The Weinstein Effect

Roy Price, George H.W. Bush, John Besh, Hamilton Fish, Ben Affleck, Kevin Spacey, Oliver Stone, Brett Ratner, Dustin Hoffman.

Name after name rolls out in the news as more and more victims speak out against sexual harassment, particularly by men in higher, powerful positions -- Presidents, actors, directors, athletes [1]. It seems like an avalanche effect, or a “Harvey effect” [1]. From victims speaking out Twitter to the #MeToo campaign, the reveal of sexual harassment stories has flooded the Internet. Victims share their stories through Twitter, calling out offenders, recalling stories from as long as twenty years ago, or simply leaving the message: #MeToo [2].

But, if anything, sexual harassment has gone on long before this, in industry, at the office, and at home. In fact, last year’s Presidential election featured now-President’s Trump infamous “Hollywood Access” tape and many allegations of sexual assault from at least eleven women [3]. Despite Ivanka Trump, the President’s daughter, and her claim that sexual harassment of women should never be tolerated [4], the impact of Trump’s victims’ stories had little effect on the political campaign.

In fact, only several months later, after the Weinstein scandal, does the White House official reply to these accusations. On October 27, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders stated that all the women accusing Trump of sexual harassment are lying [5].

In light of these accusations and allegations, skepticism runs rampant throughout onlookers. Some claim that women are exaggerating or overplaying these accounts.

Regardless, if even half of these allegations are true, it’s important to realize that women still have much to gain in terms of respect and dignity in America and in the world.

Internationally, in Saudi Arabia, women will gain the ability to drive in June of 2018 [6], a groundbreaking piece of legislation passed this year. In India, though there are sex crimes and cases of sexual assault every week, there is still no national registry for sex offenders [7].

In the same way that gang violence is less about violence and more about power, rape and sexual assault is about power and control. In this case, the Weinstein scandal gained media attention because the women accusing Weinstein have status as celebrities [3]. These crimes become less about their mediums and more about the power associated with the act of the crime. This issue becomes more about self-control, and controlling others.

Because as the public is attracted to sensational and obscene news, these allegations and accusations flood social media. Yet bringing attention to these issues is not the same as mitigating these problems. Political leaders, men in power, and other authority figures are found across social media, and yet there are few repercussions for them.

The awareness of sexual misconduct is a step in the right direction for the protection and justice of women, but there is still progress to be made, particularly with figures in power. There is legislation against sexual harassment in the workforce but few times are accusations ever seriously considered [8]. New technology may bring attention to these cases, but the impetus for equality still lies with the people. In the future, it will be interesting to see whether these social campaigns and this spread of awareness affects the protection and rights of women.


Sources:

    https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/11/is-this-the-upside-down/544655/

    http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/30/health/metoo-legacy/index.html

    https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/anita-hill-on-weinstein-trump-and-a-watershed-moment-for-sexual-harassment-accusations

    https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ivanka-trump-sexual-harrassment-speech-tokyo_us_59fc21a9e4b01b47404990b5

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/10/27/all-of-the-women-who-have-accused-trump-of-sexual-harassment-are-lying-the-white-house-says/?utm_term=.f2b67ee47c52

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-women-drive.html

    http://www.newsweek.com/2017/03/10/india-rape-crisis-sex-offender-registry-561757.html

    https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/publications/fs-sex.cfm