara.

I think Lara, in my opinion, is supposed to have a high sex appeal, while also being highly intelligent and badass. The “relatable” Lara (both personality and lookswise) is boring. At least to me.

In my mind, Lara isn’t supposed to be a grounded hero doing anything for the greater good. She isn’t a hero. She is collecting artifacts for her own interests and that is a way more interesting take on her than a goodie-two-shoes girl-next-door.

She is at her best when she is larger-than-life in my opinion. Both in looks and her persona. Yet when she is portrayed as the classic/LAU sexy, smart and confident Lara - people like to describe it as “bimbofication”. And that is the true misogyny right there. As if a woman cannot be sexy and smart. Badass and attractive. But James Bond can, right?

Women and gay men has stanned and absolutely admired Lara for years before she became the more grounded, “relatable” version she most recently has been known as. So her old self cannot simply be dumbed down to be for the “male gaze” or any other buzz word degenerates on Twitter (X) like to throw around for their own insecurities. Stop hating on beauty and sex appeal to, in my humble opinion, ruin an iconic character.