gympocrisy

One way I know I'm out of touch with my own country's culture is that I've missed what is apparently a wave of gym videos by women who complain about being sexualized while they're working out: men glance at them or outright stare at them; some men come over and offer to help with certain equipment, and these women complain they're being harassed.

Now, when the definition of "harassment" becomes so broad that a mere glance is considered harassment, you know things have gone too far. And that sort of attitude, i.e., the always-ready-to-be-offended attitude, only serves to make a woman look weak and fragile, not empowered. How is playing the victim empowering?

Also, as Amala Ekpunobi points out in the video below, most of these women complaining of harassment are dressing in provocative ways—ways designed to elicit interest in them. Ekpunobi is at pains to note that she's not victim-blaming: if a man goes too far in his leering or his encroachment on a woman's personal space, then he's obviously to blame for crossing the line. But if a woman dresses in skin-tight clothing and then strains her way provocatively through her gym routine, she has to know that she's going to get some looks, that she is at least somewhat complicit in arousing "the male gaze."

In a routine from years ago, comedian Rick Ducommun joked about women who wear cleavage-revealing clothing, then complain about men staring. He compared the situation to him wearing pants that revealed his ball cleavage, and every time a woman stared at his crotch, he'd say, "Don't treat me like a piece of meat!"