Two interesting developments this weekend for the nearly-dead #metoo movement. Both look pretty ugly.
The first involves a prominent feminist professor from New York named Avital Ronnell. Ronnell, a lesbian, is world renown for her views and what not, but has now been suspended for the year by NYU after a gay male student name Nimrod Reitman (seriously) accused her of sexually harassing him. She attempted to defend herself by basically saying, "Hey, we're gay and gay people harass each other. It's gay culture."
Just the fact that a woman has been accused of harassment flies in the face of the #metoo movement which relies on the idea that only men are bad. Making matters worse, the woman is a lesbian, another subset who are deemed beyond reproach. What makes this worst of all, however, is her defense which not only calls out gay people as somehow different from heterosexuals as they apparently normally engage in conduct the #metoo movement deems inappropriate, but then suggests that such conduct is acceptable in the workplace when done by the right people. That's not good optics at all, especially as this was a professor imposing it on a student.
However, what happened with Ronnell is nothing compared to the news that one of the prime leaders of the #metoo movement, Asia Argento, has now been revealed to have paid a young man $380,000 to settle a claim that she harassed him when he was underage and then ruined his film career. In other words, this woman who has become one of the faces of the #metoo movement, and has expertly exploited the suicide of her boyfriend Anthony Bordain, did exactly what she has accused Harvey Weinstein of doing. Whoops. This is a disgrace for the #metoo movement and a Godsend for Weinstein.
As for Weinstein, he's doing what I predicted. He's releasing tons of emails and letters from the women who claim he raped them in which they praise him and talk about how much they love him even years later and what parts they want from him. He's going to win and humiliate/expose a lot of famous actresses on the way.
In a precursor to the headstone on this moribund movement, dopehead Lindsey Lohan called these women "weak" a few weeks ago for not reporting their supposed rapes. While she retracted this under pressure -- after all, she still wants to work in the field -- her comment strikes me very much as the final judgment which will be laid upon the #metoo movement: "You should have done something." I'm sure these women will whine "that's blaming the victim," but that's pretty much what more responsible people have been saying all along.
The first involves a prominent feminist professor from New York named Avital Ronnell. Ronnell, a lesbian, is world renown for her views and what not, but has now been suspended for the year by NYU after a gay male student name Nimrod Reitman (seriously) accused her of sexually harassing him. She attempted to defend herself by basically saying, "Hey, we're gay and gay people harass each other. It's gay culture."
Just the fact that a woman has been accused of harassment flies in the face of the #metoo movement which relies on the idea that only men are bad. Making matters worse, the woman is a lesbian, another subset who are deemed beyond reproach. What makes this worst of all, however, is her defense which not only calls out gay people as somehow different from heterosexuals as they apparently normally engage in conduct the #metoo movement deems inappropriate, but then suggests that such conduct is acceptable in the workplace when done by the right people. That's not good optics at all, especially as this was a professor imposing it on a student.
However, what happened with Ronnell is nothing compared to the news that one of the prime leaders of the #metoo movement, Asia Argento, has now been revealed to have paid a young man $380,000 to settle a claim that she harassed him when he was underage and then ruined his film career. In other words, this woman who has become one of the faces of the #metoo movement, and has expertly exploited the suicide of her boyfriend Anthony Bordain, did exactly what she has accused Harvey Weinstein of doing. Whoops. This is a disgrace for the #metoo movement and a Godsend for Weinstein.
As for Weinstein, he's doing what I predicted. He's releasing tons of emails and letters from the women who claim he raped them in which they praise him and talk about how much they love him even years later and what parts they want from him. He's going to win and humiliate/expose a lot of famous actresses on the way.
In a precursor to the headstone on this moribund movement, dopehead Lindsey Lohan called these women "weak" a few weeks ago for not reporting their supposed rapes. While she retracted this under pressure -- after all, she still wants to work in the field -- her comment strikes me very much as the final judgment which will be laid upon the #metoo movement: "You should have done something." I'm sure these women will whine "that's blaming the victim," but that's pretty much what more responsible people have been saying all along.
RE: Lohan. It's a Hollywood trope that child actors go crazy. There's a lot that can be attributed to how fame affects the adolescent psyche, but it's not too much to suppose they might crack under the attention of guys like Weinstein. I read a bit of that in Lohan's "weak" statement. It's the sort of epithet a person chooses when they're angry as much at themselves as others.
ReplyDeletetryanmax, It wouldn't surprise me about Lohan. It saw a little differently though. When she was imploding, I suspect that none of the women in this sisterhood of victims tried to help her and this was her firing back a kind of f-you.
ReplyDeleteimplode away. Harvey is a scum,of course, but we always knew the me too gang would eventually implode. It eventually hurts women in business since male bosses are afraid to ever be alone with or completely trust women subordinates. it is such a shame too.
ReplyDeletePoor bastard. With a name like Nimrod Reitman he never had a chance.
ReplyDeleteGypsyTyger
GypsyTyger, Tell me about it! Talk about setting someone up for failure!
ReplyDeleteJed, The whole #metoo movement has been a problem for women. It makes you worry, as a man, that the wrong woman could destroy your career if you are ever alone with her. What's more, it can happen decades later apparently. So how would a rational man react? Treat female subordinates as potential hazards.
ReplyDeleteThat said, the #metoo movement has had a rather ironic effect. Before this movement, the sexual assault industry had gotten out of control, especially on college campuses where DOJ was working hard to destroy due process. The #metoo movement came along with a hard-core push on the ideas that (1) accusation was guilt, (2) men had no right to defend themselves, (3) women could only be victims and should always be believed, and any actions that contradicted claims was irrelevant, and (4) punishment should be automatic, severe and permanent.
But the #metoo movement, like all pogroms, created a backlash that not only shot these ideas down but has made it significantly easier for men to fight back and to claim due process. In effect, they ended up ensconcing in law and procedure the opposite of the things they were after.
Andrew, Could be either or both.
ReplyDeletetryanmax, Interestingly, by the way, Rose McGowan (the co-founder of the #metoo movement) has distanced herself from Argento in a very ugly manner: "Gee, uh, um, I only first met her 10 months ago... uh, yeah, she's not like someone you should connect to me... gee, look at the time. Gotta go." And I've seen one article trying to explain that it's common for victims of sexual assault to assault other people, so let's forgive them (unless they're men or priests). But beyond that, the movement seems to have gone to ground. Radio silence.
ReplyDeleteSo Mollie Tibbits has been found in Iowa. She's dead. Sad. She was killed by an illegal, which seems to be becoming more and more common.
ReplyDeletePaul Manafort has been found guilty of 8 of 18 counts of tax fraud. The left will be jerking themselves off over this, but it's actually meaningless for Trump because those charges have nothing to do with him or his campaign.
Hi folks, sorry for the lack of an article. I've been awash in getting kids registered for school (one changed schools) and getting everyone equipped and sent to the right place. Things should calm down in a day or so.
ReplyDelete