Objectification

A female columnist recently wrote about how it was acceptable for female critics to lust after comely male actors, but no longer acceptable for male critics to speak in a similar manner of female actors. She identified this as a double standard, and lamented how the #metoo movement had made us lose our sense of humour and our sense of proportion.
Not all double standards are bad. Not all objectification is  unwelcome. But, we do live in a world where the a women are judged primarily on the way they look, which is not the case for men. Women are also told that their biggest asset (no puns intended) is their looks and most women have to spend a good amount of time warding of unwelcome sexual advances from men. So the context that male and female actors, or any male or female for that matter, operate in is completely different. I have been slapped on the bum by female friends and didn't feel violated in the least. But, I would never do that to a female friend, however close we are. A part of is down to my personality, but a part of it is also an acknowledgement that I need to, as a man, take extra care to make women feel safe around me, which is something my female friends don't have to worry about.  And, that is a small price to pay compared to all the other advantages that men enjoy.