FROM THE EDITOR
Why is Facebook so frightened of the human male body?
THIS STORY BEGINS with a battle of wills between Facebook and DNA’s Style columnist, Matt Young. While travelling in the US, Matt was photographed at San Francisco Pride with a man wearing nothing but a sock over his willy. No big deal, you may think. Facebook thought otherwise and removed the “offending” image. Matt put it up again. Facebook took it down again… No surprises there. What did surprise me was the number of Matt’s friends who agreed with Facebook that the image was offensive.
Since when did the human body become offensive? On Facebook I’ve seen an elephant whose head has been chain-sawed off by poachers, I've seen protesters brutally beaten by police, people setting themselves on fire, children starving to death, videos of animal torture. My Facebook friends aren’t sadistic animal haters or misanthropes, it’s just very easy to see these horrors on social media without trying too hard.
Yet, Facebook deems that a man with a sock over his willy is offensive. What does this say about our cultural values? Violence is part of our daily lives. We accept it. We are desensitised to it. We even glorify it in movies, TV and video games.
But is the semi-clad human body always offensive, inappropriate, worthy of censorship? No. There’s a double standard at work. Women’s bodies are considered far less offensive than men’s, especially when those women are clad in bikinis and draped over cars in advertising, cavorting naked across movie screens, modelling lingerie on catwalks, or managing to fire semi-automatic weapons while wearing nothing but a sports bra in Grand Theft Auto. And you’ll see plenty of barely dressed ladies in many a Facebook post.
While in the US a few years ago, I went to Manhattan Beach in LA. The difference between men and women’s beachwear was striking. The women were wearing tiny bikinis, some little more than string, barely covering their nipples and most requiring a Brazilian wax. The boys, on the
America… where children regularly take guns to school and massacre their classmates but need protection from pictures of men in swimwear.
other hand, were well concealed in swim shorts that started high above the waist and went down to the knees and, in some cases, all the way to the shin. The men’s bulges were concealed, while the women’s breast were overtly exaggerated – some enhanced surgically to cartoonish proportions.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m all for sexual objectification. It can be fun. But where's the balance? Sexism and homophobia are different sides of the same coin. Straight men grow up believing that sexually objectifying women is their right, an entitlement. But when the objectification is reversed, especially by other men, they can become anxious, defensive and sometimes violent.
It may surprise non-American readers to learn that DNA has to be sealed in plastic for sale in the US. Even though there’s no full-frontal nudity, retailers are concerned about protecting children from seeing something “inappropriate”. Yes, America, where children regularly take guns to school and massacre their classmates, but need protection from seeing a picture of a man in swimwear. In some parts of the world it’s thought that seeing a woman’s body will lead to the corruption of society and the downfall of civilisation. In America it’s a man in speedos.
So it’s with great pleasure that we bring you DNA’s Sexiest Men Alive 2014. Ogle away. Sexually objectify. Enjoy without fear of judgement or guilt. Those of you who visit our website regularly and vote in our Mate Of The Month polls will recognise the beautiful men in the DNA Online category. Some of your favourite cover guys are here, too, and the actors, musicians and sports stars you love. Of course we’ve thrown in some Wild Cards and, I hope, introduced you to some new faces.
It’s always a pleasure to bring you this issue and I look forward to your feedback.