When I woke up to the news that there had been a leak of nude celebrity photos, it seemed like a very unfortunate security incident – but one that I initially brushed off as a random security breach. However, as I read more into the story, it seemed disturbing that these had been a series of deliberate targeted attacks towards certain female celebrities.
What I found more shocking, however, was the response the general public had towards the incident.
To reiterate, these were personal, private photos, taken in the privacy of their own homes.
Some of the comments made were downright accusatory, from the suggestion that these photos were deliberately leaked to implications that it should be expected that these sorts of attacks would happen to individuals who purposely put themselves in the limelight. Some people said that these individuals shouldn’t have even taken these photos in the first place.
Celebrity or not, the fact that people actually found fault with these women for taking private photos for their own personal purposes is a scary mentality – one that points the finger at the victim and channels the blame, effectively implying the victims of this crime were bringing this unto themselves.
Much too often there is still an idea that is the fault of a woman for choosing to do things a certain way, to dress a certain way, and by doing certain things, it seems like she opens herself to degradation and an implicit agreement that harassment inevitable – the all too common song and dance whenever we hear a case of rape or sexual abuse.
It suggests that women should conform to norms to avoid enticement of men, or that women should adhere to strict rules lest they draw attention to themselves and anyone who dares step outside those boundaries are fair game.
When Emma Watson delivered a speech on gender discrimination between men and women, she was targeted with sexual threats - for daring to make a move for women’s rights – a right that women have been fighting for for many years. The past has had a smattering of women who have been beyond their time, but the fact that in this day and age it is still an issue that still needs to be continuously addressed is an indication that perhaps, we have not moved forward as much as we thought we have.
Amanda Taub wrote here, ‘The sexual attacks against Emma Watson are an attack on every women’, and I agree. Just as the leaked photos of these celebrities are an attack on every one of us, just for choosing to do something in the privacy of your home.
It is NOT okay.
It is not right when things boil down to a matter of sexuality and gender and that these very things become tools to subjugate and humiliate.
It is this mentality that defends rape culture, and judging from the responses to the incidence, there is still a large gap to bear.
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