Katherine

Perhaps the most basic thing we can do is end once and for all the indulgent “boys will be boys” attitude towards voyeurism. Whether it’s staring up girls’ skirts (Putzie in the classic musical Grease) or greedily watching young women shower through peepholes (most of the male cast of Porky’s), we’ve grown up with a pop culture that portrays the urge to spy on unsuspecting women as a normal, healthy, inevitable part of a dude’s coming of age. But as the arrest reports make clear, plenty of guys aren’t growing out of this behavior –- coaches, pastors, and grandfathers are among those who’ve been charged with spying on unsuspecting women. The sooner we see even boyish voyeurism as having less to do with healthy sexual curiosity than with predatory, boundary-violating behavior, the better.