In her magazine article, “No, #MeToo Isn’t McCarthyism,” found in the January 2018 issue of The Atlantic, writer Sophie Gilbert refutes various criticisms targeting #MeToo, a recent social media campaign created to spread awareness of the frequency of sexual harassment and assault. She distinguishes serious sexual assault and harassment allegations from claims against men who are merely unpleasant by noting that the former is comprised of rape accusations, while the latter is only “a collection of misconduct allegations and rumors” (2). Critics of #MeToo have attempted to undermine the movement by arguing that it is a facade to allow people to falsely accuse others of sexual harassment and assault. As a result, the accused usually suffer from
In Warriors Don’t Cry, Melba Pattillo Beals describes her arduous battle for racial equality in the brutal town of Little Rock, Arkansas in the late 1950s. When she was only twelve years old, Melba survived attempted rape by a white man. Scared and confused, Melba went home and told her family. However, they instructed her to keep quiet about the abuse because they believed getting the police involved would only make things worse. Unfortunately, thousands of sexual assaults still go unreported for a myriad of reasons, including distrust in law enforcement and the criminal justice system, the possibility that the abuser will not be punished, and victim blaming, a common occurrence in our society.
In 1991, President Bush Sr. was in office, the first Gulf War raged, and Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to be appointed to the United States Supreme Court, was leaving office. Women were earning 30% less than their male counterparts and just 33 women held positions in the U.S. Congress (“The Wage Gap Over Time,” 2016; Manning, Brudnick, & Shogan, 2015). Then, as now, conflicts between conservative and progressive values dominated the public conversation, and controversy plagued the President’s nomination to the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas (“An Outline of the Hill/Thomas Controversy”). the middle of all this, Anita Hill, an attorney and professor from Oklahoma, spoke out about sexual harassment she experienced while working for Clarence Thomas. Hill’s choice to speak out ignited a national discussion about sexual harassment in the workplace, and fundamentally changed the narrative surrounding women who spoke out about unwanted sexual attention.
Some may live through being sexually abused, live in extreme poverty, or even fall victim of being physical or verbally abused. Whatever the reason is, this book shows an outlet for these struggles. The only way we can help others fight these intersectionality issues is by knowing your privilege and using it to help the oppressed with no voice. In Brittney Cooper’s article “Feminism’s ugly internal clash: Why its future is not up to the white women” she states that “the future of feminism is not up to the white women. Not by themselves anyway”.
In the book, Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in College Town, by Jon Krakauer, the reader delves into how rape and sexual assault are treated in the town of Missoula, and the University of Montana. As the reader, we are informed on how the university, the police department, the district attorney’s office, and the community reacted to these rape and sexual assault allegations. We see how the criminal justice system has failed the victims, and are forced to live with what happened to them, while their assailants are free of any burden. The law is set in place to protect people from victimization, but when the men, in this book, are not legally held accountable, then any woman, or man, is more susceptible to victimization. It is interesting
What is even more shocking being the number of women to this day that gets abused. "This ‘one in five’ statistic shouldn’t just be taken with a grain of salt but the entire shaker," said James Fox, professor of criminology, law and public policy at Northeastern University (Washington Post, 2014) The ‘one in five’ statistic he is speaking about is one in five women get sexually harassed in college (Obama, 2014). This small quote speaks humongous words. As it says in the quote, “one in five,” women get sexually harassed in college and that shows that women aren’t looked at as strong and agile people because
#metoo has made many people open their eyes to how bad sexual assault and harassment really is across the
Sexual harassment in the workplace takes many forms, and could result in a system of assault that could perpetuate continually. In the Frontline Documentary Rape in the Fields (2013), the power dynamics of undocumented female field workers and their male co-workers or bosses creates a dynamic in which these women must consent to unwelcome behavior, and many must engage in regular intercourse with these men for fear of being deported along with their entire family. Thus, these men have a leverage and can blackmail these women into agreeing to engage in a sexual relationship with these men, crossing the line between consent and force. In one case, one of the male farm owners insisted that a female subordinate engage in intercourse with him, and threatened her with a gun. This is an
The cultural and economic differences in women, recognition of the movement by a celebrity’s input and the influential impact of affluent women to cause a change are the main issues surrounding the article. ‘The Marginalized voices of the #MeToo movement’ is an article written by Eugene Scott on December 7, 2017, of a movement created for women of color to feel comfortable to speak out on sexual harassment issues. This movement gained recognition when actress Alyssa Milano tweeted #MeToo, but it was actually started a decade ago by Tarana Burke an activist from the Bronx. As more popular women went on to express their views on sexual harassment and share their experience it is believed now that the light is being taken away from the women in
In Danielle McGuire’s book, At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance, the author argues that sexual violence was a way for whites to intimidate and control African Americans during the movement. McGuire points out that because of the sexual violence African American women went through, it allowed them to fight back against the oppression and shape the Civil Rights Movement. The author introduces the readers to the violence that African American women were facing, “The stories of black women who fought for bodily integrity and personal dignity hold profound truths about the sexualized violence that marked racial politics and African American lives during the modern civil rights movement.” (pg xx). This quote gives readers a broader understanding of African American women's challenges.
Sexual harassment is a common problem for women in the workplace. The trauma they suffer as a result is extensive. More than half a million women work in the fields and a majority are undocumented immigrants. The documentary Rape in the Fields, addresses some of the struggles these workers face. Due to their immigrant status the women are powerless, subject to unwelcome sexual advances and unable to seek help from the authorities.
Therefore, candidates have to take this issue seriously when campaigning in hoping of winning an election. Despite feminism rightfully on the rise, this event at Columbia University has stemmed a fiery crusade against sexual violence and domestic violence on college campuses around the world, especially in the United
Masculinity: Contributor to Police Sexual Violence Sexual assault is a major epidemic in the United States and all across the world, terrorizing women and men of all ages. According to the RAINN organization, every 98 seconds an American is sexually assaulted (RAINN). In “Invisible No More,” a book about the “racial profiling, police brutality, and immigration enforcement” inflicted on women of color, written by Angela Davis, she dedicates an entire chapter to police and their acts of sexual violence. In this chapter she delves into the characteristics of those who are assaulted, the issues with policy and enforcement against sexual misconduct, and the profiling of those amongst the LGBTQ community, while providing evidence and countless experiences
When questioned about rape, especially most women, they might think or even picture a stranger coming out of a dark place to assault someone. But in reality there’s more to it. According to the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, “About half of all people who are raped know the person who attacked them. This is known as date rape — forced sex that can happen not only on a date, but also somewhere like a party with someone the victim may know, like, or even be interested in.” Furthermore, social critic and feminist, Camille Paglia, has been discussing this persisting issue about date rape with a personal stance that many women may disagree with.
One huge impact in the present pop culture that has been influenced by intersectional feminism is the Me Too Movement which started in October 2017. This movement gives people the platform to stand up to their abusers and showcases the vast majority of people that have been affected by sexual assault. The movement started based on accusations of sexual assault made against Harvey Weinstein, later accusations against famous comedian Aziz Ansari were made which drove many other victims to come forward about their experiences with sexual assault. Intersectional feminism is represented here through the conflict of social and political power frequently shutting down the voices and justice for victims of sexual assault. In the Me Too movement, Marxism and feminist themes intersect in the subject of equality, it shows how justice and equality are being shut down because of Marxism i.e. financial and political power.
