Forced kiss on live TV exposes double standard on consent
A forced kiss on live TV, given without permission, exposes a double standard on consent depending on gender. The viral controversy sets social media alight.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Non-consensual kiss on a TV set reopens the double standards debate
Would it have caused the same scandal if the person doing the kissing were a man? That is the question sweeping social media after a video showed a woman planting a kiss on a bald male panelist during a live broadcast. The footage, shared as an alleged sensual assault, has exposed an uncomfortable asymmetry: the same gesture is condemned or excused depending on the gender of the person doing it.
The recording shows the woman leaning over the man without giving him a chance to react. Public reactions were quick to point out that, had it been him kissing a woman, this would be an immediate police report. Here, instead, it is trivialized, joked about, and the aggressor's gender identity is even questioned in order to strip away the label of assault.
At the heart of the debate is hypocrisy in how sensual violence is treated: the conduct is called a hate crime when committed by a white, heterosenshetero man, and empowerment or spontaneity when committed by a woman, a racialized or trans person. According to comments circulating online, what peine afterwards does not help the narrative either: the panelist went partying with the same woman on a plane and they ended up in a hotel.
Meanwhile, the bald man is still waiting for an apology. Or at least for a kiss that asks permission first. On live TV, and with witnesses.
Would it have caused the same scandal if the person doing the kissing were a man? That is the question sweeping social media after a video showed a woman planting a kiss on a bald male panelist during a live broadcast. The footage, shared as an alleged sensual assault, has exposed an uncomfortable asymmetry: the same gesture is condemned or excused depending on the gender of the person doing it.
The recording shows the woman leaning over the man without giving him a chance to react. Public reactions were quick to point out that, had it been him kissing a woman, this would be an immediate police report. Here, instead, it is trivialized, joked about, and the aggressor's gender identity is even questioned in order to strip away the label of assault.
At the heart of the debate is hypocrisy in how sensual violence is treated: the conduct is called a hate crime when committed by a white, heterosenshetero man, and empowerment or spontaneity when committed by a woman, a racialized or trans person. According to comments circulating online, what peine afterwards does not help the narrative either: the panelist went partying with the same woman on a plane and they ended up in a hotel.
Meanwhile, the bald man is still waiting for an apology. Or at least for a kiss that asks permission first. On live TV, and with witnesses.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (15 replies).
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