It might be time to create an entire column based on shit people do that pisses me off. Tonight’s version focuses on sophomore David Fontenot of, that’s right, University of Michigan. The 19-year-old computer science major, in all of his worldly wisdom, decided that his time was best spent creating an app called “Playbook,” in which bros can upload pics of their recent sexual conquests, and then cash in on it.
Providing sections for other dudes to rate these girls, Playbook not only degrades women by objectifying them (much like the personally loathed website BarstoolU), but also goes a step further. Mr. Fontenot and his peers decided that bragging about how hot the girl they bagged isn’t enough—knowing how good and how far she’ll go with you in bed was necessary, too.
I’d like to address David personally, and, hey, since he goes to my school, he might actually see this. So, dude, listen up. Women (like me, like your mom, your sisters, your classmates) are not around for the sole purpose of your pleasure. You’ve disrespected females everywhere, sexualizing them and objectifying them for your other bros to degrade. You are small-minded, and inconsiderate, and I hope that I meet you before I graduate so I can tell you personally how your app and your actions DO have the power to make any woman feel like complete and utter shit. Think about the influence that this has on ALL women— not just on those you hooked up with whom you clearly don’t respect.
For the rest of you thinking that this is all fun and games— dudes talk about this shit all the time! Deemed “locker-room talk” or whatever you wanna call it, discussion about women and their bodies have been going on far longer than the few days that Playbook has been in existence. Even girls do it, right? I know I’ve been guilty of kiss-and-telling about my experiences (after getting explicit permission from my partner).
But here’s where it’s different: David’s app creates a space in which women are seen ONLY for their bodies and their willingness to let a guy get a home run (he disgustingly calls them “plays”. Ugh). It leaves no room for the permission of the girl to be posted on such a site. It perpetuates oppression, of women being mere toys for men to pleasure themselves with. It rewards “going all the way” with higher ratings while failing to take into account the women themselves, their personal beliefs, and their right to use their bodies in any way they see fit.
I’m rarely ashamed to see something in the news that my school has produced. Tonight, I am outraged and pissed off and hurt that one of my fellow peers— a student only a year separated from me— can think so lowly of 50% of his classmates that he would create this app. I’ll always be a proud Wolverine but tonight…I’m just disappointed.
+2-1