Sexual harassment can never be separated from gender inequality, where women are often victims of men.
onatan Christie, or Jojo, currently Indonesia’s most popular badminton champion, has grabbed the attention of netizens lately. His abs, chest and muscles have become the talk of the town on the internet, as we saw Instagram photos of him and elicit comments aplenty about his enviable physique.
Many commented about how “turned on” they were seeing Jojo shirtless in an Instagram photo that appears to have since been deleted. “He is so good at the net [badminton court], all the more in bed,” said one netizen. “Oh, his shirt was thrown to the audience. I wanted to protest, why just your shirt? Why not your pants, Koh [big brother] Jojo?”. “So proud […] I’ll wait for you in my bedroom, honey,” said another. One even stated, “Mas [big brother] Jojo, you just warmed up my womb.”
Do such comments constitute objectification of the male body, catcalling or sexual harassment? Some say they do, while others claim such expressions symbolize women’s increasing liberation in the public sphere. Let’s look at both claims.
Sexual harassment can never be separated from gender inequality, where women are often victims of men. Women are expected to be pleasing and alluring to men, and they are expected to welcome men’s flirtations. This, in turn, habituates men to exert their power over women to belittle or humiliate women in sexual manners. Thus, sexual harassment is defined as “unwelcome” behavior by the standard of a victim’s subjective experience and not by objective standards of society or culture.
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