I'd argue that erotic sources are nothing new. Consider swimsuit calendars and pinup girls. You could even look at the shows from the sixties and seventies to find people being chosen for sex appeal. For instance, there's the classic question for Gilligan's Island: Ginger or Mary Ann. The debate was literally over their relative sex appeal. This isn't a new trick.

I'd suggest that perhaps the style of seduction has changed, but the negative response is wholly new, at least among the targeted recipients.