Response to viral act proves the bar is way too low for men

A viral clip of a man staring at woman is going viral online, and the response has revealed a very creepy problem.

A man staring at a beautiful woman and not harassing her is apparently cause for praise in 2023.

A video circulating on X, formerly Twitter, reveals just how low the standards are for men’s behaviour and the wild things they still get compliments on.

The clip was originally posted by influencer Barbara Gambatesa, who has amassed over three million followers on TikTok, and was then reposted on X.

The video was meant to be about her showing off her graduation outfit. She chose a gorgeous chic white matching number, but it quickly became about the man in the background of her video, who stole the show.

He is smoking a cigarette, admiring the woman, bluntly staring and, at one point, he touches his forehead as his eyes seem to linger on the woman.

That is barely noteworthy, but the response to the clip is nothing short of eye-opening and concerning.

The man was seen looking at this woman. Picture: TikTok/ barbaragambatesa02

The response to the clip is the problem. Picture: TikTok/ barbaragambatesa02

The clip was taken from the influencer’s social media and reshared on X, where a user praised the man and called it “perfect” because he only looked at the woman, instead of approaching her.

Yes, that is somehow worth some praise.

“Perfect. He looked. He admired. He stole one more look, then simply went about his business. That’s how you look at a beautiful person,” the post read.

That post has amassed over 27 million views, and the comment section is filled with people gushing over the anonymous man for not approaching the woman and making a nuisance of himself.

It is a cesspit of a man being congratulated for doing less than the bare minimum, revealing a pretty stark reality.

There are plenty of comments to sift through.

Highlights include someone saying that the man should be given respect for not harassing the woman, while another said it was a “beautiful” moment and an example of a man doing everything “right”.

People are praising a man over nothing. Picture: TikTok/ barbaragambatesa02

It has been viewed over 27 million times. Picture: TikTok/ barbaragambatesa02

One wrote that this was the most “respectful” stare they’d ever seen. Someone else said when you genuinely admire someone you don’t cross their boundaries, and this was a prime example of that.

One man wrote that he enjoyed the clip because it was “good” to see men aren’t “scared” to be seen looking at women in public.

There was a strong sentiment that looking at women was something that “all guys do”, with one man saying he could relate to the guy starring because every man has been in this “position” before.

Perhaps the most alarming response was a tweet that praised the man for not harassing the woman.

“He just looked at her with admiration, without disturbing or harassing her,” one praised.

A woman said that the response to this video proved that society’s standards had gone down the drain.

“Praising a man for looking at a woman’s butt and not harassing her? When has society’s standards become this low?,” she demanded.

Barbara Gambatesa has three million followers on TikTok. Picture: TikTok/ barbaragambatesa02

She’s a hugely successful influencer. Picture: TikTok/ barbaragambatesa02

Psychologist Carly Dober said that celebrating this kind of behaviour is a huge problem and enforces the kind of culture that has this wrong idea that women owe men something.

“While restraint or holding back might be being celebrated by some men, that attitude might reinforce the belief that women are solely there to be accessed for pleasure by men, or to get attention from men and that they are being the ‘bigger person’ in not going out of their way to hit on women,” she said.

Dober also said the response to the clip highlights how much still needs to change in modern society.

“Culturally, some men still also think that women wearing particular clothes or presenting themselves in certain ways still demands attention from the opposite sex. This is still something that needs to change,” she said.