Formerly, elite female athletes had to showcase their genitalia at nude parades as proof they were female. Today, transgender people face similar fetishization on social media and dating apps; this can have detrimental effects on their sense of identity; some participants even described feeling like sexual objects instead of humans with histories and personal experiences.
One of the most prominent examples of this fetishization was seen in a viral video in which a man interacted with two young men from a dating app who were wearing masks, repeatedly touching and grabbing their genitalia in a way that caused distress to them. Even though neither individual involved were transgender individuals, this incident highlighted how some cisgender people target and harass others on basis of gender identity and appearance.
Recent events included an incident in which a woman was arrested for wearing a T-shirt depicting breasts and penis – part of an initiative organized by feminist group Nana to “reclaim their genitalia” and celebrate it as part of themselves and celebrate its diversity as part of themselves. Many have described this campaign as sexual objectification of women’s genitalia; therefore some have called for its cancellation.
The Board believes that Meta’s policies on adult nudity require revision, and recommends that the site set forth clear, objective, rights-respecting criteria to govern its Adult Nudity and Sexual Activity policy in an inclusive fashion that respects international human rights standards. These should ensure people are treated fairly across ideological, geographic and cultural divides and remain consistent across time and space – fulfilling this international human rights standard requirement for equal treatment of all people regardless of ideology, geography or culture context.