While women are fighting with every ounce of strength we have to get into board rooms, be taken seriously at work and achieve equal pay, men, it seems, only have to get arrested to find themselves with a high flying career. Yeah, fine, this is something of an overstatement. But it's difficult not to make sweeping generalisations when fuckboys like 'Prison Bae’– who has allegedly assaulted a woman – not only land a gig modelling at New York Fashion Week walking for Helmut Lang and a contract with St Claire's Modelling Agency, but also have admirers across the world losing their minds over how 'hot' they are.
Mekhi Alante Lucky, whose photos are doing the rounds on social media and what seems like every damn news site this week, was most recently arrested in April 2016 over offences including speeding and driving a stolen vehicle. ‘Oooh’ the articles coo, ‘he's so dreamy’. But according to various reports, he was arrested another five times between then and December 2016 for an array of charges including an alleged assault on a woman. It's shocking to read this in the same sentence a list of his alleged offences alongside a heart eyes emoji and an ‘OMG he is so cute’ comment.
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Of course, this isn’t the first time this has happened and he isn't the first 'hot felon' to gain such a mad social media following that he gets hired as an actual model. First, there was Jeremy Meeks. His
after his arrest for gun possession by Stockton Police Department, who later shared it on Facebook in 2014. In a totally bonkers turn of events, women and men everywhere lost their shit over his apparent good looks. Comments on the mugshot ranged from ‘conjugal visit lol’ to ‘I'd cuff him’, and serve as proof that we are guilty as fuck of fetishising violent men. Society just loves a 'bad boy'.
The dark triad is a combination of three personality traits that research has found many people are weirdly attracted to. Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy, it turns out, are basically a winning formula for sex appeal. So while there may be a scientific reason why people are drawn to dark (in this instance read: violent) men, that doesn't excuse our apparent obsession with them. We are not driven purely by primal lust. We are not slaves to our loins. We can and should choose who we celebrate online and IRL.
I want to make clear that I am not saying people with convictions can't or, indeed, shouldn’t go on to have a career and fulfilling lives. But, when their convictions relate to violence and abuse, and they are then propelled to celebrity status, the message it sends is irresponsible and harmful.
This mindless fetishising of 'hot felons' with abusive and/or violent pasts and celebrity men who have had very serious allegations made against them, only teaches young men that no matter what they do, they're golden. They can physically assault a woman, make sexual advances towards them in a professional environment and belittle them on a daily basis, and still be at the top of their game.
And, worse still, is how all of this could make the women who have experienced violence feel. Let's be clear about how many women we're talking about here: according to the World Health Organisation 1 in 3 women worldwide have experienced either physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives. They have to deal with the fallout, and possibly trauma while watching perpetrators ride off into the sunset, quite literally, carrying an arm full of awards.
You might also be interested in:
The Dark Triad: The Scientific Reason You're So Attracted To Fuckboys
Casey Affleck Has Spoken Out About The Assault Claims Against Him And It Isn't Good Enough
Why Adam Johnson Losing His Appeal Is Part Of A Bigger Conversation About Consent
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.