Hollywood is a male dominated society. If you do not believe that, you are probably a male yourself or you do not associate yourself with Hollywood or the culture that surrounds it (which is totally fine). If you are an active moviegoer such as myself, however, you can see that Hollywood has been male dominated since its beginnings. The world shouts with praise every time a new movie comes out by some award-winning writer who is usually male. I cannot tell you how many times I have watched the Academy Awards and seen the majority of people winning notable awards to be male. What I am not trying to say is that since Hollywood is basically masculine, we should boycott it and never watch another movie again. What I am saying is that since it is so masculine and run by powerful men, it is harder for the women in Hollywood to let their voices be heard, especially when it comes to sexual assault.
As some may know, several well-known actresses of sexual harassment have accused Harvey Weinstein, who is a very well known film producer and studio director and co-founder of Miramax. Some actresses have come out saying that Weinstein invited them over to what they thought was a party, but came to find out it was only them alone in a room with the producer. Other women say he made them perform sexual acts to other women that were not originally in the script. Rose McGowan recently came public with rape allegations towards Weinstein, stating in a tweet to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos that she had told Bezos over and over that Weinstein had raped her. Bezos replied with “it hadn’t been proven” and refused to seek help for her. McGowan told him that she was the proof.
Multiple rape cases are being pinned to Weinstein, but yet it seems like Hollywood will be all to forgiving of the producer since he is such a household name. That bothers me to no end, but what really makes my blood boil is how now, people on the internet are not directing their anger to Weinstein, they are directing their anger towards the women who have come out accusing him. I cannot tell you how many tweets and Facebook posts I have seen by men and only men stating that these women “should have come out sooner” and that their cases are not believable “because it took them this long to come out.”
Women and men alike do not come forward with rape cases because they are afraid of what is exactly happening in this situation. They are afraid that they will not be believed and will be shamed for coming forward.
The society we live in has told women and men who have experienced sexual misconduct to come forward and tell someone. Yet when they do, they are publicly shamed and given grief. I understand that evidence needs to be proven in cases of rape and sexual assault, but if multiple women are coming out protesting against one man in particular, don’t you think that is evidence enough? I have had friends go through their own trauma with sexual harassment and misconduct, and they have yet to speak publicly about it because they do not want to cause drama or have certain people be mad at them for coming out and telling the truth.
Women and men who have been raped should NEVER be berated with hateful and degrading comments. They have already been through so much, and for some ugly person to come out and tell them that they are wrong with their accusations makes me want to scream.
I am happy that these women are now speaking out about what Weinstein did to them, and it saddens me to see most of the male community in Hollywood still actively support him. It shows me that these men are not really men, but boys who do not know anything better to do than to be a follower of a now known sexual predator. As a woman, this scares me to death.
If you are a woman and are siding with Weinstein, ask yourself this question: if what happened to these women happened to me or to a friend of mine, what would I do? Would I stay silent and shame myself for what happened, or would I publicly come out and seek help, maybe knowing that backlash from certain people might arise? We need to be in support of rape victims. We need to stop questioning if what happened to them actually happened. It is degrading and so ugly and brutal. If you know anyone who has been raped or touched in a way that was not okay with them, be there for them. Let them know that they can come to you. Do not be like the others who are questioning whether it happened or not.
Hollywood and our society in general will always favor men, even if they are grotesque like Weinstein. What these women did takes courage and strength, and I stand with them and you should too.
Image credit:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/rose-mcgowan-…
Cover photo-Variety Magazine