Avengers: Age of Slut-Shaming
Commentary
Captain America would choose his words wisely.
The man who plays Captain America, however? That’s a different story.
Thursday night, Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner, two of the leading men in Avengers: Age of Ultron, issued apologies for comments they made in an interview with Digital Spy that made waves around the Internet.
When the interviewer asked about the dating life of Natasha Romanova (played by Scarlett Johansson), Renner delivered the straight-faced response, “She’s a slut,’’ much to the amusement of Evans.
Evans laughed and added, “Something along that line. She’s a complete whore!’’’
In their statements, Evans said the joke was “very juvenile.’’ The actor, a Boston native, said that he regretted making comments that “rightfully angered some fans.’’
Renner’s apology felt more of a non-apology in which he said, “I am sorry that this tasteless joke about a fictional character offended anyone. It was not meant to be serious in any way. Just poking fun during an exhausting and tedious press tour.’’
Read: I’m sorry the obvious joke I told about a made-up woman insulted you. I was tired, okay?
And sure, Renner’s apology may have been sincere, but I for one am less-than satisfied with it.
It doesn’t matter that Natasha is a fictional character; the idea that she is a slut for having multiple love interests is all too real.
Young people could watch this and think it’s OK to make these kinds of comments, and might take away the message that the constructs of monogomy versus so-called “whoredom’’ really do exist. Female fears of being judged on that criteria are confirmed, and use of that metric is validated.
The interview question wasn’t a throwaway, either.
The Digital Spy reporter asked about the plotline of a major character, and in the spectrum of responses, from textbook to profound, this label of “slut’’ is about as bad as they could’ve gone. It not only becomes yet another example of maligning a woman for her perceived promiscuity, but also undermines the complexity of her character.
Instead of delving into her character’s growth, struggles, or uncertainties, Renner and Evans reduce her to monosyllabic insults that, let’s be real, aren’t even original.
Neither apology addressed why the comments were inappropriate. In this moment of humility, the men could have condemned slut-shaming, which is most basically defined by gender studies scholars as, “social messaging that judges women’s sexual conduct.’’
What could have been used as a platform to speak about gender bias in film (and society) instead felt more like two adolescent boys embarrassed about being caught.
But it’s not really the joke or Renner’s “I’m sorry you feel that way’’ response to criticism that offends me. The biggest shame is that this was such a missed opportunity for off-screen heroism.
Even if Renner was always going to make that joke (remember, he’s just so exhausted from the tedium of being a movie star, and has a bit of a track-record with sexist remarks), Evans didn’t have to laugh. He certainly didn’t have to echo the comments.
Evans has been quoted touting “the importance of equality,’’ as taught to him by his feminist mother. He also starred in a movie called What’s Your Number, and told The Daily Telegraph that the number of sexual partners a person has had is irrelevant.
Yet when his costar made a joke on the subject, Evans endorsed it, either because he thinks it’s actually funny (as indicated by his roaring laughter), or because he felt pressure to go with the tone Renner had set.
To claim to be a supporter of gender equality and fail to speak up when confronted with a violation of it is very telling. It shows that the good-guy image is just a façade that’s easily overcome by the stereotypical “fratboy mentality’’. It’s a classic case of hypocrisy.
These men aren’t superheroes. They’re human. But if you’re going to put on a cape and take on the adoring fandom of thousands, you might want to hold yourself to a higher standard.
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