Selena Gomez’s Latest Red Carpet Dress Causes Uproar Over Sexism

Earlier this week the cast of the new Sony Pictures animated film Hotel Transylvania 2 headed to Mexico for an early premiere of the film. Actress and singer Selena Gomez, who voices Dracula’s teenage daughter Mavis, was in attendance alongside co-stars Adam Sandler and Kevin James. It was a very ordinary event as far as these things go, until Selena and the actors stepped into the red carpet. Gomez was wearing a causally elegant red dress by Katie Ermilio, while Sandler and James appeared wearing t-shirts and sneakers.

The shocking contrast between Selena’s and the guys’ wardrobes caused several people to deemed Hollywood’s fashion standards towards women as sexist. Why should Selena wear a dress when the other actors chose to go with something much more comfortable? Would everyone be OK with Selena showing up to an event of this nature in jeans and a t-shirt?

Yahoo Style’s editor Lauren Tuck considered these double standards incredibly sexist, as she points out in a piece published on June 16 about this topic. Tuck says that, “Besides the fact that the 22-year-old seemed to be uneasy flanked by two 40-something men, it appears that her red carpet ensemble left her feeling similarly uncomfortable.” Tuck goes on to explain that, “There’s a double standard in Hollywood fashion, and this photo — men, looking as if they’ve rolled out of bed or come from the gym, with their female co-star putting effort (and hours of it) into her appearance — encapsulates it.” She refers to a photograph of the three actors that evidences the jarring distinction.

Others took to Twitter to express their disapproval towards the way women in Hollywood are often scrutinized, certainly more profoundly than their male counterparts.

Here are some examples of how the public reacted to these photos:

We must also note that during this event Selena Gomez took part in a photo session that shows her in a Gothic room surrounded by candles – alluding to the film she is promoting – and wearing the same red dress. It seems like she was the only one in the cast that took part in a photo shoot like this, which might be the reason why she and her team decided it was a good idea to dress up.

A similar discussion was brought up last month at the Cannes Film Festival where women who were not wearing high heels were denied entrance into the main venue’s red carpet. Situations like these expose what some consider unrealistic beauty standards and the over-sexualization women must abide by while in the public eye – something that men rarely experience.

It’s hard to know if we’ll ever see Selena sporting a more casual style at an event like this, but if this ever does happen, it might definitely set a trend.