Scrolling through my snapchat subscriptions, I clicked on the small rectangle, labeled “People.” Although I certainly do not rely on this publication as a source of news, mindlessly tapping through the stories has become more routine than I would like. The publication’s imitation of a magazine cover showed a shirtless man, with “can you guess the steamy celebs ab pic” written over it. The publication proceeded to display pictures of mens’ abs; their heads were not pictured. 

The conversation around double standards within the realm of gender is usually centered on the systemic diminishment of women. Specifically, these conversations often relate to how women are habitually sexualized and objectified while men are not. And yes, the harsh double standards that women often face are truly concerning and must be addressed. However, those, including myself, that decry the over-sexualization and objectification of women often give little to no regard to that of their non-female counterparts. To me, this is analog to how the #MeToo culture has largely excluded male victims of sexual assault from its narrative. 

When this article popped up in my feed, it engendered an outlook on the double standard that seems to be uncommon, or just not talked about. Evidently, just like women, men are also subject to over-sexualization in the media. However, when the latter occurs, it appears to receive an entirely different response, if one at all. I realized that the parallel article about women would likely have had a title along the lines of “can you guess the steamy celeb’s butt pic,” or “can you guess the steamy celeb’s boob pic.” But, it immediately seemed clear to me that such an article would not be published, and if it incidentally was, the story could be expected to receive a considerable amount of backlash.

Although I have called attention to a single instance highlighting the difference in reception to the sexualization of men versus women in media, this example is not unparalleled. Nick Jonas’s case of being groped during his performance last month seemed like an outlier in receiving the appropriate amount of attention, and I am confident that similar events have taken place but with no reprisal.

My friends and I exchange social media pictures of attractive male celebrities or the occasional Tik Tok star while simultaneously grimacing upon hearing our male peers swap of bikini photos from Instagram. This reality presents a clear imbalance–– I wonder if I am taking part in this double standard.