Reply To: On the Objectification of Sam, et al. PART II (added per the request of Terry)

[WatchrTina]

This is my first post here. I was relieved to find someone who was a bit critical of the article that sparked all this discussion. Because while I agree with many of the author’s points, I thought she used too broad a brush in her tarring and feathering of other fans.

I, too, have been disturbed by some of the things I’ve read on the internet from fans of the show. I have blocked a couple of people on PreviouslyTV.com so that I don’t see their posts anymore because of some body-shaming comments they made about Caitriona. Those comments were made in the middle of what had been a very positive, celebratory discussion of The Wedding episode. It was a real shame when it happened — it tainted the whole discussion. But I will confess to having commented, in that board, on how good Sam looked. I have, on more than one occasion, expressed my appreciation for the writers / directors habit of having Claire tend Jamie’s wounds while he is bare-chested, gently lit by fire-light. I cheerfully read the Outlander Anatomy post all about “Jamie’s Chest”. Is that also “Objectifying” Sam? I hope not. I consider myself a true fan. I went to see Emulsion when a local group organized a viewing. I’ve donated to his charity. I’ve posted a lot on various boards about how happy I am with the TV version of these books I love and I’ve specifically written about how delighted I am by the casting of Sam & Cait. I avoid negative comments. But I do, from time to time, say something complimentary about how Sam looks. I used the word “eye-candy” just yesterday when I was writing a compare-and-contrast post about Outlander vs Black Sails, during which I acknowledged that Black Sails does have a couple of actors who look very nice with their shirts off but Jamie’s chest, gently lit by fire-light is still my favorite. Am I objectifying Sam when I say things like that? I hope not. And I doubt if it was posts like mine that the writer of the article was talking about. I think I know the creepy comments she was reacting to. They bother me too. But her article bothered me as well.