Peens on screen: Exploring the cinematic reality of gender disparity
If you type in ‘penis television’, an assured accosting of stories, skits- copious amounts at that- on the new euphoria television series starring Zendaya Coleman. The newest HBO show that follows the tumultuous life of 17 year old Rue, battling mental health and drug addiction as she embarks on life post rehab. According to various publications, many have alleged that the television network, HBO, has had taken steps towards editing out the 80 sighting of full frontal male nudity from the second episode of the premier season. In homage to the iconic changing room scene in Stephen King’s, Carrie. So unfortunately, if you were tuning in for the sole purpose of (or a mere interest in) an 80 penis barrage, that number has fallen to 20. So not quite 80, but, certainly in one scene, in one television show… male nudity… this is groundbreaking stuff!
Think back to any show ever that has featured explicit sexual content and riddle me this: How many times do penises appear? A few shows do spring to mind. All HBO shows at that, who in recent years has gained its notoriety in promoting more expletives than their contemporaries, with award winning shows including Insecure, Big Little Lies and the acclaimed, Game of Thrones. Undoubtedly the most documented features of full frontal male nudity in the last 5 years; will be the latter two shows. Throngs of breast and bottoms in Thrones at f first would have wounded the prude into stupor by season 3 became so commonplace that a monologue portrayed by Little finger detailing the ills of his childhood, with two sex workers engaging in the very same frame, intensifying as the foretelling falls into greater despair seemed rather numbing in hindsight. not to mention in 2017, when Big little lies’ Alexander Skarsgard’s alleged penis had gaggles of middle aged mummies everywhere a frenzy over what turned out to be a prosthetic penis . Upon delving deep to find additionally features of penises on screen, I stumbled upon ‘Mr skin’: a platform tracking frontal nudity in film and television- also, note that a it doubles as a porn site, so if you’re reading this from the office or on a packed tube- approach with caution (and also private browser should be your frequent friend in this scenario, best wishes)!
Yes, of course, a few more notable shows were missed in my original search, including, the British television show, Cucumber, but what persist was the disparity between men and women.
As long as television has existed puritan depictions of the body have ensued; notably so, the male body. There has long existed a double standard in society rather. Whereby fame great in public, though, regardless of its function- whether or not its being utilized as such is policed, whereas, men are free to roam topless without fear of judgement. However in film and television, those roles are skewed. certainly, male breast are typical to the eye, yet women’s bodies, not just breast, are seen is iconographic representations of impending sexual engagement. Social study; track the number of times women remove clothing before men before intercourse, in film and television. It is true that perhaps, to an extent, this is largely to illuminate consent from women, but the dialogues are largely evocative of male coercion as opposed to female. So, why is the sexualisation of men and women starkly dissimilar? In short, film and television are informed by a male gaze. With largely dominant male directorial post to women; male centric governing boards and studios, female nudity is not merely palatable and desirable for them, but rather a case of male nudity being undesirable.
In gothic literature, the phallus has long been symbols of violence and force, to a large degree a measure of competence between men. Portraying that on screen, is an obscene and impossible feat. There are to markers penis presence in film: either the violent, sexual barbarian or the downtrodden waste of space. In other words penis, in all its forms, is tied to status.
When the penis is intrinsic to a man’s masculinity, which, in turn, informed by his social standing, it becomes a mere impossible prospect to expect anything less from our internalization of the female form, over the male. Lest we impeach on the male ego, the penis will remain a thing of fantasy. Take that further and consider race in film and the representation of men; stereotypical tropes loom above the heads of all who embark on the trade. For every white penis you see, you will never see a black penis in the same scene, nor show, as those stereotypes of race and penis size are reinforced. The fetisation of the black male has been tied to their penis- solely- and connotations of blackness, masculinity barbarity. all lexis imaginable to convey primitivism would be attached to that character adding a double jeopardy for black, male actors, the same implies on the other scale for Asian male actors alike.
Potency and ego is the cause of the scarcity of penises on screen. There That is it. We can try to contextualise the difference in the male to female gaze; try to rationalise the complexities of the alleged “crudeness” of the male sexual organ, but ultimately, it is ego. Which would explain why male nudity is protecting by prosthetics and women’s are not.
