Bare It All...Sometimes: The Double Standard

Earth: the confused frontier. These are the musings of a male living on it.

The year is 2015 which means that feminism and Trivia Crack notifications are at an all time high. This new wave of thought and human interaction has done very little to help the condition of mankind. Lucky for us though, we still have movies to tell us what state our chaotic little world is in nowadays. In the forgotten year of 2012, 'Magic Mike' hit theatres in what was thought to be a sure-fire attempt at a flop amidst the buzz of films like 'The Avengers' and 'The Amazing Spiderman'...but then something happened. Women and girls alike gathered in droves to go and see failed Step Up star Channing Tatum strip for money on the big screen. It even scored a modest (get it?) 6.1 on IMdb. Soon enough, things died down and all was well with the world of cinema.

And then people started to think. Again.

Image found on screenrant

Unless you've been living in a plastic bubble under the Earth's crust sealed in metal and wrapped in silicone then you have probably heard all of the noise recently when it comes to women's rights and feminism, particularly when it comes to women depicted in various kinds of recent media. Random talks and conversations are everywhere now, some making more sense than others. Let's see, there's the Super Smash Brothers 'Samus' controversy, Gamersgate, and even the lastest noises about 'Gone Girl' just to name a few. I don't want to say where I personally stand on these or any other issues regarding the rising tide of feminism and what not, but I do want to say that I think there's a blatant double standards among women and among society when it comes to issues such as the respecting and depiction of a human being whether male or female. 'Fifty Shades of Grey: The Porno' included.

I want to mainly tackle this issue from the angle of the portrayal of men and women in media. In this post I won't spend any time analyzing any plots (or lack thereof) or the metaphorical or symbolic meanings of anything. I want to shed some light on this important issue that manages to be looked over when it comes to movies and various other types of media because with both 'Magic Mike: XXL' and 'Fifty Shades of Abuse Grey' coming out this year, now is a better time than any.

Image found on NBCNews

Okay I won't beat around the bush. We've all heard the complaints and moans of those who are on the forefront of this. They often shout their anthems from the rooftops to the tune of: "This sets unrealistic expectations for women!", "I'm offended!", "How is it okay for women to be represented like this?", "Men are pigs!", "Every time a woman is on screen they have to be the sex object. Ugh!", and so on and so forth. There is no doubt that sometimes the shouts from the rooftops are right but sometimes it has to be taken with a little more than a grain of salt. Yes we do live in a very sexualized age in society where things of any sexual nature is no longer considered taboo and everyone feels like they are free to do whatever they want without fear of judgement but let's take a bit of a step back here. The once one-sided issue of this has morphed right under our noses and we turn a blind nostril (Yes, I did say blind nostril) to it because we don't want to smell what the Rock is cookin' reality.

It is often said that women nowadays are much more sexualized on screen than men and there is such a huge objectification of women in the media today. While I (reluctantly) agree with that statement, I want to argue that it doesn't just end there. Men are over sexualized in modern culture as well (way more than you think) but the problem is that we've gotten desensitized. Now before you ping my IP back to my location and order a missile strike upon the very space that I stand, please hear me out. Think about the last ten movies you've seen. I'm pretty sure that you would find about five shirtless women-screaming-in-a-theatre-worthy males to the one woman in her underwear and bra. That's acceptable to society, no one gets too up in arms about that. Now switch it around. Five topless woman and one shirtless man? Well then you've got yourself a porno my friend. No bueno. See where I'm coming from?

Image found on ScreenRant

Enter 'Magic Mike XXL', the sequel to 'Magic Mike' and the embodiment of many things that are wrong with society today. What better way to make a stripper movie better than to add...wait for it...more stripping? Perfect for a girls night out. Then comes 'Fifty Shades of Grey', a adaptation of the disturbingly popular book series that is described as "An erotic romance novel" that sold more than hot cakes could ever dream to sell. Perfect for a (lonely?) girls night out. I'm not pushing these as similar movies bit they do have one thing in common. They're both marketed to the growing female demographic in the western world and I don't think it's a coincidence that it's happening during the time where the feminist movement has been at it's loudest. It's almost perfect marketing actually. Why not strike while the iron is hot?

Now don't get me wrong. The sexualization of women in media is clearly alive and well. We see the Playboys and FHM magazines fly off of shelves and porn is at an all time high as technology becomes more and more accessible to younger and younger kids. The problem is that current trends do nothing but add to that and there is a staggering growth in women doing the same things. I dare to say that in the modern day woman's pursuit of individuality and equality there's a blatant double standard that needs to be addressed. The privileges of such a movement are being abused in a horrible way.

Image found on Cinemablend

My point: This is not okay. Why can women get away with such a blatant double standard these days? Why can men be treated like pieces of meat in a supermarket and it's celebrated among the community but the minute a guy calls a girl "hot" or even "attractive" he has to run for his life? Why do we collectively scream about objectification and gender equality when our television shows put women in supporting roles but turn a blind eye and even rejoice when the main character strips, abuses and bares it all in the name of "romance"? Why must this new sense of female empowerment come at the expense of the integrity of men? Why is there this terrible double standard? Why is it that a woman can cry out against sexual depiction but men can't? The simple answer is because we allow it. Neither 'Fifty Shades of Grey' nor 'Magic Mike: XXL' would be around if we didn't want them to be. They're around because there's a demand for it. Quite honestly if Mr. Grey can do what he wants with his girl-toy and Mike can slide across the floor with nothing but a man-thong covering his buldge then we have no one to blame but ourselves collectively as a people.

I think it's time we stop being passive and ask the hard questions. This is not okay. The more people keep quiet, the worse it's going to get. Here's to you 2015, you're the year of the Double Standard.