The List: What's In and Out

The List: What's In and Out is a U.S. pop culture list published annually by The Washington Post newspaper, on or near New Year's Day in the Style section. It was started by the paper's fashion editor, Nina Hyde, in 1977, and tended to by various former and current Post writers after Hyde's death in 1990, including Martha Sherrill, Cathy Horyn and Robin Givhan. From 2003 to 2009 The List was written by staff writer Hank Stuever. In 2010, Washington Post staff writers Monica Hesse and Dan Zak co-authored The List, which itemizes people, places, things, and even ideas-and rates them as either "out" (not popular, not fun, not recommended) or "in" (popular, fun, and recommended).

The list has been criticized for being mostly or completely subjective. Sometimes a person has been considered both "Out" and "In" (for example, Madonna in 1985 and Al Gore in 2007). At other times, the list makes indirect references to people; also in 2007, listed as "Out" is "Wrestling-coach voice" (this is a veiled reference to out-going Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert) while listed as "In" is "Mother-of-five voice" (a veiled reference to in-coming Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi).

"Out" and "In" for 2007

The following is a partial list of things "Out" and "In" for 2007:

Out	In
"America's Next Top Model"	"Ugly Betty"
OxyContin	Oxytocin
Hugh Jackman	Daniel Craig
Al Gore	Al Gore
"Seinfeld" reruns	"How I Met Your Mother"
Anderson Cooper	Keith Olbermann
Wrestling-coach voice	Mother-of-five voice
Jim Gaffigan	Dane Cook
Led Zeppelin	"Danity Kane"
Monica Lewinsky, pizza girl	Monica Lewinsky, economist
Penn State	Purdue
Driving drunk	Driving nude

"Out" and "In" for 2008

The following is a partial list of things "Out" and "In" for 2008:

Out	In
Emile Hirsch as Speed Racer	Heath Ledger as the Joker
Sex	Naps
AP Calculus	Latin Class
Jason Bourne	Indiana Jones
HBO	Showtime
Marc Jacobs	Marc Jacob's clothes
Cheetah Girls	Jonas Brothers
Sudoku	Scrabulous
Pomegranates	Persimmons
Hannah Montana tickets for your daughter	529 fund for your daughter
Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart	Zachary Quinto as Mr. Spock
Meerkats	Squirrels

"Out" and "In" for 2009

The following is a partial list of things "Out" and "In" for 2009:

Out	In
Claymates	Twihards
Gay rights	Vampire rights
Twittering	Slow blogging
Hot dudes from Gossip Girl	Hot dudes from Star Trek
Waco	Waikiki
Wolverine	Watchmen
Oscar de la Renta	Jason Wu
Goth	Steampunk
Momma Mia!	Slumdog Millionaire
Governors	Senators
Voting like Oprah	Eating like Oprah
Kings of Leon	Fleet Foxes

"Out" and "In" for 2010

The following is a partial list of things "Out" and "In" for 2010:

Out	In
Twihards	Randroids
Jonas Brothers	Justin Bieber
Gilbert Arenas	Earl Boykins
Peanut allergies	Celiac disease
Liz Cheney	Beau Biden
Group hugs	Groupons
Journey	Hall & Oates
Emily Blunt	Rosamund Pike
Drug tests	Gender tests
Dark matter	Super-Earths
Chateau Marmont	The Sunset Tower
Sexting	Sex

"Out" and "In" for 2011

The following is a partial list of things "Out" and "In" for 2011:

Out	In
Internet Trolling	Internet Hacktivism
Scott Brown	Marco Rubio
Brussels sprouts	Sauerkraut
King Tut	Cleopatra
Death	Taxes
Relying on 'the Pill'	Revisiting the Rhythm Method
Betty White	Anne Meara
World War II	World War I
Mark Zuckerberg	Ethan Zuckerman
Mamie Gummer	Lily Rabe
Ruby Tuesday	IHOP
True Blood	True Grit

"Out" and "In" for 2012

The following is a partial list of things "Out" and "In" for 2012:

Out	In
Apps	Naps
Ryan Gosling	Michael Fassbender
Portland, Oregon	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Hyperbole	Pragmatism
Tebowing	Hunting the God particle
Groupons	Coupons
Bryce Dallas Howard	Jessica Chastain
Alex Ovechkin	Lamont Peterson
Justin Bieber	Christopher Plummer
Don't remake Footloose	Don't remake Flashdance
Reviving Oklahoma!	Reviving Ant Farm
Reagan	Thatcher