The response to Christian Wilkins’ naked look reveals a far bigger problem
Christian Wilkins wore a naked dress to the ARIA awards and the response has revealed a shameful problem.
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OPINION
Christian Wilkins wore a naked dress to the ARIA awards, and the reaction reveals what is still wrong with Australia.
At news.com.au, we posted Wilkins wearing the nude dress on our Facebook page, and the response was overwhelming and unsettling.
Three social media moderators were checking the comments and, within half an hour, the comment section still needed to be turned off.
The amount of hateful and disgusting comments that needed to be moderated was far more than a three-person job.
“Are you okay?” was a sentence asked to one of the people in charge of checking the comments and, therefore, having to read how vile they were.
Wilkins has become used to this kind of reaction and said, for the most part, the response doesn’t shock him.
“I find it humorous that people get so wound up. I like beautiful things and when I see beautiful garments, I want to wear them,” he told news.com.au.
Developing a thick skin doesn’t mean he isn’t concerned about what kind of messaging the trolling sends to other people.
“It does make me sad though for younger LGBTQI+ people that might not have the support network I have,” he explained.
Wilkins said that he hopes the fact he doesn’t change the way he dresses sends the right kind of message.
“I hope that maybe by dressing the way I do it can encourage others to be themselves too,” he said.
There’s no denying that Christian wore that dress to get attention. It was sexy, sheer and it was almost impossible not to look at him, but there’s a difference between commenting on fashion and hate.
No outfit should provoke hate; if a woman wore something sheer, it wouldn’t have even started a conversation, nor would it have led to so many vile comments that a Facebook post had to be altered so it wouldn’t become a place for people to air their hate.
The words of the trolls aren’t worth repeating or spotlighting, but what they tell us about how men who dare to step away from traditional masculine tropes are treated, well, we need to talk about that.
Christian, 28, is one of those influencers that does lots of different things. He hosts, dances and has cemented himself as a fashion icon.
He is known for pushing the boundaries of fashion and ignoring the outdated idea that men can’t wear dresses, skirts, or anything they please.
It’s exciting to see that kind of representation in mainstream media. For a while it was just a sea of straight men with bad veneers wearing chinos.
So yes, we are lucky to finally have a male celebrity who doesn’t just look like he could be a river boy on Home and Away, but it is horrifying to witness the response to him.
Christian is easily a role model for young people and a beacon of hope that you can be who you are.
Yet, for those same young people that get to see him and know it is okay to be different, they also get to see what happens when you are.
Sure, there’s glitz and glamour, but there’s also name-calling, trolling and a general sense in the room that being who you are is somehow a statement that threatens other people and causes them to lash out.
There’s still a price men are paying for bucking traditional masculinity and Christian is stuck paying it.
Take that in.
As famous, influential and privileged as Christian is - I mean, he is the son of Australian television royalty Richard Wilkins - he isn’t safe from bigotry, homophobia and name calling.
The naked dress has become the dress of the year; it’s been seen on everyone from Rita Ora to Kim Kardashian to Dua Lipa.
At news.com.au, we’ve covered this fashion trend endlessly and not once have we had to turn off comments on a social media post over it.
Christian is a fashionable guy that takes risks; of course, he was going to join in on 2023’s dress.
It is depressing that he can’t join in without it becoming some statement or an excuse for people to air their worst views.
Christian is the future, but the reaction to his naked dress tells us that the now we are living in is still a deeply flawed place.
Christian’s revealing dress ultimately stripped Australia naked and highlighted our flaws.
Originally published as The response to Christian Wilkins’ naked look reveals a far bigger problem
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