Talk to me about @hotdudesreading, a strange yet highly popular instagram channel, based on invading men’s privacy and making sexually explicit comments about them.
We’re not talking about a lone weirdo or shady man taking photos, this is an account with a dozen ‘photographers’ uploading photos to be seen, shared and commented on by millions of others.
They sell books, t shirts, mugs and bags, the industrialisation and commercialisation of the ‘creepy weirdo taking pictures’, and a booming business to boot.
Why is such an invasion of privacy so accepted of men, when we all know such an account featuring photos of unbeknownst women would rightly draw cries of outrage and misogyny?
And no I don’t want this account cancelled, I don’t want their content reported, or slandered – I’m just drawing attention to what is clearly a blatant double standard, and asking why?
Aren’t we all entitled to the same privacy?
What do you think?
(Note - the photo of the young woman at the end is a model, with agreed releases and consent, this is not a random photo of a stranger.)
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Images Luis Jaura, Baptiste, Juan Rojas, Craig Boudreaux from Unsplash