"That is what boys do Angie. They peep."
------From the George Lopez Show
This line struck me while I was watching this show the other night. Sure, the young boy in this episode was peeping through a hole in the wall to try to see his sister's friend undressing. But, to George, it was met with a stamp of approval. (Perhaps, also, even a welcome verification of his son's heterosexuality?)
I recall a time when I was 12 and at a male friend's house. My friend's father asked if he had "made out" with his girlfriend. When my friend said yes, I was expecting the father to scowl. But, that was far from what happened. The dad smiled and said, "that is my boy," and patted him on the back. If that was his daugther, I suspect the reaction would have been very different.
Recently, I think these double standards were also at play in the case of Marissa Miller.
Basically, the focus was on the young girls (age 11) who took photos of themselves (at a slumber party) in their bras. (They didn't plan this, nor did they strip down to take the pictures. They were taken while they were changing). But why? Why weren't the males who distributed the photos focused on?
Of course, part of the reason is because one of the girl's challenged her charges and was threatened to be tried as a sex offender. But I suspect something else was also at play.
In this society, just like the Lopez quote, it is widely believed that little boys being horny is somewhat acceptable. It is almost as if it is applauded in many cases. So, when the pictures of these girls were being distributed by males all around campus, this was seen with ambivalence. Sure the DA (a male) had to take action against them. But on some level, it was just "boys being boys." The lack of anger towards the males and the blame placed on the females speaks for itself.
There are many explanations for this double standard. But I suspect it has to do, in part, with our culture's obsession with male masculinity. Because "peeping" and exploiting females affirms this, young male acts of sexuality towards females are met with both disdain and approval. It seems wrong, but at the same time, people are somewhat happy. At least the boy is becoming a (straight) male.
I just wonder how much this double standard will shift when attitudes toward homosexuality become more positive. It will still exist, but it certainly will not be as strong.
