Everyone Calm Down, NBC's Ladies Did Not Violate That Shirtless Olympian

In a world where heterosexual males continue to be neutered in the cultural discourse, it can be tempting to overcompensate when we find apparent double-standards. Such has been the case in response to the ogling and groping of Tongan Olympic flag bearer Pita Taufatofua by female anchors at NBC. Here are the tweets:

“You guys are going to have a lot of questions to answer when you get home.” @MLauer to @JennaBushHager & @hodakotb pic.twitter.com/KtO23KjfXK

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) August 8, 2016

.@hodakotb living the dream this morning with #Tonga flag bearer Pita Taufatofua! #RioTODAY pic.twitter.com/UDZYlnE1Vo

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) August 8, 2016

Good morning from RIO with my girl @NMoralesNBC. @SavannahGuthrie we got you a little something…. pic.twitter.com/mT5Btq8pBu

— Jenna Bush Hager (@JennaBushHager) August 8, 2016

Twitchy asks, “So, the male anchors can do this to a willing female athlete?”

Of course they can’t, and with good reason. There are real and objective differences between men and women which manifest in different standards of behavior. Generally speaking, men are physically stronger and more aggressive than women. Anatomically, the male is in the position of potential invader. It is therefore appropriate for men to conduct themselves with more restraint. A man groping a woman is invasive and presumptuous. A woman groping a man is significantly less so, arguably to the point of being negligible. This flag-bearer is in no danger of being violated.

You could make the argument that these ladies should dial it back out of a sense of propriety. That may be so. But there’s no equating this behavior with that of the genders reversed. Gender matters, and it has an effect upon whether certain behaviors prove acceptable.