Sure, you could get your friends those page-a-day Dilbert desk calendars. Or you could get them one of the new faith-based calendars, bringing daily meditation to a place you’ve never been before.
Have you always thought Mormon men weren’t worth ogling? Think again! The Mormons Exposed calendar exposes you to some of these Latter Day hotties. All in the name of Joseph Smith, as said six-packers are purportedly Mormon missionaries. Digging past the cheesecake, you can read bios of the missionaries, each of whom has chosen a charity to benefit from their proceeds of the calendar.
Matthew, for instance, “is working full-time building swimming pools. His involvement in the calendar is his first attempt at modeling after years of being pushed to do so by many of his peers. If modeling doesn’t work out, he looks forward to finding another career. He also hopes to marry and start a family. For now, Matthew is “usually up for anything and having fun.” But not all of the models/missionaries have the same motivations: Christopher decided to pose thinking it would be a good way for people to see him and the other models as “both members of the church and normal human beings.” According to the site, the current BYU-Idaho student says, “We aren’t weird although we are different in some ways.”
Over in the slightly less exploitative — and slightly more “shticky”– corner is the Nice Jewish Guys calendar. “What’s not to like?” the calendar’s site queries. “Take these guys home to Mom!” Or, according to the product description from PopJudaica, which has begun carrying the calendar:
Firemen and Chippendales have had their spotlight long enough! This Nice Jewish Guys Calendar turns the spotlight on the underrated characteristic that pecs and tight buns can’t deliver…niceness. The Nice Jewish Guys Calendar features a different mensch for every month of the calendar year. Meet Ira the businessman and Noah, who doesn’t look Jewish, but is.
Since the calendar began to go viral, there’s been a swell of interest from some unexpected places, says PopJudaica’s Sara Schwimmer, who started carrying what she has observed is “one of the hottest Chanukah gifts this year.”
It seems to have a very wide appeal…straight women, gay men, and a great deal of Asian women in particular seem to be drawn to it. Customers inquire if the men are really single and if they can be contacted. Even straight men dig it. They want to know how they can be IN the calendar.
Schwimmer even indicated that next year PopJudaica.com might hold a contest in conjunction with the calendar’s creator Adam Cohen to find the next Nice Jewish Guys Calendar cover model. “This could be bigger than Sports Illustrated!” she said.