Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website.
On August 4, 1999, Victor Mature died at age 86 in Rancho Santa Fe, California. He was the first male Hollywood star to be dubbed a "hunk." The term "hunk" was a direct response to the many years where actresses and starlets had been asked to display their charms. This was referred to as "showing some cheesecake." You can see this in many old films from the '30s and '40s, where the leading lady will be asked to lift up her skirts a little, so the reporters can see a "little cheesecake."
The term "cheesecake" referred to a woman (an actress or model) showing her legs off, much to the delight of male photographers and spectators present, who would whistle and make sly "guy comments." This practice is not used anymore, except in satire. Political correctness, of course, set in as well as the much more revealing clothing worn by countless women we see not only in movies and TV, but also in society at large.
After many years, it was realized that there was no male counterpart to "cheesecake." Hence, the "hunk" …of beefcake. In a much cruder comparison, the term "hunk" was also thought to counteract its feminine counterpart: a cute girl = a "piece." The term "hunk" probably is more a derivation of "piece" than anything else. Interestingly, the term "cheesecake" seems now to be dated and almost archaic, but both "hunk" and "piece" are still going strong in the vernacular for men and women, respectively.