The #MeToo movement definitely brought a lot of things to light that society needed to discuss.
That said, it has also brought a whole new awareness to the kinds of actions that the movement deemed unacceptable “in general.”
It has even caused potential US presidential candidate Joe Biden to apologize for his handsy ways with voters and others in the past.
So, as you can imagine, when a woman takes a creep pic of her “hot” male doctor, then you can expect some of the Internet to have a less than enthusiastic response.
Some people agreed with her that her dermatologist was quite attractive, but other people drew attention to the double standards on display.
One Twitter user, @Kolamide, said: “This man was only doing his job and had his photo taken without his consent only to be sexualized by the owner of this account alongside other women in the replies. This toxic trait ya’ll openly display is beyond bigotry and purely distasteful and disturbing in the least.”
As PetaPixel reports, this did not deter the Twitter user, @PurpleGoddesss, who then posted the doctor’s business information to Twitter with a “You’re welcome” to her users.
The doctor, Imran Aslam, found out he went viral and his initial reactions were not excitement or elation but rather trepidation.
He told the website Bored Panda, “My first reaction was just pure anxiety…I am a very low key individual so when I first heard that I was trending on Twitter I was kind of freaking out […] I started getting texts from friends all over the country, some of whom I hadn’t spoken to in years, telling me that I’m the top post on Twitter. Once the anxiety settled though, and I realized that most people were receiving my picture favorably, I started to find the whole situation pretty funny.”
But the double standards at work in this incident were not lost on Dr. Aslam.
He told Bored Panda: “By definition, many of the comments on my picture would be considered a form of sexual harassment, and I can totally understand how people consider this to be a double standard in light of the #metoo movement…And that if those same comments were made about a woman there would an uproar. …From my perspective, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the fact that I never felt that I was a ‘victim’. As I reflect more on this sentiment I realize the reason for this is undoubtedly because of my ‘male privilege.’ I have had the privilege of never once feeling threatened or intimidated by a woman in a sexual manner, I have had the privilege of never being catcalled, and I have had the privilege of never experiencing what it’s like to be followed home by a stranger that was a woman. It is because of these liberties that we enjoy as males that I think the sexual harassment discussion may have to be interpreted differently in my situation.”
What do you think? Was @PurpleGoddesss out of line taking the picture of the doctor? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
You can check out the doctor's Instagram account here.