The couples on MAFS met their spouse’s fam and pals in Monday night’s episode. But one interaction has stuck with me for all the wrong reasons. And no, it’s not Olivia and Jackson at the gym.
Selina checked out Cody‘s filthy, minimalist-on-a-budget bachelor pad in Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
Cody’s housemate Zack welcomed them when they arrived. He said he tried to set the scene for the couple. And by that I mean he laid out a shitty path of rose petals leading to Cody’s room.
Selina enthusiastically followed it to find a single bed with a Batman-themed sheet in Cody’s room. It was like something out of a teenager’s room.
Then she found a pretty fkd picture of her and Cody hanging on his wall.
“Nooo, what the hell is that,” Selina said as she pointed at the photo.
Zack had photoshopped Selina and Cody’s faces onto a random couple. Selina’s ‘crotch’ had been replaced by a watermelon that had a piece cut out of it. Cody was seen eating the cut-out watermelon chunk.
The image was absolutely cooked because it was a grotesque and juvenile ‘joke’ about eating out a woman and in incredibly poor taste. It gave the impression that Cody’s mates think a man is entitled to a woman’s body and that there’s humour in female-coded genitalia.
But FYI boys: you aren’t and there isn’t. What we saw on MAFS on Monday night was merely another example of casual misogyny and toxic masculinity.
Zack showed a complete lack of respect for Selina and women in general with that photo. He seemed to have enough time to make that photo but didn’t have enough time to clean up their apartment. I mean, talk about someone’s priorities showing their true colours.
But the more uncomfortable part of the distasteful picture was how Cody reacted to it.
Cody laughed it off as it happened. He then told the MAFS producers the moment wasn’t ideal.
He sympathised with Selina and described her as a “poor girl”. But he still sat back and let Zack make fun of her in the moment. And then we learned that the poster was left up when the couple went to bed!
Absolutely atrocious and tactless behaviour on his behalf. It said a lot. Namely, it suggested Cody didn’t really care about Selina’s feelings or at least didn’t see anything wrong with the photo.
But here’s the thing, he and Zack may think it’s a cheeky joke among the boys but it’s the exact kind of casual misogynistic behaviour that normalises rape culture. It’s the exact ‘joke’ in the group chat that allows men to make out-of-pocket comments about women and catcalled them in public.
That pic of Selina’s ‘watermelon’ was an example of the casual misogyny that sexual assault prevention experts such as Grace Tame and Chantel Contos encourage us to call out. And it infuriated me and the internet.
Several viewers called the photo “crass”. Others argued it was a huge red flag for the way Cody sees Selina.
“I hope Selina actually says something about that watermelon picture because the lack of respect from Cody’s housemate is astounding,” said one fan on Twitter.
“I can’t believe he’s left that watermelon poster up,” added another.
“How fucking disgusting and disrespectful.”
That picture of Selina was crass. The alarm bells should be ringing. #MAFS #MAFSAU #MAFSAustralia
— Michael Byrnes (@MichaelByrnes) March 14, 2022
I can’t believe he’s left that watermelon poster up, how f*cking disgusting & disrespectful #MAFSAU
— Steven McLachlan (@SJMcLachlan) March 14, 2022
i hope selina actually says something about that watermelon picture because the lack of respect from cody’s housemate is ASTOUNDING #MAFS #MAFSAU
— bea | waiting for international dates ✨ (@behindxthemall) March 14, 2022
https://twitter.com/skcarson_/status/1503307016173146112
That watermelon art has scarred ME, god knows how Selina’s feeling #MAFSAustralia #MAFSAU
— georg (@georgiawhomst) March 14, 2022
I’m sorry but fuck a leaked nude scandal or couple cheating. This is the kinda thing that the experts should be in an uproar over. I wouldn’t want my partner’s friends making these kinds of jokes at my expense. And I especially wouldn’t want to see my significant other not stand up for me when it happens. Would you?
Yes, Cody’s apartment was gross and unkempt like a teenage boy’s room. But the bigger issue with that scene is what that poster said about the way Cody, his mates and the average Australian bloke view women.
