Parasocial relationships and a rousing interest in every little advancement in a celebrity’s love life–a mighty chunk of us is guilty of reaching out for the nearest serving of instant-popcorn to witness an empire fall, or even blossom, for that matter. Cue the soaring viewership stats of dating and reality shows.
While prying into the private lives of celebrities is by no means a newfangled phenomenon, what some people fail to cognise is that they’re living breathing organisms too, with a functioning internet service and access to all the filthy comment sections on the ‘gram. There’s a thin line between feeding the gossip monger inside of you, as opposed to enabling the incel. So, no Patrick, commenting ‘whale’ on an image of a pregnant Margot Robbie is not cool and I hope you get fired right before payday. During the festive season.
The Margot Robbie Incident
I recently encountered a papped image of Margot Robbie, who was seen spending some time on a beach with her husband and given my habit of scanning comment sections, the literary filth I was exposed to reeked of sexism and an absolute disregard of pregnant women. Wasn’t surprised though, most men on the internet don’t really have a decent digital footprint. Slut-shaming, casteist remarks, body shaming, the usual, you see.
Some of them even blamed Margot Robbie’s husband Tom Ackerley for making her lose her sense of ‘attractiveness’ and many went on to compare her previous body with her now-pregnant body, one that’s nourishing two souls. This guy who probably eats boiled chicken with ketchup and wouldn’t know the difference between ‘there’ and ‘their’ even if his life depended on it can’t be allowed to have an opinion, in my humble opinion. And/or an internet connection. Meta should find a way to perpetually blacklist these people. Something on the lines of ‘Zuck’s theory of evolution.’ Just an idea.
For some males, she’s always been someone to just swoon over. A woman to gawk at, and make disparaging remarks about. Both famous and unknown women have always had to deal with patriarchal attitudes. What is truly alarming is the way that men have been discussing their bodies during pregnancy. Read: cognitively underdeveloped incels. The alarming remarks have spurred a significant online discussion about the pressure women face to always look flawless (which is thin, as per them), even when they are experiencing a life-altering experience like pregnancy.
In The Past
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Take the Deepika Padukone incident for example. All she did was step out to cast her vote a few months ago, and online trollers were quick to comment on her then-pregnant body. Some argued that the way she was walking was too exaggerated for someone that far in the pregnancy, some found it funny to spread a rumour that the whole pregnancy was a PR fuelled, fake act. Some of them found her too thin for an expectant mother. Okay sure Deepak, let’s check your Biology marks from grade nine–seems like you were the one who discovered that mitochondria was the powerhouse of the cell. Groundbreaking, really. I mean, just get a life guys. What sucks is that many women were equal participants in this slander.
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An obsession with appearance can lead to irrational and unachievable aspirations for us women. Do you recall the Victoria Beckham incident? The designer, back in 1999 following the birth of Brooklyn, her first child, was subjected to body shaming on the front page of a newspaper, with arrows pointing to where she needed to lose weight. Disappointing.
Incels contend that they are viewed as inferior, failed men and ‘beta male’ by both women and society. They weaponise this subjugation and consider themselves to be the true victims, under attack from feminism, women, and society at large. They also believe that taking away women’s rights will make society better. Thus, we have unfortunate incidents like the ongoing one with Margot Robbie, reducing the existence of a woman to a mere object, pandering to the oh-so precious male gaze. Here comes my argument of wanting to revoke their internet access. Will do the world so much good, I assure you.
Also Read: 5 Shows To Watch If You’re Still Not Over ‘Normal People’ After All These Years
