You may all be thinking that I’m some man-hating, crazed, feminist-obsessed person, and you might be a little right, but I cannot emphasize this matter enough. So, do me a solid, and hear me out one more time. 

I remember that one time in the seventh grade, during a hot summer afternoon, a classmate pulled me aside from a group conversation to point out my visible bra strap -- I was wearing a tank top. “What does it matter?” I asked. To which she responded, “it’s not appropriate.” She walked back to the group while I stood there, dumbfounded. I mean, what did it matter if my bra strap was showing? It wasn’t like it was her bra, so why the hell did she care? Plus, it’s not like it was a secret that I was wearing a bra. I had boobs, therefore I wore bras, simple enough. I was angry at the comment she had made, but I was angrier at the fact that she had managed to get under my skin, and made me feel ashamed at my prior lack of embarrassment. Woman are constantly shamed for their sexuality.

When I first found out about the nude celebrity photos that had been leaked, I had the unoriginal reaction of, “why did they take the photos in the first place?” My friends, rightfully, sympathized with the actresses. I rolled my eyes as I changed the topic and moved on to what I believed was a more significant issue: police brutality and the Ferguson incident. But, boy, was I wrong -- not about the significance of the Ferguson issue, because it is important, but about the insignificance about the leaked celebrity photos, because it’s also important.

First, let me give you a run down on the scoop. There was an anonymous Internet user on the popular 4chan website who stated he/she had hacked into a handful of celebs’ accounts. Whether it was through their iCloud or Facebook or both is still unclear -- and said he/she would leak multiple photos of said celebrities posing nude. Well, Sunday rolled around the block and nudes of a handful of celebs were publicized -- including those of Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Victoria Justice and Arianna Grande. Accordingly, they issued statements about the aforementioned photos. Some (Justice and Grande) claimed the photos were bogus while others (Lawrence) had a representative speak on their behalf, threatening to prosecute "anyone who posts the stolen pictures," thereby, confirming the authenticity of the nudes.     

Anne Hathaway said, “I’m sorry we live in a culture that commodifies the sexuality of unwilling participants.” If that doesn’t strike a chord with you, then I’m not sure what will. If you were to look at the comments that these 4chan users post, you’d be disgusted. The users who are begging this anonymous hacker for more photos are the same users that went on a rampage during the NSA/privacy case. Some users thanked the hacker, who blatantly invaded a person’s privacy, while others shared my initial reaction of victim blaming, which I’m ashamed to admit -- because it’s never the victims’ fault. This incident, which is involuntary porn, can easily be equated to nonconsensual sex, i.e., rape.       

What has occurred to these actresses is a sex crime. It shouldn’t be treated like a joke. If you are someone that does treat it like a joke, or shares, reblogs, retweets or reposts these photos, know that you are perpetuating a culture that objectifies women while simultaneously shames them for finding comfort in liberating their sexuality.