Showrunner/queen of ABC Shonda Rhimes has been outspoken about her desire to see women owning their sexuality on TV. And on her shows, she puts her money where her mouth is. Whether it’s doctors Dreamy and McSteamy on Grey’s Anatomy or the parade of hot dudes falling in line for Olivia Pope on Scandal, Rhimes’s shows are full of very attractive men whisking their shirts off at every opportunity.
When the Cut ran into Tony Goldwyn (better known to Shondaland devotees as President Fitzgerald “Fitz” Grant from Scandal) at the WGA East Awards, we asked him about that focus on gratifying the female gaze. “I feel objectified!” Goldwyn declared, before going on to explain Rhimes’s approach. “Oh, yeah. Shonda has a whole thing she teases us about. She says in Shondaland, in the love scenes, the boys have to be the ones to take their clothes off, and the women, the girls can do whatever they want.”