Woman's breast kissed on live TV. Is sexual assault the new entertainment?

We have seen utter sexism playing out in the name of reality TV, pandering to the same expectations of "cat fights" among women, and duels among men, but seeing sexual assault on live TV may not be that common yet.

But looks like it's the French who are taking the lead in this.

A French TV actress - Soraya, who was recently taking part in a skit re-enacting the robbery scene from Kim Kardashian-West's life, which incidentally happened at a posh Paris locality earlier this month - was kissed on the breast on live television against her consent.

Yes, as the camera kept rolling, Soraya, who was playing Kardashian-West, in a scene-by-scene recreation of the famous Kim jewellery heist episode, was "locked up, tied up in the bathtub", and was "saved" by her co-panellist Jean-Michael Maire, who played a locksmith. Following that, the the host of the show, Cyril Hanouna, asked Soraya she give Maire a kiss, which she said no to.

But then what followed was a replay of the basic sexual assault/abuse/harassment/violation tenet. A "no" was interpreted as a halting "yes", and a kiss was forced not on her cheek, but on her breast instead.

On live television.

The French TV broadcast regulator has been flooded with complaints since then and this forcible kiss, as usual intended as just lighthearted "flirting" between participants, has attracted severe outrage simply because it was non-consensual.

Is this the French idea of women's liberation, where warding off unwanted sexual attention and overtures is branded as backward and regressive? Exactly as France keeps debating the whether the burkini is threat to national security, it perpetuates blatant sexist stereotypes, and even now shows the audacity of telecasting blatant sexual assault on live television.

Is sexual assault the new entertainment?

While rapey, voyeuristic images inundate our public sphere and media, the flimsy veil of consent was the only thing protecting the woman and the woman's point of view. If the French television is doing away with even that, what right do they have to preach from the pulpit about women's rights to the non-EuroAmerican peoples of the world?

Give this hypocrisy a rest. And stop parading sexual assault as sextertainment.

Also read: This viral tweet got many to open up about sexual assault they faced and how they were dismissed

Also read: How I was sexually assaulted by my best friend

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