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An Overview

Feminism has played a critical role in the fight for women’s rights across the globe for the past few decades. Through various protests, media campaigns, and publishings, women have been leading the fight against gender discrimination, income gaps, and perhaps most of all, the right to their own bodies by freeing themselves from the rampid objectification and sexualization seen in various aspects of the media.. The frontlines are stacked with strong women firing arrows via local press, social media, and word of mouth. Those actively speaking out have made it clear that they’re done with being viewed as an object for consumption, and instead, that they are fully autonomous, beautiful beings, capable of more than “sitting and looking pretty”. While the war on gender equality has been long overdue, one can not help but wonder how objectification and sexualization affects men. The media often highlights the damage done in female objectification, but rarely speaks up for the men who are sexually objectified. In the undergrounds of the fight for equality there are a few individuals speaking out against male sexual objectification, they highlight what is considered to be an “acceptable male body” by the media and the psychological effects these pressures have, how racial fetishization has influenced their lives, and the double standard seen in objectification. 

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“Acceptable Bodies”

It’s no secret that Hollywood capitalizes on the desirable nature of their most popular stars, and more times than not this can lead to sexual objectification. The “acceptable body” is what is showcased in instances of deliberate sexualization or “desire” in Hollywood films. Much like that of female “acceptable bodies” an immense amount of pressure is put on male stars to measure up to a certain standard. This standard dictates what is considered attractive, and generally follows along the lines of no body hair, and a chiseled physique. Most of the time, any male bodies that are shown with little to no clothing, that fall outside of what is considered acceptable, are used for comedic purposes. Noah Brand of The Good Men Project comments on the deliberate waxing of male actors in preparation for their shirtless scenes.

“Does he or does he not have any body hair? Because if he does not, that means that conscious decision was made to undergo a difficult and painful process to render his body visually attractive according to present aesthetics. Body hair is considered unattractive at the moment, but almost all adult men have it. Therefore, if you’re seeing a man’s skin on a screen, and he’s not fuzzy, he was almost certainly shaved, waxed, or otherwise depilated in order to more closely fit society’s current fashion for attractive.” (Brand)

The strict criteria for what is considered an “acceptable body” not only affects the actors who are being objectified, but the men that watch the film as well. Hollywood is limiting its pool of actors, and triggering self esteem issues that stem from the devaluation of anyone who falls outside of the “norm”. It has been heavily argued that setting a high standard for female beauty can produce harmful effects for those influenced, and the same goes for men. 

“Today it's chiseled physique and perfect teeth or they don't want you. Explains why there are really only like 10 leading men and most of them are in the Marvel Universe.” (Deleted)

Chris. Pratt is considered to be one of the most notable stars who has experienced both sides of the spectrum for the standards set for acceptable bodies. 

“A huge part of how my career has shifted is based simply on the way that I look, on the way that I’ve shaped my body to look,” said Pratt, adding that he felt “totally objectified”.” (Child) 

Pratt kick started his career in the sitcom Parks and Recreation in what Hollywood considers to be an overweight abnormal body. In the 2014 release of Guardians of the Galaxy, Pratt debuted in his new “acceptable body,” and the public’s attitude towards Pratt changed overnight, he went from every day funny man, to a glorified sex god, and he proceeded to gain more roles becoming one of Hollywood’s leading men, post weight-loss of course.

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The Effects of Objectification

Due to the commonality of male sexual objectification, the consequences of it are often downplayed. Over the years, numerous women have come forward, and spoken about the negative effects objectification has had on them, and advocated for the cessation of such practices. However, the toxic masculinity and objectification that follows male Hollywood actors poses its own set of harmful results. As was the case with Chris Pratt, many male stars have had their success attributed to their appearances, but they should be valued for so much more. Bob Morley of the CW show The 100  recounted his struggle with dealing with trauma through his masculinity in an interview, and the responses of the public in regards to his physical development in his acting career. Morley stated that he felt the need to convey a “puffed up” attitude and physique from role models such as Bruce Lee and Arnold Schwarzenegger growing up in order to compensate for his emotional trauma. During the interview, Morley talked about when he got involved in the industry, the public didn’t value him for his acting skills, but for his appearance instead, which in turn made him feel incompetent, as if he needed to be more masculine. 

“I act because I love the art, so when I began professional work the thought of my face, my body, my story becoming a commercial quantity never came to mind. Then, all of the sudden my body became a product you could view nightly on national television. My body was no longer subject to my own thoughts, it was now a topic of the public forum. Out of my own curiosity or vanity I began to read the reviews of my work, yet when it came to reading the comments it was all about what I looked like. I found images of me on websites rating my body out of ten, with user comments ranging from yes I would fuck him, or no I wouldn’t go near him with a ten foot pole, the look of him makes my skin crawl. I can say that that scared little boy at the pool was now terrified. Arnold and Bruce Lee now loomed over me once again, but this time they didn’t instill me with strength, rather they instilled me with a sense of inadequacy. What I should look like, that I needed a six-pack or I needed biceps bigger than I’d ever require. It was the first time that I guess I had been exposed to sexual objectification, and I wasn't the only male at my work feeling it. There was pressure on the guys on the show to look a certain way, and it was rarely talked about.” (Morley)

Morley went on to talk about how the necessity of publicity for commercial work fuels the fire of sexual objectification. Later on, he states that he’s had to come to terms that this is a product of his line of work, but it still creates a significant amount of anxiety, and causes him to question his own worth. “Did I get the opportunity to work in the film and television industry based on my talent or hard work, or was it simply just because of the way that I looked?” (Morley). Others have started to comment on the developing issues that have come out of this unwanted objectification. Peter Lucas of The Conversation writes;

“At the same time as young men are being encouraged to be increasingly narcissistic and materialistic, they are experiencing unprecedented levels of perfectionism-driven social anxiety and mental illness. This is perhaps understandable, given that they are being bombarded with a vastly greater quantity and intensity of objectifying media content than previous generations ever had to contend with.” (Lucas) 

The point here is that objectification does not solely affect women. Sexual objectification is a plague that results in feelings of inadequacy and loss of self worth for both men and women, and from both the objectifier and those objectified. Regardless if sexual objectification is often a horrible side effect of working in the media industry, a conscious effort needs to be made to put an end to this psychologically damaging situation, regardless of gender.

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Racial Fetishization

Over time, it has been observed that certain races carry certain expectations sexually. Penis size among races is often subject to being joked about by Hollywood, and in the media in general. These comments can range from the claims that African American men have a large penis, to the degrading jokes about Asians being less endowed. 

“Black men are painted in a certain light sexually by society just like every other race, culture and subculture. There’s enough history, media and porn to comfortably identify what those stereotypes are.” (Street)

 According to one man, because of this expectation, when his partner felt that he underperformed, according to his sexual stereotype, he was left feeling insecure. Latinos also fall victim to the “good in bed” stereotype of the “Latin Lover.” 

“The problem with this stereotype is not that it portrays Latinos as passionate, but rather that it objectifies us as only that: sex objects, not intellectual, and not worth being in a relationship with – just sex.” (Rodriguez).

Asian men have been observed to experience both sides of the spectrum. On one hand, through the popularization of Kpop, there has been a rise in the fetishization of Asian men, but on the other hand, Asian men still fall victim to “comedic” jokes about their ability to perform sexually. The idealization of particular races not only boxes in what one would consider “sexually appealing” or “attractive enough”, but it also generalizes these races in their entirety. The racial fetishization of male bodies is designed to reduce those objectified to the social stigmas placed on their ability to perform sexually, and set a standard for what those of that racial group should measure up to. These standards communicated via Hollywood, further the notions of inadequacy, as observed with what is considered an “acceptable body,” and perpetuate the tendency to view these men solely as sexual bodies. 

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Is There A Double Standard For Objectification?

As of late, feminist advocates have brought to light the uncomfortable instances of sexual objectification they face daily. These are serious issues that are thankfully being exposed to the media, however, it has also been observed that a significant amount of men also experience this, and few are talking about it. There has been a recent wave of people arguing that the sexual objectification of men is okay, but for women, it is intolerable. Reducing someone to their mere biological appeal and placing value on them based on this is unacceptable, regardless of their sex. “We do talk about men all the time and say “oh he’s hot”, but if it were the reverse I think we wouldn’t like it.” (Lusting Over Men A Double Standard? | The View) Once it is agreed upon that sexual objectification is wrong, it is then wrong across the board, regardless of the body of the person being objectified. “Just as women have more to offer the world than a body, are men not the same way? What makes them different?” (Objectifying Men). Those who argue that the objectification of men is appropriate because they have been objectified are just perpetuating the toxic nature of objectification.

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Moving Forward

Through extensive research and careful evaluation, it is evident that the sexual objectification of men is an issue that has been swept under the rug for years. The fight that women are leading in resistance to the sexual objectification they experience should not be downplayed in comparison to male objectification, but rather set an example in how the public should view male objectification moving forward. While some may view sexual objectification as a byproduct of Hollywood, the psychological effects of reducing one’s worth to the confines of one’s body, and how it measures up to society’s level of acceptability, and racial idealization are costly and must be stopped regardless of gender. 

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Annotated Bibliography

Brand, Noah. “Sexualization of the Male Body On Film.” The Good Men Project, 8 August 2018, goodmenproject.com/ethics-values/sexualization-of-the-male-body-on-fil/. Accessed 22 October 2019. 

Noah Brand analyzes the current way in which men are represented in film, and talks specifically about how “acceptable bodies” are communicated on screen through conscious choices to remove actor’s body hair and clothes. 

Child, Ben. “Jurassic World's Chris Pratt: equality means objectifying men too.” The Guardian,19 June 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/19/jurassic-worlds-chris-pratt-equality-means-objectifying-men-too Accessed 22 October 2019. 

Child reflects on and analyzes Chris Pratt’s success in accordance with his appearance in his article for The Guardian. This article serves as a medium between public comments about sexualization regarding Chris Pratt, and the development of his career. 

(Deleted). Comment on “Chris Pratt: ‘Equality Means Starting To Objectify Men More’”. Reddit, 2015, https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/3acxe9/chris_pratt_equality_means_starting_to_objectify/. Accessed 22 October 2019. 

A user on Reddit deleted their comment; it is still up for the public eye, however their username remains absent. The comment talks about the expectations Hollywood places on male actors to measure up to a certain physique, and why there is such a small pool of successful male actors.  

Khan, Sameera. “The Rise of K-Pop and the Fetishization of Korean Men.” AFFINITY, 23 March 2017,http://affinitymagazine.us/2017/03/23/the-rise-of-k-pop-and-the-fetishization-of-korean-men/. Accessed 22 October 2019. 

Sameera Khan analyzes the impact of the growing popularity of K-Pop in recent years, and how it has affected how society values and objectifies Korean men. 

Kim, Eddie. “‘Sexual Racism,’ and Life on Tinder as an Asian Man.” MEL, 2018, https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/sexual-racism-and-life-on-tinder-as-an-asian-man. Accessed 27 October 2019. 

Eddie Kim chronicles the struggles of an Asian man in the dating scene in his article for MEL. Kim highlights how African American men are often glorified for their sexual reputation, while asian men are regularly belittled for their stereotyped sexual abilities. 

“Lusting Over Men A Double Standard? | The View.” YouTube, uploaded by The View, 30 May2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ1A7PxeYFQ

The hosts of The View hold a conversation regarding  their own objectification of men and question the acceptability of such behavior

Lucas. Peter. “Why The Sexual Objectification of Men Isn't Just a Bit of Fun.” The Conversation, 18 Sep. 2018, https://theconversation.com/why-the-sexual-objectification-of-men-isnt-just-a-bit-of-fun-103145. Accessed 22 October 2019. 

Lucas highlights the seeming double standard society has placed on the objectification for men and women. In his article for The Conversation, Lucas furthers the notion that men are affected by the attitudes and remarks society directs at their bodies, and that these qualities are not to be viewed lightly.

Morley, Bob. “2013 | Bob Morley in "What Men Really Think About Their Body".” YouTube, uploaded by Bellarke News, 3 September 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjtF7SI7_5U

Bob Morley of The 100 provides insight to his own struggles with masculinity and body image in Hollywood, and the psychological effects of value judgements made based on his appearance. 

“Objectifying Men.” YouTube, uploaded by The Culture Project, 16 April 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQXWzZ0YL9s

This video talks about the harmful effects of objectification, and challenges the notion that the objectification of men is acceptable because women have been objectified. 

Rodriguez, Ariel. “Do Latinos Make The Best Lovers, Or Is This Just Another Stereotype?” Lifestyle, 4 June 2018, https://culturacolectiva.com/lifestyle/latin-lover-stereotype. Accessed 22 October 2019. 

In his article, Rodriguez argues against the sexual objectification of Latino men in Hollywood, more specifically, he analyzes the common tropes of “latin lovers” seen in film and notes the various issues that come with stereotyping Latino men. 

Street, Mikelle. “Living With The Myth of The Big Black Cock.” MEL 2017,https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/living-with-the-myth-of-the-big-black-cock. Accessed 22 October 2019

This article comments on the stereotypes that have been placed on African American men. It highlights the effects of the “BBC” stereotype through several interviews regarding the sexual encounters many African American men have had with people who perpetuate this stereotype.