Cannes doesn't want nipples or big dresses on the red carpet: machismo or an attempt to contain the media circus?

BarcelonaObviously, when it was revealed on Monday that the Cannes Film Festival had toughened its dress code For women, the most immediate response from many people was downright angry, because they considered the new stylistic cues to be sexist. This reaction isn't surprising given what's happened around the world over the last 2,000 years. Therefore, it's more than justified to scream when someone tells a woman how to dress. At the same time, perhaps we should also be a little more thorough in our observations before issuing a full verdict. Especially the press, from whom a somewhat less superficial analysis is expected.

According to the organizers, "for reasons of decency, nudity is prohibited on the red carpet, as well as in any other area of the festival," adding that "voluminous outfits, particularly garments with a large train, which would hinder the proper flow of guests and complicate seating, are also not permitted." "Festival welcome teams will be required to deny access to the red carpet to anyone who does not respect these rules," they also warn.

Changes that lead to other changes?

The festival's new stylistic guidelines, read without much further analysis, may seem sexist, and at bottom they are. Especially when the word "sex" is used. decency, since it is taken for granted that when a woman shows a part of her body by her own choice it is not decent. However, if you regularly follow the chronicles of the most important red carpets in the world you can see that the problem is not that the sirs Those in charge everywhere are outraged to see women showing more flesh than expected. In fact, they usually love it... The current problem is that, in the digital age, it is very common to see how in any photocall Wherever there are graphic media, a very noisy circus is organized based on clothing and performance Media coverage. It used to happen only at fashion events, but now it's happening everywhere and has become a snowball effect that engulfs everything.

Swept away by clicks by weight

The fact that media outlets and public figures are subject to the dictatorship of social media and have to live off clicks solely in a quantitative way—because it no longer matters who gives you the "Likes" or why, only how many you have, your virality, and the news that talks about you—causes events to become increasingly invisible, or to be perceived by viewers in a way that is perhaps fine with them in a promotional event for a diet product brand because they are content with the brand's name appearing on the page. photocall rear where the stylistic show of the influencer On the other hand, certain events that have always been accompanied by a prestigious cultural seal are not at all appealing. Social networks.

That is why the new contributions to the dress code Cannes might seem sexist but in reality they are more oriented towards preventing the sinking of a festival that has been filling more pages of the world for many years. fashion and of gossip anecdotes, not of cinema, which is the objective for which it was created in 1939. What has happened now is not about a man telling women that they should dress as he likes, but about a man setting limits – which did not have to be set before – to avoid ridicule or parity.

In fact, on closer inspection, perhaps a measure such as banning gigantic dresses or naked dress It certainly impacts women who, beyond just enjoying themselves, also have other things to contribute. For example, actresses who present a film and see how festival reviews talk about everything except them and their work. The most significant case in this regard is recent, and it was indeed purely sexist: Bianca Censori attended the Grammys with Kanye West With only a sticker on her pubic bone and covered by a completely transparent bodysuit, she was clearly dressed for him. That is, to do his dirty work and create a scandal with her body so he could be exposed to the media the next day.

There's a tradition of sexism in Cannes.

For all these reasons, it's unfortunately necessary to restore order to the Cannes red carpet, and eventually to so many other galas. This is especially true for the likes of Julia Roberts and Kristen Stewart, who walked the Croisette barefoot to protest the decision, which ultimately resulted in the abolition of the ceremony.

Having said all this, and returning to the beginning, although the decision of the new dress code It's not essentially sexist, nor is it innocent on the part of the festival. If those responsible for organizing it really wanted to protect it so much, perhaps they shouldn't put all the weight on the shoulders of the guests and do something as simple as stop renting the red carpet to luxury brands so they can parade their outfits. Changing this—published by specialized media and which the festival has never denied—would be ideal to lower the level of media noise and bad pressWhat you cannot expect is to be paid a generous amount to pass in front of photographers who are accredited and whoever has paid you has seen a proposal. very mindful and very demure their ambassadors so as not to upset you, when we all know very well that opting for sober and discreet designs will greatly reduce the impact of the very expensive advertising space they have rented.

And finally, please don't come now and say that these dress codes also affect men because if they were naked they wouldn't be allowed in either. To begin with, this remains to be seen. And secondly, for a man to put on naked A tuxedo or a tuxedo with a tail to go to a festival is still about a hundred years away. By now, we've barely dared to change the color of our tuxedos—sometimes!