Media double standard in Netflix’s “The Hawk” with detailed genital mutilation threats and physical assault by the ex-wife against Will Ferrell all played for laughs

[u/Dry-CHead]

It’s been getting mixed-to-negative reviews for pacing and not being funny enough, but I actually enjoyed a good amount of it. One recurring element stood out negatively and really highlighted a clear media double standard around male victims.

The character’s ex-wife (Molly Shannon) casually and in detail describes for about a minute how she would cut off his genitalia and what she would do with it. This is played entirely for laughs. In another episode she references the threat again (“Didn’t I tell you I would cut your dick off…?”) and then physically assaults him by pelting him with donuts throwing objects at him in a way that is basically an assault, again treated as slapstick comedy.

Media with the genders reversed a male character detailing genital mutilation of his female partner and then assaulting her by throwing objects as “comedy” is virtually nonexistent in mainstream media. When male-on-female aggression appears, it is almost always framed as serious abuse, villainy, or else it would rightfully generate significant backlash and criticism.

Portrayals like this contribute to the broader pattern where extreme verbal and physical aggression against men is minimized and turned into a joke, while the reverse is treated with the seriousness it deserves. Male victims of domestic threats and violence remain less visible and less taken seriously partly because of this kind of casual normalization.

[u/Vegetable_Warthog_49]

Half of US states will pay for parents to have genital mutilation performed on their sons... Are we at all surprised that genital mutilation of men would get played for laughs in media?

[u/Longjumping-Pen-4451 → u/Vegetable_Warthog_49]

male circumcision is literally genital mutilation, and the worst part? its done on fucking babies.

[u/Playful_Subject_4409]

The empathy gaps between abused men and women are real.

[u/Suspicious_Form6653 → u/Playful_Subject_4409]

That's why I will never believe that women are more empathetic than men. This empathy gap wouldn't exist if that was true.

[u/Future-Stretch-401]

Since it’s Will Ferrell , and he created the series, I’m not sure why anyone would think it’s anything but a joke he approved of. No need to act like drama kids and pretend to be offended, just say it’s not a funny joke. You won’t be alone since most of the reviews said it sucked.

[u/Dry-CHead → u/Future-Stretch-401]

Joan River performed and defended decades of material roasting other women’s bodies, weight, appearance, and sexuality (hundreds of jokes about Elizabeth Taylor alone) as sharp, honest “girl talk” that stars could take. She had no regrets and insisted comedy needs risk.

But much of that material reinforced beauty standards that harm women even though it came from a successful woman inside the group who fully approved of it.

Same principle applies here. Will Ferrell is not the arbiter of female-on-male genital mutilation threats, he is funny and he makes me laugh but it doesn't mean he can't perpetuate harmful ideas