Recently, OKLETSGO a local podcast show that was started by three ex-DJs was embroiled in a controversy. They were criticised for making misogynistic and sexist remarks towards women on their platform. In one of the episodes titled “Help! My Child’s Friend Calls Me A MILF”, one of the men said he prefers “bums and legs” over women’s breasts. In another, a host describes a woman with a “jacked” bum, before proceeding to say how he would “lick her” and have intercourse in a particular position.

Jade Rasif who is a famous DJ and someone with a lot of influence commented on their Facebook page, “If you reflected on it like you claimed, think you should apologise and take ownership.” The top reply to the comment pointed out her “hypocrisy” by saying she’s the host of Millennials of Singapore (MOS) and her colleagues, Dew especially, aren’t any better. This made me think about how public perception would change if a balanced group of two men and two women were to sexually objectify women as compared to 3 men who’s doing the objectifying. Yes, I’m talking about Jade’s show MOS. The representation itself makes it more costly for anyone to talk in that manner. Here’s another post on Jade’s FB page.

If it was me, I would have ascertained if Jade has made any questionable statements or supported misogynist songs before. Since she’s a DJ who’s into hiphop culture, there’s a good chance she has sang and remixed songs that contain misogynistic lyrics. If so, I wonder if anyone has called her out on it. Or does her sex plays a role in the lack of scandals? To be fair, men tend to lack the finesse to appreciate women’s beauty in public. A woman will not talk like that. They tend to be more subtle and flirtatious with their non-verbal cues than verbal cues. The article argues that joking about doing such things in front of their listeners is not a laughing matter. And I quote, “To a lustful individual, this nonchalance may tell them it’s okay to have these thoughts.”

That’s a fair point to make since men are more violent than women. If a man talks about his fantasy to an unobliging woman, there’s a good chance he may force it upon her. Thus, there’s a very good reason why she should feel unsafe alone among a group of man. Her fear is rational since statistics show that the majority of homicide and sexual assaults are perpetrated by men. Well, that’s probably the first thing women learn before they even read about the statistics.

When there’s harm done to some people, it’s natural for people to want more legislation to protect everyone else. There’s an ongoing movement to police people’s speech to control what they can or cannot discuss in public places, including cleaning up locker-room talk. It may come as a surprise, but during my national service in the army men talk like that. Not as crude as them, but yes similarly sexually objectifying. Heck we even sang about “going home to masturbate after our two weekends of confinement”. This is what TRP mean by women infiltrate men’s spaces and set up rules on what’s allowed or not allowed to be discussed. I feel like that’s a strawman by TRP though. I think critics would not have protested against OKLETSGO if they were to be more refined and avoid such crude comments better kept private.

This really reminds me of Gamergate. Women who hardly play video games criticise the industry’s “sexism” and “misogyny”. Likewise, Jade probably hasn’t even heard a single episode of the podcast and she’s criticising it for good reasons of course. I can’t help but also think of an ongoing abang-cakap (bro talk) gentrification.

Last updated: 25 July 2021