After pictures of Justin Trudeau’s, ahem, shapely backside made the rounds on social media, the internet’s response was immediately gushing, with the consensus being that the debonair Canadian PM could add “bootylicious” to his list of talents.

Still, some pointed out the apparent hypocrisy of the same feminist commentators who would ordinarily bristle at the sexualisation of women’s bodies firing off smutty comments about the Canuck big cheese.

On the surface, this might seem like a double standard. But the truth is that there’s no comparison at all. Because unlike our female representatives, Justin Trudeau isn’t in danger of having his legitimate policy decisions overlooked in favour of his looks.

When people point out his physical assets, they’re not suggesting his worth hinges on his attractiveness. He’s still the head of the government, boasting historically impressive approval ratings. As a 45-year-old white man, his judgment and leadership is respected without question, regardless of his movie star good looks — or lack thereof.

media_camera The umm, offending, photo of Justin Trudeau which set social media alight. (Pic: Twitter)

This is a far cry from the sexist abuse copped by prominent females in politics. By contrast, much of the vitriol directed at Hillary Clinton erred on the side of body-shaming and outright misogyny, with slogans like, “KFC Hillary Special: 2 Fat Thighs, 2 Small Breasts, Left Wing”, and, “Hillary sucks more than Monica.”

Our own Julia Gillard was the target of misogynists in her time as PM. Remember the Liberal National Party fundraising dinner which made headlines for advertising a Julia Gillard Kentucky Fried Quail — “Small Breasts, Huge Thighs & a Big Red Box” — on its menu? And this after our first ever female PM slammed opposition leader Tony Abbott for his sexist attitudes “every day in every way” in her now-historic parliamentary address.

But sexism isn’t confined to the political arena. Up to one in three women have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, according to a study conducted by Cosmopolitan. Only 29 per cent reported it, possibly for fear of not being taken seriously or losing their job.

Taking all that into consideration, we shouldn’t attempt to equate the at-worst distasteful remarks made about Justin Trudeau with the body-snarking, rampant misogyny and horrendous chauvinistic abuse slung at women across all industries and sectors. One is not like the other.

media_camera Ivanka Trump sizes up Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau like he’s an ice-cream during his visit to Washington on February 13. (Pic: AFP/Saul Loeb)

They simply don’t carry the same significance.

Likewise, when talking about the objectification of males, we need to consider the context.

As the sole beneficiaries of a patriarchal society, men have never been systematically oppressed. There have never been any laws that dictate what they are allowed to do with their bodies. (Of course, that privilege doesn’t extend to transgender men and men of colour, whose experience of masculinity is altogether different.)

Objectifying men isn’t as easy as tweeting out your approval of Trudeau’s derrière.

Given that the media and society at large principally cater to the male gaze — for instance, according to a Polygraph study of 2000 screenplays, male characters in movies and TV shows are vastly overrepresented, accounting for 78 per cent of lead roles, while researcher Amber Thomas deduced that 73 per cent of dialogue in 2016’s top-grossing movies belonged to the boy’s club — men are by default perceived as three-dimensional human beings with stories worth telling.

This makes the argument that ogling prime ministerial posterior reduces men to their parts a tad less credible.

Elite Daily writer Alexia LaFata summed it up best: “Until you live in a world in which your objectification leads to excessive victim-blaming, unwelcome catcalling, mortifyingly high rates of sexual assault and rape and having your value in society based exclusively on what you look like, I will continue to exercise my God-given right to objectify you.”

Mic drop.

Seb Starcevic is a columnist and commentator

Twitter @BookshelfOfDoom

Originally published as It’s OK to objectify Justin Trudeau. Here’s why