What about the multitude of courageous women who came forward about Trump?
46
A.J. - I was reliably --- or at least repeatedly --- informed that those women were all lying harlots out to make a buck, and besides they were not really that good-looking.
3
At least 19 women have come forward; one who said she was raped by Trump as an under-age minor and was willing to testify until she received death threats. There are likely more who we may learn about when Cohen's records come to light.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/03/20/meet-...
The so-called #Me-Too "movement" has reached a new low in our society, by attempting to legitimize the use of any means to achieve an end, to return to Puritanical public shaming and slander to get revenge. It has put women back centuries, not forward. It has put everyone back, and set a horrendous example and precedent. The media is to blame for playing along merely to sell papers and ads. The complete absence of ethical standards is appalling. It did legitimate crime victims no good whatsoever. How sad to see the Times continue to promote such degrading behavior.
5
Ok. So women who already have a degree of agency and personal wealth have pushed back against the misogynist predators in their industry. Good for them. Now what about folks who are practically powerless, exploited in the workplace through poor wages and work conditions? What about men who are routinely raped in prison? With all due respect, where is the #METOO movement for these classes of marginalized men and women ?
9
I was glad they got to tell their stories and helped start the #me too movement. The movements biggest day will be when Trump will get his day in court and the 19 women he assaulted will confront him. I am sure there are many more and I hope they join in. I am concerned with the recent Supreme Court ruling that is destroying unions so employers will go back to sexually abusing women in the work place because they will be unsafe with out the unions. We also have to watch the call from the GOP for less government. Who will you turn to when their is more and more cases occurring.
3
All these wonderful courageous women have told their own story which is no different from ours the readers. We have all had one or more #metoo and cannot forget its humiliation, disrespect and shame.
I was raped by a stranger who threatened me with a knife and a gun when I was 19. The police were unresponsive. I have suffered multiple accepted at the time sexual aggressions. We were suppossed to take it and accept it, one person told me just enjoy it!! I am so glad my grandaughters will not endure this any longer without a justified response and fight. Times up!!
4
Been there. So true.
http://reductress.com/post/sorry-i-lead-you-on-by-smiling-at-you-once/
1
I am impressed that this article, unlike so many others, includes stories of men who were also harassed or assaulted. Sexual abuse is not gendered. Women are abused, and abused as girls. Men are abused, and abused as boys. And both men and women can be perpetrators. I am a man, and I am just coming off a year in which a former colleague, a woman, has sexually harassed me repeatedly through texts and phone messages, knowing I don't want it, knowing I am married with kids, she kept it up. Not once have I seen a recognition among those in the MeToo movement that women can be the perpetrators too. Until MeToo stops trying to gender the roles of harasser and harassed, until MeToo acknowledges the reality that sexual harassment and abuse is a very diverse realm of human behavior that spares no gender or sexual orientation, MeToo will be committing the exact same offense it claims to oppose: Minimization and denial of sexual harassment and abuse within our culture.
12
I've read other stories that acknowledge that men too have been harassed or falsely accused. Of course, behaviors need to be parsed: an off remark is different than groping or a sexual threat or assault. And so on
2
The data from the Center for Disease Control is that 1 in 5 American women have been raped or sexually assaulted. The figures for males is 1 in 71.
So, yes, rape and sexual assault are gendered crimes in which women and girls are disproportionately the victims. The rapists are almost invariably male.
Rather than acknowledge this, males are always going, "What about the men? Men are victims, too." But they fail to acknowledge that most of the perpetrators of rape of males are also males.
It is another sign of male privilege to ignore the suffering of women and make it all about the men.
4
The CDC only calls it rape when someone is penetrated against their will. For anatomical reasons, women who have sex with men against their will generally don't penetrate them, so the rape figures exclude most male victims & female perpetrators. The CDC does register the equivalent of rape where men are the victims, but calls it 'forced to penetrate.' For report after report, the CDC has found that the 12 month 'forced to penetrate' figures for men are almost identical to the 12 month rape figures for women. The vast majority of 'forced to penetrate' perpetrators are women.
Interestingly, the CDC is quite exceptional in even collecting the figures for 'forced to penetrate'. Feminist researcher Mary Koss, who published the first national study on rape, believes that male victims are not hurt by their experiences to anywhere near the same extent as women. She chose to exclude male victims of female perpetrators from her definition of rape for this reason. Most other research into sexual abuse has made the same choice, resulting in researchers fairly systematically ignoring almost all male victims (with the CDC as an exception).
I hope that we can move to a more egalitarian way to deal with sexual violence, where statistics about male victims and female perpetrators are collected and shared with the public more frequently, where both men and women are taught that they can be victim & perpetrator and where the justice system takes victims of either gender seriously.
3
You make it sound like this is all fun, a love fest. I cannot tell my #MeToo story, about my brother, when I was a teenager. He doesn't even remember. He is still mean to me.
It just hurts. It will never stop hurting.
6
Thank you to all the strong women and men who started the #MeToo movement and are exposing the harsh realities of sexual, verbal and emotional abuse across most industries. Kudos also to all the diligent reporters, editors and media outlets that didn't cower to power and published these claims on their front pages and covers for all to see. Now when a claim of abuse is made, it will be taken more seriously and investigated fully.
7
Almost every woman can recant stories of unwanted sexual advances from those in power from when they were young. These practices, unfortunately, are not the provenance of any one industry.
I do, however, take exception to Ms. Meyer's saying that she thought that the groping and messages were the cost of doing business because she was not white. These stories show that race and sexual orientation are irrelevant.
4
A big thank you to all these heroes.
2
I find it ironic that many in the news media and progressive Democrats find it beneath them to advocate for publically shaming public officials like those who work for Trump or Mitch McConnell, yet at the same time give their blessings to those in the #metoo and #timesup movements to publically shame those who are accused of some sort of sexual misconduct. Can someone give me a legitimate reason for this way of thinking, for they are only accused, while Trump/Republican politicians have actually done something to harm people. It's very hypocritical if you ask me. What part of "Accused" don't they understand?
1
As a woman who spent most of her careeer being sexually harassed, and who has been sexually assaulted too many times to count (non consensual groping, grabbing, kissing, etc.) and actually raped, I was initially so excited when women (and a few men) started speaking out in force. But now I think the movement has lost it’s definition. The lines have blurred, and some of the motivation is suspect. Too many people have used this for other reasons. Like self-promotion. Or lawsuits. It makes me sad.
I feel there have been too many “me too” hangers-on to the #METOO momentum, getting attention in the Press. Why, for instance, is Julie Ruvolo on in this list? That non disclosure agreement about the “partying” she witnessed is awfully tangential. And then there is the well-known, very vocal accuser of serial-predator Harvy Weinstein, who had an ongoing, consensual relationship with the man, yet called it assault. Such cases weaken the “movement” as a whole.
11
Which is more important, Senator Franken out of office or losing Roe v. Wade?
12
A landmark event for women in this country to be sure. But I'm sorry this smacks of Industry backslapping. The United States Congress settled a disgraceful amount of harassment and sexual misconduct cases, paid for with tax payer money, from behind closed doors and there has been ZERO demand for the release of those names. I't looks like #MeToo is selective. If women stand behind this movement why haven't those perpetrators who actually make laws in this country been fully held accountable?
4
Victims of sexual assault should be able to come forward, report their crimes to the police and be listened to. However, some of these #MeToo stories are too outrageous to be believed. Chris Hardwick's ex-girlfriend accused him of "relationship misconduct" and he was practically banished from the entertainment industry based solely on her word. The history of their tweets showed that he broke up with her because she cheated on him and she then begged him to continue the relationship. This is #MeToo? CNN Reporter Chloe Melas accused Morgan Freeman of "reckless eyeballing" and making crude comments to her during a panel interview to promote one of his movies. When CNN showed the clip, it was clear that he was ribbing co-star Michael Caine, and of course he looked at Melas, she was interviewing him, where was he supposed to look? She and her friend sounded hysterical in their voiceover of the clip screaming "Look at his eyes!!!" Really? The black female interviewer they tried to rope into their harassment claim said she did not feel harrassed by Freeman and asked to have her image deleted from their video. Again, this is #MeToo?
10
" Dave Chappelle addressed the women, calling them weak and not cut out for the entertainment industry, and singling out Ms. Schachner’s experience, saying she had a “brittle spirit.” Ms. Schachner did not watch the specia"
Dave Chappelle's special was not bashing #MeToo. He agreed women were right in the special, but pointed out that hardships happen and if your dreams are ruined over one phone call, they probably weren't great dreams to begin with.
8
Thanks for providing context.
Rape is not sexual harassment. It's a crime.
Touching a woman's breasts is not sexual harassment. It's a crime.
Forget talking to anyone in HR. Those people exist to protect the employer. Instead, call the police. Rapists and people who commit sexual assault need to be reported, prosecuted, convicted and forced to register as sex offenders.
After being fired for refusing to let my employer grab at me, I told my lawyer that if it ever happens again, I'm going to do three things: hit the jerk, call the police, then call the jerk's wife. I'll still be fired, but I'll make him feel as small and dirty as he made me feel.
6
#METOO has helped a lot of people, including me, to speak out after having felt isolated and alone.
I was repeatedly molested by my aunt when i was a small child. My mother knew, but did nothing to stop her sister from abusing me. I felt alone, guilty, angry, depressed, embarrassed, and more. Now I have felt more able to talk about it.
I hope more men speak out about having been abused. Over one-third of child victims are boys. Over 40% of their attackers are females. We tend to overlook both of these groups, but neither these victims nor their attackers should be ignored.
16
Thank you for this. Great interviews. So important. Good to see so many in one article. The photos are fabulous too.
2
A huge thank you to all the women who have spoken out!
No doubt, the #METOO movement is a Life Saver and has empowered so many women, globally, to stand up to say
No More!
May this new found courage and strength by all women be the difference in taking charge in Congress this November.
Vote like your life depends on it, ladies and gentlemen...
because it does.
19
Gwyneth Paltrow the face of the ME2Movement??? She only came out well after the movement was well underfoot. As a AAA Star she should have been one of the first to come public.
10
"enormous amount of support from men. They told me awful stories of having to watch lecherous men manipulate women and because of the male code or their rank, they were powerless to complain."
And. Decent men are refraining from messing with "Me Too"; let it be women's moment, and credit. We're totally delighted.
But. Keep in mind - we may need to launch an auxiliary men's movement in a couple years. Possibly "Yeah! Exactly!" to point out that the exact same men who destroy women's careers via sexual harassment, destroy men's careers just as often and freely, if you "cross" them. Like by reporting their sexual misbehavior - or by pointing out their mistakes or idiocies in public.
Such persons are scum - and in high positions frequently because they are ruthless, exterminating all who oppose them.
'Nuff said. This is about women right now, and should be. Decent men are absolutely with you.
7
It is about women right now, and rightfully so. However, I'm looking forward to telling my stories at some point in the future of being ousted by female bosses on more than a few occasions because I didn't welcome their advances.
8
Gwyneth: "This is a system that has existed for thousands of years, and now you cannot behave that way. "
Everyone needs to be fully aware- the men who behave this way - will not stop, just because a few have been caught, and subjected to laws they were used to ignoring.
This IS ancient behavior. These types of men WILL find ways to continue, in spite of new lack of tolerance for their old ways.
3
Ancient behavior indeed. See "Moses for #MeToo?" at:
https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2018/05/17/moses-for-metoo/
In a dark and terrifying week where we are facing the specter of an autocratic president taking apart the underpinnings of our democracy, a Supreme Court unhinged, and mothers separated from their children at the border, this article, while moving in ways, just feels overproduced and hollow. Many of these (mostly) women were extremely courageous, and it's wonderful that the issue has finally gotten the exposure that it deserves. But when I look at the photos, what I mostly see is a lot of art direction. There are people who are really hurting at this moment in time, and real fears that we as women are about to lose the most fundamental right of all: control over our own bodies. Not sure I need to hear much more about what Gwyneth Paltrow in having to endure.
16
Bravo--I couldn't agree more.
1
Great article...written from an interesting perspective. Thank you all!
3
Why was the decision made to publish these people's ages?
3
Why should their ages be concealed?
6
What is the relevance of age to the matter at hand? In the other articles in the paper, the ages of the people involved are not usually given. I was wondering why the authors thought this was an important piece of information.
1
Age is part of the basic "who, what, when, where, why" of journalism and is given in most articles. For example, the ages of Justice Kennedy, the gunman and the unfortunate victims of the Maryland shooting, Joel Davis, Ms Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Crowley are provided in their respective articles. I don't know why the MeToo article should be an exception.
2
Ms. Paltrow speaks eloquently about shame. I can't help but wonder if she feels any shame for not speaking sooner, when it could have helped so many young women who had neither her wealth nor fame from being sexually assaulted.
She told her story only after it was perfectly safe to come forward. Does she wish she had shown more courage?
16
Let's see. I had a man slip his hand under my blouse and squeeze my breast when I was 18. I had an English teacher let me know he was attracted to me qnd available for sex when I was 15. I had an employer try to rape me after giving me a ride home when I was nineteen. I told my husband about those incidents when I was 60 years old, after something came up in a facebook post about that English teacher raping a student when she was 15. Now why did I not tell anyone about it before that—not my parents, not my boyfriends, not my best girlfriends? Because every one of those incidents and several more felt shameful to me—and I did not expect to be believed without also being blamed.
21
From what she says, it looks like she does.
2
Victim shaming is rarely the right response, Sparky. The blame and the shame should be directed where it belongs - on the perpetrators.
17
Times up now for Donald Trump and Bill Clinton. NDAs or not please find and publish the women and their stories to expose Trump and Clinton for who and what they really are, liars. Keep it up NYT!
3
Many conservative women see this movement as weak and the women who get harassed as weak. To see the breadth of this read the article about the women's conservative conference in early June. I don't believe harassment has anything to do with political affiliation, but what does anyone else think?
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2018/06/13/metoo-makes-women-lo...
I read the article and it is quite balanced, giving space to a number of prominent conservatives pushing back against Candace Owens. That we are talking about this is a good thing and as in all things there will be nuance and disagreement. I agree that sexual harassment itself is unrelated to political affiliation - it is universal. But who is willing to call it out or own up to it is an interesting question. That may skew politically.
3
In 1998 I complained about sexual harassment by my boss at the newspaper where I worked. I was high profile in the company, had glowing reviews, was a hard worker and loved my job. After my complaint, my boss arranged to have a disgruntled politician make out a false criminal complaint against me, alleging he found a phone call asking questions about a meeting to be harassing. He didn't know I taped all my calls. Nevertheless, I was fired about two minutes after the police officer walked into the newsroom with the arrest warrant. I sued. Discovery showed my boss had arranged for the arrest as a pretext to fire me. But my career was ruined. No other newspaper would hire me. Not only had I been fired by my former newspaper, but I had sued for sexual harassment. An editor at another newspaper told me I was considered toxic and a troublemaker because I sued. So I went to law school, became a lawyer, and now I sue people like my former boss. I miss journalism, but hey. I guess it all worked out.
52
Which newspaper was that? I believe all of us should know.
6
Agree
1
So angry about what happened. Your documentation--likely to ensure accurate reporting--served you well as evidence. Cheered you fought back and succeeded in a new career that can deliver justice.
3
Thank you for the follow-up. It's important not to let this fade away.
20
Ms Judd may be right about a great many things, but certainly not one of them. What ensued with #MeToo was hardly a "conversation".
5
I'm 67 but when I grow up I want to marry Ashley Judd.
21
I usually like your comments stu, but not this one.
9
No Margy, I think it is considered an admiring comment. We are still male and female (and other genders), and marriage is still an institution and a supreme expression of committed admiration between two people.
Stu, I got it, Margy, don't be snarky please. Men are catching up.
10
Sorry, Robin: Men are still free to adore women, especially the ones whom thy recognize to be WAY out of their own league.
1
Why are the majority of these #metoo aftermath stories about white (mostly affluent) women? Please, NYT, you can do much better than this. Representation matters.
39
I agree with you, Zareen. These women had very little to lose when they came forward with their experiences, and continue to have successful careers. There are so many women who don't have the affluence these women have who continue to experience sexual harassment at work, and are unable to leave their jobs; and, will certainly be fired or retaliated against so much they have no choice but to quit their jobs if they report harassment. Those women don't have the financial resources , and won't be able to go on and have successful careers. They will be impoverished.
And, yes, what about Trump and Bill Clinton's "women." What has become of them after the notoriety has faded?
7
Zareen - a different perspective:
My impression, even at the time these articles were first coming out, was that the women who came forward were the women who could afford to lose it all. (See the comment from "LibertyNY," who was able to go to law school after losing her job. Great for her, but her story would probably have had a different trajectory if she had lost a low-skill, low-paying job and had no savings and no college degree.) The ones who couldn't afford it were the ones who kept quiet. It hardly seems fair to me to ask the NYT to ask women to put themselves at risk if they aren't ready to take that risk.
I'm pretty sure all that is not what you meant; I just wanted to express that there are different ways of understanding the same information without one way necessarily being wrong.
I agree that it would be a great investigative reporting project to try to get some of these women to come forward, with their identities protected, to expose harassment & exploitation in less high-profile industries.
8
What a shame these criminals weren't identified early on. How much suffering could have been averted. Clearly, this abuse was happening regardless of political affiliation, and perversion knows no bounds. These predators were shielded by higher ups who profited from their employment. Hopefully, we can learn many important lesson from this so that history doesn't have to be relived in each generation. The country must get serious about these crimes in order to end them. Time will tell if we can find the backbone to tackle this and many other issues that we face.
22
I am glad that men who have been abusing their positions of power in the workplace, or using physical force against women, have been called out. They are being punished in court, with due process and proof, and this is good and important. However, the public use of #MeToo to lodge complaints against men, highlighting their names and places of employment, with no verification and in instances that are unrelated to employment, is frightening. The social climate right now is a mob mentality - if a woman complains, the man is clearly a predator and needs to be eliminated. We have somehow dispensed with due process, proof, and any sense of proportion. How is "he groped me at a party" equivalent to "he raped me in his apartment?" What about the myriad of drunken hookups that are suddenly being "re-framed" and publicized on the internet to the extreme detriment of the men who have no say in their personal lives being exposed? Women are as much a part of this culture as men, yet suddenly they are "victims" and "brave" for going public, while men's careers are being destroyed (Yes, this is happening). #MeToo is rampant with these situations, and there seems to be no parsing for what is a reasonable complaint and what is just retribution, venting, or just plain fabrication. This is not a sustainable model for change.
28
"that men who have been abusing their positions of power....have been called out".
The United States Congress had gotten a pass on this issue.
4
While you have a valid point - this moment being potentially abused by liars or opportunists - those women who make their humiliation public are encouraging others who suffer in silence to go public. I don't think due process is impossible for men who have been accused. Public opinion is 1 thing; conviction, settlement $$, etc., is another.
2
The assumption in these comments that these women would have been believed when they came forward -- if they were literally the only ones who came forward, and they made a sole accusation against a powerful man -- is laughable. They would have been accused of lying and extorting money and their careers would have been over. That happened to many, many victims of these men -- including relatively powerful ones, like Mira Sorvino. The brilliance of #MeToo was that all the women came forward at the same time, to support each other's stories and also to legally protect each other from countersuits claiming they were lying. Yet still, the New York Times comment sections are full of dozens of people using the term "witch hunt" and "McCarthyism" against these women and claiming these women have "no proof" -- even in cases where 40 or more women made complaints against the same man.
But sure, blame the women for the abuser. What you really mean is that if women are being harassed, they should hold onto their self-respect by leaving their chosen professions (in droves) while the abusers continue to silence them one by one, exactly as Weinstein did.
19
One of the chilling facts frequently overlooked in the shock of being sexually assaulted is that you are likely not the only victim. I hope what people understand from this reporting is that men in power who harass, threaten, and assault women usually have a pattern of such behavior--and if they didn't succeed with you, they will victimize others. This is why it's so important to speak out. Thanks to these courageous women and the #MeToo movement, we now have clearer and safer ways to do so.
17
Brave people like Ms. Judd inspired me to come forward as well and to realize that my own experience with sexual harassment 13 years ago was a much more pivotal moment in my life than I'd allowed myself to comprehend.
10