Disclaimer: potentially offensive images.
Mindlessly trawling through Cosmo’s website in a burst of essay procrastination, I stumbled across an article titled ‘How to make a healthy lunch: As explained by this naked guy’. Naturally, I clicked on it. Because sex sells and I was killing time.
I was greeted by this charming looking chap – complete with strategically placed Best of Both and awkward thumbs-up.
The article basically directed us to the advert you can see below; but trust me, if you’re prone to cringe at suggestive puns, uncomfortable eyebrow-raising and creepy porno music, don’t bother hitting play.
I forced myself through all 1:12 of this video and was left feeling some sympathy with Alex from A Clockwork Orange after he’s forced to watch endless streams of disturbing videos. I was also able to get a whole new appreciation for the bad taste that can be left in your mouth from objectifying a human being.
That advert plays out like a hard-hitting parody of how women are objectified by the media, but the reality is that it’s 100% seriously objectifying the bloke. And that is no less wrong. It also made me realise how immune we’ve become to the objectification of women – despite not liking it, I’ve never felt quite as uncomfortable seeing women objectified as I did seeing this painfully awkward, toned man come dangerously close to slipping a ball on screen.
TL;DR: Yes, men definitely are objectified too, and if women want the media to give them a bit more respect, magazines like Cosmo need to afford the same right to everyone, regardless of which naughty bits they’ve got hiding behind their lunch. Also, I learnt absolutely nothing about how to make a healthy nutritious sandwich.
Sources
http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/diet-fitness/diets/naked-man-healthy-lunch…