The media response to Leonardo Di Caprio recent appearance would have been much worse if he were a woman
Recently the trash tabloids reported that Leonardo Di Caprio was seen leaving a night club with 20 women in tow. Most of the reports pointed out how surrounding himself with vacuous faces was pathetic, but all seemed to take glee in his exploits. Imagine how much harsher the reports would be if he had been a she.
Take the statement below for example and replace his name with a woman the public sees as sweet and innocent – Anne Hathaway — and try to imagine the tabloid reaction.
Leonardo DiCaprio Anne Hathaway reportedly left a nightclub in Miami last night with 20 women in tow. The tone of the coverage of this mass exodus from the VIP room has been gleeful, fist pumping, and congratulatory.
Had he been a she the tone of reporting would have been much harsher. If a woman were seen leaving a night club with 20 men in tow the narrative reporters would use would include words like, slutty, a tramp, or a woman desperate for attention. They might also throw that she was crazy, or not operating with a full deck
Why is it that we are still bogged down by these archaic social customs?
The answer is simply that the media has become little more than a microphone to broadcast our crudest and most spiteful responses to those who break with social customs. To expect more from these reporters is naïve and ignores the fact that our individual responses and standards are what should be questioned.
So the next time you read a gossip column telling you that a woman is slutty, crazy or both question the very notion of the words they have used to describe her and then shut down your computer, pick up a copy of Vagina by Naomi Wolf and read it.
