The Devolution of Lad

Proper moist has now been dried out and flung out like a crusty bed sheet. Dapper laughs has seen one of televisions shortest broadcast stints in modern day history. The ‘misogynistic lad’ has been labelled  as such by a band of vying petition-signers. Social media wanted blood and they got it - in the form of Ray Bans and tubs of VO5 clay. In instances like this social media campaigns operate like school-yard discussions. If you don’t agree with the loudest voice then you’ll run the risk of being left behind and eating your flattened jam sandwiches alone. People get swept in a tide that they didn't even see coming.

Dapper (for short) is a drop in the ocean of the ever-transforming male image. The slick-haired and stubble-faced chap is an embodiment of the Essex-inspired image that we've been welcoming into our homes for a few years now. Programmes like TOWIE are solely based around men competing for the attention of women. The women are generally treated like Christmas toys and discarded at will. They remain unfazed and seem transfixed in a competitive battle to win over one of the male pride. This programming has been rehashed into many similar packages but it’s ironic that ITV has been involved in this scandal because they've been one of the biggest pushers of the culture. Like all under-pressure corporations they have bent to the general consensus and cut Dapper loose, brandishing him surplus to requirements.

It’s a dangerous line to walk when comedy is involved. Do we really want freedom of speech? Or do we all want to dictate what’s allowed? There has definitely been far worse said into the mic. Comedians like Doug Stanhope and Frankie Boyle have pushed the boundaries for many a year, they nonchalantly discuss drugs, prostitution and violence. Is it because we see them as more intelligent and self-aware that we allow it? If the end product is the same, what does it matter? We all have different boundaries and different opinions on right and wrong. Many of us can separate performance from reality but there is a worry to those that can’t. To some, people like Dapper justify their actions, under the umbrella of comedy.

If removing Dapper laughs from television makes the world a better place for women then it’s a worthwhile victory. Taking a short flick through the television channels it seems unlikely that he was the biggest problem though. The pop music videos that parade women around in latex and barely-visible nipple covers are a bigger issue. The female form in media solely serves as a sexual object to be leered upon - that’s the bigger problem. As is a culture of romantic comedies where bumbling men sweep long-legged, flawless women off their feet. A culture of white-weddings and perfectly crafted marquees. A culture where men with crinkled, graying features are paired with twenty-something’s to read the news, but the reverse is never seen. A culture where impressionable young girls listen to Rhianna question whether a man’s member is large enough.

What Dapper has done is give people a face to channel their anger towards. To some, he’s not just a tad cocky, he’s the builder who wolf-whistles them in the street, he’s the relentless cock-sure man leering at them in the nightclub, he’s the man that follows them down the street, and he’s the man that doesn't know when to stop.