This Buzzfeed Video Trend Needs to Be Stopped Immediately
Why is this series even remotely acceptable?
Chances are, if you’re alive, you know what Buzzfeed is. Buzzfeed became popular in the ‘10s, being a hub for celebrity gossip, endless listicles, and every kind of quiz under the sun.
Their youtube channel features all kinds of different videos and groups series of videos together. And there’s one disturbing video series that needs to be ended immediately.
The trend?
Celebrities reading thirst tweets.
screenshot by author
With over 100 videos and 16.5 million views, it’s a popular series. What I don’t understand is why it’s so popular. Maybe for some reason, viewers think it’s funny to watch uncomfortable celebrities read debauchery tweets about themselves.
It’s not so funny though.
It’s a double standard
While some women are featured on the playlist, it’s predominately men reading thirst tweets. And the tweets they read are nothing short of lewd and inappropriate at best.
When the shoe is on the other foot, it’s not much better. Women are degraded, but not as badly.
Even one user on Hayley Kiyoko’s video noted:
The tweets clearly make celebrities uncomfortable. Although I’m sure not the first, Hayley Kiyoko commented, “I feel very complimented and very concerned.”
Were women to recall the same level of thirst tweets, the story would be different. We wouldn’t accept women being degraded to the level we allow men to be, at least I would think.
It’s anti-feminist
Feminism is all about equal treatment and opportunity for men and women. So why, if it wouldn’t be okay for women, would it be okay for men?
These tweets often insinuate some kind of sex act performed on, or by, the celebrity.
Celebrities consent to do the video series as part of Hollywood, but they wouldn’t consent to any of the activities. It’s alarming.
How would you feel if it happened to you?
If strangers on the internet posted sexually derogatory tweets about you. They comment on your body and sexuality. They remark on all the foul, depraved sex acts they would perform.
If it were a normal person, it would be sexual harassment. It would be cause for concern. It wouldn’t be a joke for you to laugh at.
It’s creepy
Celebrities are forced to laugh off these alarming tweets as if they were nothing. But women know too well the feeling of being sexually threatened, and these tweets come pretty damn close.
These tweets aren’t funny. In fact, they’re often so bad that multiple parts of the tweet have to be censored. If it were so harmless, why would half the tweet be censored?
Men celebrities are sexualized to new heights in these videos. Maybe people think it’s okay because women have had to face this kind of sexualization for centuries. People justify it because ‘it happens to women.’
It shouldn’t happen to anyone though.
Final thoughts
Celebrities face intense scrutinization over their lives, with no privacy. Nothing is off-limits. But some things should be.
Thirst tweets are predatory threats wrapped in funny packaging. And I get it. It’s all done in good fun. It’s not meant to be threatening. People know it’s harmless.
But I don’t think it is entirely harmless. When you allow these actions to be socially acceptable, you open the door to the unknown. You never know when it’s going to cross the line (even though they do) and become a real threat.
Our society may think it’s funny, but I do not.
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