Gal Gadot Only Celeb Forced To Expose Skin On GQ ‘Men Of The Year’ Cover — Hollywood Sexism At Work?
Gal Gadot has certainly proven that she can go toe-to-toe with men — in real life and in her Wonder Woman movie. So why is she the only one of four people honored — three are men — on GQ’s 2017 People of the Year covers who has to expose her skin?
A Newsweek contributor asks this question in a new report on sexism in Hollywood (and everywhere). The headline by Mary Kaye Schilling, “Only Gal Gadot Has to Show Skin on GQ’s People of the Year Covers” explores how, despite the Israeli actress’ skyrocketing career and role as an “accidental feminist,” she still has to succumb to pressure from magazine executives to expose as much skin as necessary — for the benefit of their male target audience.
Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman of the Year) was selected among three others: Kevin Durant (Champion of the Year), Stephen Colbert (Hombre of the Year), and Colin Kaepernick (Citizen of the Year) to grace the covers of this year’s Men of the Year editions. All the recipients are recognized for their pivotal contributions that continue to impact society in some form or another.
What’s more alluring about Gal Gadot’s inclusion is that she is the lone woman among the honorees. On the surface, Gadot’s addition is worthy of celebration and represents another barrier broken in the so-called glass ceiling, as the writer points out. And aside from a subtle display of skin — alluring to some, but offensive to the writer — GQ‘s choice of Gadot makes perfect sense.
A look at all four covers from this year’s #GQMOTY issue, starring @Kaepernick7, @GalGadot, @KDTrey5, and @StephenAtHome https://t.co/p3dSNYJjbt pic.twitter.com/w2oDUhoqoE
— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) November 13, 2017
Schilling highlights how the feminist movement is sparking discussions about equality and how courageous women are coming forth to challenge social mores and the status quo. Gal Gadot is an integral part of the paradigm shift. However, the writer opined that the flashing of Gadot’s midriff is the price women pay to walk alongside their male counterparts.
“Many smart people will come together and begin to think about this, to figure out how to change laws, how to raise children so that they aren’t indoctrinated or brainwashed by old ideas, how to rehabilitate the workplace, government, and schools,” the writer argues.
“What doesn’t make sense is that Gal Gadot is the only one of the four who is exposing skin, who is sexualized. Kaepernick, Hall, and Durant are all dressed to the neck, and modestly: Kaepernick is in a turtleneck, Colbert in a tux, Durant in a velvet jacket.”
Schilling acknowledges that her focus on Gadot’s attire on the cover versus the smartly dressed and covered-up men is a “petty gripe.” However, she believes that the tiny details are cumulative. Over a span of time, expectations, mannerisms and “unconscious impulses” are created — all at the expense of women.
Gal Gadot named GQ’s ‘Wonder Woman of the Year’ https://t.co/LHk0a0vnhM pic.twitter.com/FHPHU0h3qv
— The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) November 13, 2017
Furthermore, the writer admits that Gal Gadot looks stunning in her attire for the GQ cover. In fact, she says it’s not “salacious” at all and nor is the overall rendering of the photo.
Still, the decision to have Gadot reveal a tiny amount of skin fails to accomplish its mission of depicting her as a “powerful woman.” Finally, she says the tradeoff Gal Gadot likely made is not unique to her.
“One of the saddest cover photos the magazine ever published was of Michelle Williams in lingerie. She had been interviewed for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in the film My Week With Marilyn, an Oscar-nominated performance. Rather than celebrating what had become a critically acclaimed career, the knee-jerk idea for the shoot was to photograph her as Marilyn. (Note cover line: “Who Knew Michelle Williams Had This Body?”
Schilling praises the accomplishments of other women who haven’t walked the thin line of forced exhibitionism to achieve a state of being on equal footing with men in the industry. For those real-life Wonder Women, their careers still flourish. Nevertheless, the writer says that Hollywood isn’t abandoning its efforts.
Do you think Gal Gadot’s GQ cover is sexism at play?
[Featured Image by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP Images]
