Unlike any of his political predecessors, Justin Trudeau has been at the forefront of infatuation; not for his policies but rather, for his physical appearance, age, and charm.

It seems people have forgotten to protest against his sexualization and have chosen to ignore the hypocrisy this exposes around the subject. Though, this distracts from the critical scrutiny he has been under lately.

Trudeau’s decision to welcome the Trans Mountain and Line 3 pipelines, breaking his promise to re-evaluate the expansion hurt his approval rating, which is now beneath 50%. Even worse, Trudeau deserted his commitment to reform Canada’s electoral system earlier this month, prompting heavy criticism, particularly from NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, who accused the prime minister of deceiving voters. With this in mind, a distraction may seem helpful.

Nonetheless, praising your Prime Minister for being a ‘#PMILF‘ does little to silence critics and devalues his image as a serious and sophisticated leader.

Recently, Trudeau has yet again been sexualized for his physique, this time after being photographed wearing tight-fitting pants. This has been shared all over social media and by many tabloids including US Weekly, Cosmopolitan, and ELLE Magazine.

In the same Mashable article linked above, there was reference to how Hilary Clinton was described as ‘unattractive’ during Fox News coverage of the presidential debate, leading to anger induced tweeting.

We have seen a clear opposition to women being portrayed in an erotic fashion in media, with analyses of magazine covers and more. When Trudeau was in a similar spotlight during his campaign, with photos of him boxing and articles in awe of his attractiveness blanketing social media, the uproar was nowhere to be found.

Although no credible journalistic organizations have reported on Trudeau’s allure, they have also failed to cover this clear double standard in society. By allowing and ignoring this perversion of the Prime Minister’s appearance, the strides made to fight the sexualization of women and others in media are undermined.

This is not to say women are not sexualized in the media, as there are many examples of this. Rather, it is a reminder to keep everyone accountable for the objectification in media, regardless of the gender or sex of the subject.

If society truly is against how sexual media has become, they must remain vigilant, even if the subject is Justin Trudeau.

By Bobby Hristova

Please note that opinions expressed are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views and values of The Blank Page.