Blake Shelton, SMA 2017, And A Word About Equality

(Edit: I stand by my points about equality and impossible standards, but because of this I firmly believe that Blake Shelton is NOT a good choice at all. If People wanted to choose a regular guy for SMA, there were FAR better choices than a racist and homophobic Blake Shelton, who couches his “apology” under the guise of “comedy.”- JP)

If anything good is coming out of the Trumpian Era, it’s that more and more people are standing up for women and equality, shining a glaring light on how rampant sexual assault and sexual harassment is around the world.

The conversation about normalizing “beauty” is happening at the same time. More magazines are putting “regular”-sized women on their covers, and even runway shows are tossing aside their rules and putting out their most diverse New York Fashion Week in its history.

This is the world I want to raise my daughter in, this world that recognizes and celebrates differences and throws the idea of beauty into the wind to be scattered and recollected to include everyone.

Everyone, including men. While we are railing against the impossible beauty standards that are set for women and demanding equality (and rightfully so!), shouldn’t that equality include men? Equality means equal, which in turn means, in effect, “same standards apply”. Equality goes both ways, doesn’t it? Otherwise, by definition, it cannot be called equality; one would still have an edge than the other.

The social media universe is having a field day on the doorstep of Blake Shelton, and I couldn’t disagree with it more. In fact, I am angry at all of the backlash and negative comments I am seeing on Facebook, from both women and men.

I get it. He’s a good-looking dude, but Sexiest Man Alive? If we’re judging by People’s past years’ selections, maybe not – Ryan Reynolds, Sean Connery, Chris Hemsworth, Dwayne Johnson, none of whom would be considered a fair depiction of a normal standard for men.

But why not now, why not this year?

I like Blake. I think he is a handsome fella, and I think it’s a great step towards equality that People chose him as their SMA for 2017 because it means that more magazines are willing to consider a wider range of what is “sexy”. Blake is a normal dude, who maybe doesn’t turn everyone’s crank, but you know what? You probably don’t either, and I know I certainly don’t! That is why diversity is incredible and beautiful, because someone somewhere will find all of us beautiful at some point, no matter what our size and shape and colour.

Smashing the standards of beauty that have been set for people is IMPERATIVE. This includes men. Blake absolutely deserves to be the SMA, and his humility about it is astounding and refreshing.

If we are going to smash the glass ceiling and destroy beauty standards and race towards equality, we need to do it together, equally. All of us, and that includes applauding People’s choice of Blake Shelton for Sexiest Man Alive.