I'm going to push back on the idea that romance novels objectify men. I've read plenty, and I really can't think of any. I can think of some covers that objectify men. There are some with a male torso and no visible head, which is pretty textbook. Those covers are used to sell the book -- not to me since I think they're tacky, but moving on -- and the men in them have no personality, no action that they're performing, no purpose. They're just sitting there flexing their muscles and acting as a sexual billboard. (Also women are sometimes objectified on romance covers too, but I won't go on that tangent.)
I won't say there are no romance novels that do, since I haven't read them all, but it's not standard in the genre at all. Edward Cullen is definitely not objectified in Twilight. Bella finds him attractive and she'll go on about his eyes a lot, but the books go in depth about his own feelings and motivations and character. I know plenty of people dislike the books and think all of the characters are flat, but that's more a function of their opinion of the writing than a disparity between how the female and male characters are written.
I could point you to big name, capital-L literary books by male writers with objectified female characters. The ones who are constantly described by their sexual characteristics and are there for the male main character to respond to sexually and that's pretty much it. Actually, here's a funny McSweeney's piece called "If Women Wrote Men the Way Men Write Women" that illustrates what I'm talking about in a relevant way.
And again, it always comes back around to how prevalent this stuff is. How pervasive it is in society. Mainstream entertainment routinely objectifies women. Ads that most of us see constantly objectify women. It's everywhere to the point many of us don't see it anymore. It has had an enormous effect on how women are treated, meaning the very small amount of male objectification doesn't have the same context or outcome. And to be clear, I'm not arguing for more objectification of anyone.
I think degree matters too. I have trouble equating a guy being shirtless once in an otome game (honestly, those games are usually so tame) with women having their boobs and asses half (or more) exposed and moving so as to best show that off.
I won't say there are no romance novels that do, since I haven't read them all, but it's not standard in the genre at all. Edward Cullen is definitely not objectified in Twilight. Bella finds him attractive and she'll go on about his eyes a lot, but the books go in depth about his own feelings and motivations and character. I know plenty of people dislike the books and think all of the characters are flat, but that's more a function of their opinion of the writing than a disparity between how the female and male characters are written.
I could point you to big name, capital-L literary books by male writers with objectified female characters. The ones who are constantly described by their sexual characteristics and are there for the male main character to respond to sexually and that's pretty much it. Actually, here's a funny McSweeney's piece called "If Women Wrote Men the Way Men Write Women" that illustrates what I'm talking about in a relevant way.
And again, it always comes back around to how prevalent this stuff is. How pervasive it is in society. Mainstream entertainment routinely objectifies women. Ads that most of us see constantly objectify women. It's everywhere to the point many of us don't see it anymore. It has had an enormous effect on how women are treated, meaning the very small amount of male objectification doesn't have the same context or outcome. And to be clear, I'm not arguing for more objectification of anyone.
I think degree matters too. I have trouble equating a guy being shirtless once in an otome game (honestly, those games are usually so tame) with women having their boobs and asses half (or more) exposed and moving so as to best show that off.
