Icon of new masculinity Channing Tatum joins the distinguished company of basically every Hollywood "it" guy since 1985 as People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive of 2012.

People, which gave the beauty queen his sash (slash revealed his cover) this morning, quotes the big ole slab of sex's reaction:

"My first thought was, 'Y'all are messing with me.' I told [wife Jenna Dewan-Tatum] after we'd been in the bathtub washing our dogs because they'd gotten skunked."

He was probably naked or nearly naked or at least wearing a soaked tank top, his abs rippling and glistening, during this "Who me?" moment. Mmmmmm, wet tank top.

Tatum was the obvious choice for this year's title of Sexiest Man Alive because he is actually the sexiest man alive with a palpable ease to his masculinity, a body that is stacked like a dessert tower of muscle, a face that is just left of perfect so as to be interesting. He's a real hunk of stuff, that Channing Tatum. He also had three big hits in an underwhelming year for movies: The Vow, 21 Jump Street and Magic Mike. Sometimes when you thrust your crotch in public, you receive recognition that will help define your career. This whole life thing is really working out for him.

Somewhere right now, Ryan Gosling is crying* — last year there was Twitter outrage over People naming Bradley Cooper Sexiest Man Alive, not Gosling who seemed like the shoe-in. Will he ever get this thing?

*Well, either that or do-gooding oblivious to all of this because he's such a good dude and magazine awards are bullshit.

[People]