In today’s society, women are still objectified as sexual playthings. From Hooters to strip clubs and prostitution to GoDaddy.com Super Bowl ads, depicting women as nothing more than sexual objects is sadly still around.
Thankfully, One Tree Hill shines as a beacon of feminism in an otherwise male-dominated society. It might seem odd, but looking back at the history of the series, it’s always been a place where it’s the male stars who are made into sexual objects.
In last night’s episode, this was beautifully illustrated by the presence of countless shirtless actors vying for the role of Nathan Scott in An Unkindness of Ravens, the movie about the characters on One Tree Hill. Nathan wondered why they were all shirtless, but if he’d been paying attention over the course of the series, he’d know.
While other shows might focus on the sexy women, stripping them down to bikinis to parade around the screen, One Tree Hill does the same thing with its men. James Lafferty has seemingly spent about half his time on the show without a shirt. Whether he’s playing basketball, walking around the house, or participating in the Boy Toy Auction, the show keeps him as naked as possible as often as possible.
The same goes for Lucas, who back in the early episodes had his locker room towel stolen and was forced to hide his unmentionables with nothing but a pair of basketballs. One Tree Hill is a place where the men are shirtless and the women are on the prowl.
To some, this might paint the women of the show as nothing more than man-hungry sexaholics, as was the mistaken case with Brooke Davis during last night’s episode. But that’s simply a double standard, and instead, these women are fierce and independent.
Peyton started her own record label. Brooke has her own fashion line. And Haley was a successful pop music star who decided to become a teacher because it was her passion. These aren’t women who wait for men to hand them what they want, they go out and take it.
One Tree Hill offers a great reversal of traditional gender stereotypes, which is very refreshing at a time when the top female NASCAR driver is reduced to starring in commercials where men ogle her in the shower. It’s nice to have a TV show where instead, it’s the women who ogle the men.
-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Images courtesy of the CW)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
