At its core, any movement to eradicate sexism must not differentiate between genders.
Right now, a debate is raging on social media in Indonesia on whether or not men can be victims of sexual harassment. It all began when 20-year-old badminton star Jonatan Christie, popularly known as Jojo, took off his shirt when he reached the final of the men’s singles badminton competition at the 2018 Asian Games, and once more when he won the gold medal.
These were some comments on social media, mostly from women, directed at Jojo after he showed off his physique:
I’m nauseous. Maybe I’ve been impregnated online. Take responsibility Jo
Great at playing the net, great in the bed
He’s the right size, not too big, not too small. He took off his shirt after winning the semifinal, so tomorrow when you win the final don’t forget to take off your shorts Jo
This kid has me so bothered that I’m wet. Oh lord
You’re naughty Jojo, take off the shirt when we’re in bed honey
Shit my ovaries are exploding from producing eggs
My ovaries are warm Jojo
There was the inevitable backlash, calling out these comments sexual harassment towards Jojo, but his objectification has showed no signs of abating. The mainstream media, including sports pundits, have also been feeding the normalization of sexual harassment with their relentless focus on Jojo’s body on top of his incredible achievement.
It’s little wonder, then, that we still have people saying that Jojo cannot be the victim of sexual harassment because he is a man.
Here are a few of the arguments against Jojo being a victim that have gone viral over the past couple of days, deconstructed to show precisely how they go against the basic principles of gender equality:
“Jojo is a champion athlete. Good looking. Alpha male. Surely he can take verbal ‘sexual harassment’ from his fans.’”
One’s ability to withstand sexual harassment cannot be gauged by one’s athletic prowess or looks, and especially not gender. This argument is especially demeaning towards women on the grounds that they can’t, by definition, be alpha males and are therefore more susceptible to being affected by sexual harassment than men.
That’s simply not true. Both men and women experience and are affected by sexual harassment in different ways — even so-called alpha males can be victims as well. We can’t know everybody else’s predisposition on every issue — humans are complex beings with unique life experiences, so it’s best to avoid objectifying anyone because we don’t know how they’ll personally take it, even “good-looking alpha male champion athlete” Jojo.
“It’s not sexual harassment because the women are just expressing themselves.”
Double standards, much? Men who catcall women are also “expressing themselves”, but that doesn’t make it acceptable. It’s vile, it’s gross, and nobody should have to put up with it.
“Why are feminists only upset when men objectify women? Why aren’t they upset at how women are objectifying Jojo?”
Actually, many are, regardless if they identify as feminist or not. True feminism is about striving for gender equality for all, not giving a pass to women if they want to objectify men and pass it off as a joke or something harmless. It’s harmful, and it goes both ways.
This hastag #jojobukabaju is disgusting. Tolong sadar apa yang sudah kalian lakukan ini termasuk pelecehan seksual!
— your querencia (@ganymede_pillow) August 29, 2018
This hashtag #jojobukabaju (Jojo take off your shirt) is disgusting. Please realize that what you are doing is sexual harassment
The age-old problem with freedom of expression — which I wholeheartedly support — is that its limits are subjective and ever-changing. But to achieve gender equality we must come to the collective understanding that everybody deserves respect and that means we shouldn’t treat anybody like a piece of meat. So let’s talk more about Jojo’s shiny gold medal and much, much less about his abs (e.g. for fitness inspiration purposes — that’s acceptable).
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