Why does it bother so many men that Elodie is with a woman? Women's bodies and relationships are still considered a space for public debate
The images of Elodie together with the dancer Franceska Nuredini went around social networks in a few hours, both at the time of the announcement of the relationship and at Pride in Milan. Obviously, the company did not wait to be heard, putting the report under the pillory. Under the posts, thousands of comments appeared: among those who spoke of 'fashion', those who wrote that they 'only need the right man', those who transformed the relationship into a sexual fantasy and those who, on the other hand, reacted with open hostility, or rather, homophobia. To understand why a simple romantic relationship can arouse such strong reactions, we need to look beyond gossip and question ourselves about the way in which our culture continues to tell about women and sexuality.
Elodie, the female body and the public eye
Elodie is one of the most loved and most exposed artists of recent years. Since she became famous, her body has been constantly the subject of discussion for better, but especially for worse. This happens to a lot of women who work in the show, but in the case of Elodie it was particularly evident. When a woman is told in spite of herself almost exclusively through her sensuality, however, something dangerous happens: many people unconsciously begin to perceive her as an object built for their eyes.
Evil Gaze explained well
This is the so-called “male gaze”, that is, the male gaze: a culture that is used to observing women first as objects of desire and only then as autonomous subjects. When a subject like Elodie, therefore, shows that their desire is not oriented towards men, a certain type of public cannot bear it.
Loss of symbolic privilege and social reactions
Most men grow up in a culture that takes it for granted that heterosexuality is the norm and that, in some way, every woman represents a possibility, at least on a symbolic level. When a woman openly declares that she loves another woman, that fantasy fails. Not because that possibility ever really existed, but because an imaginary built over the years collapses. This is why so many comments speak of 'waste' and 'disappointment', because their conviction, even if remote, vanishes. Then there is another contradiction. Relationships between women are often portrayed as something exciting when they are designed for a male perspective. Think of the movies or pornography that for years have constructed an image of the lesbian couple as an erotic fantasy intended for men.
The problem arises when two women are together outside the male gaze
But when two women really love each other, without trying to please anyone, that same relationship suddenly becomes an object of annoyance or aggression. This is why under the articles dedicated to Elodie, two types of comments coexist: those that are openly homophobic and those that transform the relationship into a sexual fantasy. Although they seem to be opposing attitudes, in reality they have the same root. Both deny women the opportunity to freely live their sexual orientation without going through the male gaze.