Orla Conway | Junior Editor
At the end of this past summer, over 500 intimate photos of celebrities were leaked and shared online. This violation of privacy provoked an inundation of opinions, and brought the degradation of women to the forefront of almost any topical discussion. The women affected in this episode alleged to have been sexually violated and the people who looked at and shared the photos were called abusers. One of the victims, Jennifer Lawrence saying “Anybody who looked at those pictures, you’re perpetuating a sexual offense. You should cower with shame.” Did the photo leak highlight unequal treatment present in society? Clearly, but in more ways than one.
Give women the same rights and respect as men, but at the same time, give men the same respect we expect as women.
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In this now infamous scandal, there was one male victim: Dave Franco. Nobody seemed to talk about him. Obviously, when there are 100 women victims and only one male, we think more about the women, simply because there’s more or them. But I didn’t even know there were any male victims until very recently. There was no mention of him. In the last few years there have been numerous photos of male celebrities leaked over the Internet and not once were they seen as victims or being ‘sexually harassed’. Nor were the people who looked at those photos accused of being dirty or pathetic, which was the case this time. Somehow, the men (or often young adults) whose photos were pouring through the Internet population were considered to be the bad guys.
Chris Brown, Drake from Drake and Josh, members of the Jonas Brothers, various other Disney Channel stars, Calum Hood of 5 Seconds of Summer, most of the members of Asking Alexandria, the list is extensive. This is something that surpasses all boundaries of genre or profession. These photos get blogged and reblogged pretty openly on sites like Tumblr. The people, generally youngsters, who post or advertise them show no shame, and do not feel as though they are violating anyone’s privacy. It’s accepted, and nearly encouraged.
Similarly, there used to be a site called isanyoneup.com – it was a site that was quite famous in the post-hardcore/metal scene (i.e. the ‘scene’ scene). It often posted photos of male musicians. In the more mainstream media, there’s the likes of Perez Hilton who has a post celebrating the male nudes – whereas if he did the same with female photos there would have undoubtedly been backlash. The women are instantly seen as victims. The men? Unfortunate idiots, sex-crazed teenagers, or even sexual predators, whose leaked photos are seen as evidence of them preying on someone, not that they themselves were taken advantage of. Or just as often, they are seen as nothing, not worth making a big deal over.
When it comes to violations of privacy, men and women should be afforded the same respect.
But another factor is that the guys who get their pictures leaked rarely act like victims. Generally they just seem to take responsibility (or in many cases ‘apologise’ for their behavior) and then society moves on swiftly from it. Perhaps this is a pretty healthy approach. Which is better though? Should the subjects take some responsibility? Generally speaking it is not their fault, per se, but they still took the photos.
Either way, there is no dispute that massive violations have occurred. But why do men get no sympathy? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that almost all the girls I know couldn’t care less if there were naked photos of a male celebrity they liked online. They would most likely never look them up. We (I’m obviously speaking in a general term, I’m sure there are some girls who would not agree with me here) don’t have the same interest in the concept. But then why is there still interest in it on sites like Tumblr? There is obviously some sort of market for it.
Give women the same rights and respect as men, obviously, but at the same time, give men the same respect we expect as women. I am clearly not saying that men have it worse than women. There is no doubt that the different attitudes towards the issue result from difference in how society treats men and women, which is a much bigger issue. All I’m saying is that even when it comes to violations of privacy, men and women should be afforded the same respect.
Obviously one of the main reasons women get more sympathy is because they have been the oppressed for so long. It comes from a history of women constantly being made to feel inferior and not given the same rights or treatment as men. They have been seen as sexual objects and too often still are. But surely we should be able to agree that any invasion of privacy deserves criticism, no matter what gender you are.
Photo by Opensource
