TV

Oh Boy, Kit Harington Is Speaking Out Against “Sexism” Towards Men

You know nothing, Jon Snow.

by Meg Watson  31 May 2016

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He may not have made an appearance in this week’s Game of Thrones but Kit Harington is now causing off-screen debate all on his own after an interview with The Sunday Times. The much-gushed over 29-year-old actor has spoken out against what he’s described as “a double standard” in the entertainment industry in which male sexual objectification isn’t treated as seriously as that directed towards women.

“If you said to a girl, ‘Do you like being called a babe?’ and she said, ‘No, not really’, she’d be absolutely right,” he said. “I like to think of myself as more than a head of hair or a set of looks. It’s demeaning. Yes, in some ways you could argue I’ve been employed for a look I have. But there’s a sexism that happens towards men.”

That last sentiment especially is not going over so well with fans.

First thing’s first: Harington absolutely has a right to get annoyed with the way he’s treated in the industry. As a leading actor on one of the most popular and critically-acclaimed shows in the world, he has plenty to talk about other than his looks and sex life. Though there are always going to be fans who love him for those things alone (I’m sorry, no 13-year-old girl cares about his methodology in depicting the Morrissey-fuelled woes of moody Jon Snow), if journalists aren’t treating him seriously and casting agents aren’t considering his acting abilities, that’s a problem… It’s just one he probably shouldn’t directly equate with the far-worse plight faced by his female colleagues.

“There’s definitely a sexism in our industry that happens towards women, and there is towards men as well,” he added. “At some points during photoshoots when I’m asked to strip down, I felt that.”

A reminder: nearly every woman in the entertainment industry has faced what Harington is talking about here with the added injustices of pay inequality, a general lack of work (studies have found just 30 percent of speaking roles in Hollywood are given to women), a serious lack of good work (as female characters are often reduced to stereotypes or exploited on screen as a result of a production industry dominated by men), and the promise they’ll likely be out of work completely by the time they hit 35.

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