On October 5th the New York Times published an article exposing multiple incidents of sexual assault committed by Harvey Weinstein. Since then over 50 actresses and former employees have come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct. These incidents span over a period of about 20 years.
The amount of time that this was allowed to go on is truly horrifying. However, as a woman and a person who has discussed this topic many times, I am not really surprised. The feeling of disgust has been echoed by many women since the scandal broke, what we don't feel is shock. Women have been having conversations about creepy bosses and unwanted advances since women entered the workplace. This is not new for women, what is troubling is that it is new for men.
There are lots of response flying around from male actors that explain how perplexed they are that this has been happening for so long and that such a powerful man who creates such great art would do such a thing. While some of these soundbites might be valid, many feel disingenuous and even a bit hypocritical. Especially as they come from known friend's and supporters of Weinstein. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are two such examples. Actress Rose McGowen called out Ben Affleck. She accused his of blatantly lying, after he spoke publicly about his ignorance, that he was in the dark about Weinstein's behavior. She quoted the actor as saying to her, "GOD DAMMIT I TOLD HIM TO STOP DOING THAT,' you said that to my face.... you lie."
Even looking beyond his short term memory, Affleck's statement falls into that classic male response, "We need to do better at protecting our sisters, friends, co-workers, and daughters. We must support those who come forward, condemn this type of behavior when we see it and help ensure there are more women in positions of power.” I don't understand know how this popular protect o'ur female relations' speech started, but I would like it cut off. How about caring about the welfare of women because they are PEOPLE. Not because they are your <blank>. A woman's identity is not your <blank>. A woman's identity is herself and her worth is as a person. Not as your <insert connection here>. Furthermore, putting women in positions of power does not stop this behavior. It just balances the power structure out so that hopefully there are less men in position of power that allow them to carry out this type of behavior. Try again buddy.
His bestie Matt Damon released a statement as well: "I never saw this. I think a lot of actors have come out and said, everybody’s saying we all knew. That’s not true. This type of predation happens behind closed doors, and out of public view. If there was ever an event that I was at and Harvey was doing this kind of thing and I didn’t see it, then I am so deeply sorry, because I would have stopped it.” Really Matt? Of course this was happening behind closed doors! Did you even read those reports? And how exactly were you going to intervene? Were you going to come swinging in on a chandelier and jump in the middle? Swoop down like batman and halt the crime in progress? This man is cunning, these stories speak to a deviousness. He used female employees as honeypots to lure young actresses into a false sense of security, before they suddenly found themselves alone with him in a hotel room. He is not stripping down in the middle of a crowded room. So save your empty promises of acting nobly. I don't buy it.
Furthermore where were you Mr. Affleck 'the ally of women', when your brother was accused of sexual assault? And where was your outrage, Mr. Damon during this same instance? Furthermore, as has been pointed out, Affleck himself is guilty of sexual harassment. An old TRL video shows him grabbing Hilarie Burton's breast. She recently stated in a tweet that had to try to laugh about it so she didn't start to cry. These contrived words of support are therefore invalided by past action.
What I would really like to know is, where are all the other men? Where are the responses from respected figures that say to the survivors, we hear you we are with you and we refuse to accept this type of behavior. It would be so good if there was support coming from male allies who are being brave enough, as many actresses have already done, to stand up and say this is wrong, even though they have NO connection to the story. Those are the true allies in these situations, the people that speak up even though they don't have to. That is what we are missing here. Men of Hollywood if you are truly an ally your public support is imperative. I understand being scared, it is scary to rise up against such a powerful entity as Weinstein, but if the women who were assaulted are brave enough, so are you. And the beast is wounded, he has been fired from his company and kicked out of the Academy. The hard part has been done for you, all you need to do is add to the avalanche.
Despite these problems, the current discussion does leave me hopeful. It feels like something is changing, something is shifting. The level of outrage is inspiring and has lead to Weinstein being fired from his own organization and stripped of privileges. Consequences such as these are very encouraging, and show a change in collective tolerance not seen before in similar cases surrounding other big names in entertainment. In the past we have just not believed the accusers and then just collectively stopped talking about it until we forget it happened. That leaves me feeling hopeful that these shifts can lead to a difference in behavior, that maybe someone will finally reap the consequences of their actions, regardless of how many hit films they have made.
As these stories were coming out, a hashtag campaign was started by actress Alyssa Milano. Milano asked other survivors to shared their stories under the hashtag "me too" as a way to show just how pervasive an issue sexual assault is. It become a trending topic on twitter and a popular one on Facebook (Although it should be noted that this is not the first time this phrase has been used, it was created by an activist named Tarana Burke, who created the campaign in conjunction with the work of her social justice organization Girls for Gender Equality, and she should not be erased from this narrative). The solidarity created by this tag is wonderful. There are outpouring messages of support from women all over the world. It has inspired people to talk about their experiences and achieved its goal of showing just how many women have gone through this.
While this is amazing and should not be invalidated, it has also created an interesting counterargument. This is that survivors should not be responsible for bearing the torch of making sexual assault more discussed. I think this is a really interesting point of contention. I think that survivors sharing in spaces they are comfortable with doing so can be very powerful. However, I do agree with the opinion that should not be solely the victim's responsibility to share their stories in order to start the important conversations surrounding assault. Allies need to come together to address these issues and support victims. If change can only be discussed when there is the shock value of a public victim, we need to seriously re-adjust. First by thinking of women not as daughters and sisters and mothers, but as human beings whom deserve to feel safe and respected in our society.
Somewhere along the line the narrative began using the word "alleged" like a qualifier to plant the seeds of doubt upon women's allegations. There is a deep ideological issue in how our society deals with the people we respect. It is comforting to not believe something horrible about someone we admire. That is a defense mechanism. We would rather believe or information is wrong than that we have been horribly betrayed. However, we cannot let that impulse run how we deal with cases of sexual assault. But we are. We are keeping the rapists in our society on the pedestals we built them and talking about how sad it is that they would decide to make such a poor choice. The only poor choice made is the choice of the person who decided to commit the deplorable act of raping someone and that we as a culture are letting him or her get away with it. I think the stories about Harvey Weinstein are shifting the conversation. His actions had consequences. That is really important. For too long known rapists have faced none to very little consequences. Maybe its just because there were whispers, and Weinstein is the right amount of creepy looking to paint a picture of an abuser, but these women are believed. That is huge. Whatever the reason, it shows progress. It gives me hope that someday a person who choses to sexually assault someone else will be prosecuted.
The amount of time that this was allowed to go on is truly horrifying. However, as a woman and a person who has discussed this topic many times, I am not really surprised. The feeling of disgust has been echoed by many women since the scandal broke, what we don't feel is shock. Women have been having conversations about creepy bosses and unwanted advances since women entered the workplace. This is not new for women, what is troubling is that it is new for men.
There are lots of response flying around from male actors that explain how perplexed they are that this has been happening for so long and that such a powerful man who creates such great art would do such a thing. While some of these soundbites might be valid, many feel disingenuous and even a bit hypocritical. Especially as they come from known friend's and supporters of Weinstein. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are two such examples. Actress Rose McGowen called out Ben Affleck. She accused his of blatantly lying, after he spoke publicly about his ignorance, that he was in the dark about Weinstein's behavior. She quoted the actor as saying to her, "GOD DAMMIT I TOLD HIM TO STOP DOING THAT,' you said that to my face.... you lie."
Even looking beyond his short term memory, Affleck's statement falls into that classic male response, "We need to do better at protecting our sisters, friends, co-workers, and daughters. We must support those who come forward, condemn this type of behavior when we see it and help ensure there are more women in positions of power.” I don't understand know how this popular protect o'ur female relations' speech started, but I would like it cut off. How about caring about the welfare of women because they are PEOPLE. Not because they are your <blank>. A woman's identity is not your <blank>. A woman's identity is herself and her worth is as a person. Not as your <insert connection here>. Furthermore, putting women in positions of power does not stop this behavior. It just balances the power structure out so that hopefully there are less men in position of power that allow them to carry out this type of behavior. Try again buddy.
His bestie Matt Damon released a statement as well: "I never saw this. I think a lot of actors have come out and said, everybody’s saying we all knew. That’s not true. This type of predation happens behind closed doors, and out of public view. If there was ever an event that I was at and Harvey was doing this kind of thing and I didn’t see it, then I am so deeply sorry, because I would have stopped it.” Really Matt? Of course this was happening behind closed doors! Did you even read those reports? And how exactly were you going to intervene? Were you going to come swinging in on a chandelier and jump in the middle? Swoop down like batman and halt the crime in progress? This man is cunning, these stories speak to a deviousness. He used female employees as honeypots to lure young actresses into a false sense of security, before they suddenly found themselves alone with him in a hotel room. He is not stripping down in the middle of a crowded room. So save your empty promises of acting nobly. I don't buy it.
Furthermore where were you Mr. Affleck 'the ally of women', when your brother was accused of sexual assault? And where was your outrage, Mr. Damon during this same instance? Furthermore, as has been pointed out, Affleck himself is guilty of sexual harassment. An old TRL video shows him grabbing Hilarie Burton's breast. She recently stated in a tweet that had to try to laugh about it so she didn't start to cry. These contrived words of support are therefore invalided by past action.
What I would really like to know is, where are all the other men? Where are the responses from respected figures that say to the survivors, we hear you we are with you and we refuse to accept this type of behavior. It would be so good if there was support coming from male allies who are being brave enough, as many actresses have already done, to stand up and say this is wrong, even though they have NO connection to the story. Those are the true allies in these situations, the people that speak up even though they don't have to. That is what we are missing here. Men of Hollywood if you are truly an ally your public support is imperative. I understand being scared, it is scary to rise up against such a powerful entity as Weinstein, but if the women who were assaulted are brave enough, so are you. And the beast is wounded, he has been fired from his company and kicked out of the Academy. The hard part has been done for you, all you need to do is add to the avalanche.
Despite these problems, the current discussion does leave me hopeful. It feels like something is changing, something is shifting. The level of outrage is inspiring and has lead to Weinstein being fired from his own organization and stripped of privileges. Consequences such as these are very encouraging, and show a change in collective tolerance not seen before in similar cases surrounding other big names in entertainment. In the past we have just not believed the accusers and then just collectively stopped talking about it until we forget it happened. That leaves me feeling hopeful that these shifts can lead to a difference in behavior, that maybe someone will finally reap the consequences of their actions, regardless of how many hit films they have made.
As these stories were coming out, a hashtag campaign was started by actress Alyssa Milano. Milano asked other survivors to shared their stories under the hashtag "me too" as a way to show just how pervasive an issue sexual assault is. It become a trending topic on twitter and a popular one on Facebook (Although it should be noted that this is not the first time this phrase has been used, it was created by an activist named Tarana Burke, who created the campaign in conjunction with the work of her social justice organization Girls for Gender Equality, and she should not be erased from this narrative). The solidarity created by this tag is wonderful. There are outpouring messages of support from women all over the world. It has inspired people to talk about their experiences and achieved its goal of showing just how many women have gone through this.
While this is amazing and should not be invalidated, it has also created an interesting counterargument. This is that survivors should not be responsible for bearing the torch of making sexual assault more discussed. I think this is a really interesting point of contention. I think that survivors sharing in spaces they are comfortable with doing so can be very powerful. However, I do agree with the opinion that should not be solely the victim's responsibility to share their stories in order to start the important conversations surrounding assault. Allies need to come together to address these issues and support victims. If change can only be discussed when there is the shock value of a public victim, we need to seriously re-adjust. First by thinking of women not as daughters and sisters and mothers, but as human beings whom deserve to feel safe and respected in our society.
Somewhere along the line the narrative began using the word "alleged" like a qualifier to plant the seeds of doubt upon women's allegations. There is a deep ideological issue in how our society deals with the people we respect. It is comforting to not believe something horrible about someone we admire. That is a defense mechanism. We would rather believe or information is wrong than that we have been horribly betrayed. However, we cannot let that impulse run how we deal with cases of sexual assault. But we are. We are keeping the rapists in our society on the pedestals we built them and talking about how sad it is that they would decide to make such a poor choice. The only poor choice made is the choice of the person who decided to commit the deplorable act of raping someone and that we as a culture are letting him or her get away with it. I think the stories about Harvey Weinstein are shifting the conversation. His actions had consequences. That is really important. For too long known rapists have faced none to very little consequences. Maybe its just because there were whispers, and Weinstein is the right amount of creepy looking to paint a picture of an abuser, but these women are believed. That is huge. Whatever the reason, it shows progress. It gives me hope that someday a person who choses to sexually assault someone else will be prosecuted.