Why Harvey Weinstein’s Guilt Matters to Black Women

Not sure why you are crowbarring black women into the Weinstein case because it has nothing to do with us. Weinstein, a true violent sexual predator, will avoid that specific ruling by the courts and has also avoided a conviction on the more serious charges. My conspiracy hat has me wondering if Vance intentionally chose the weakest cases as the base for the trial. I suspect the LA trial will unfold the same way, if there actually is a trial. Regardless, before people begin applauding the verdict, please be aware that Weinstein is in Bellevue now (Rikers doesn’t have a medical unit?) and has yet to be sentenced. I will believe something has changed when Les Moonves, Matt Lauer, Ben Roethlisberger, et al are arrested and face trials. Until then, it is still a wink and nod for certain predators. Let’s get all of them.

I always found the Ben R (Pittsburgh Steelers guy) case interesting and never got the full scope of what happened. I wish the author will some day give the graphics of Bens' case. What I remember vividly was a newspaper photo of Ben dressed so sharp that if he would've bent over that he might've cut himself, going into the NFLs' commissioners office I believe for a verbal berating; that basically implied that he would not be given another chance per the incident, and that he'd better be cool. Of course my thinking was that his complexion helped in his not getting tarred and feathered.

Divide and Conquer is the oldest strategy in the book, and it is the most common one used against the women's movement in recent years.

This is a very powerful article, one that simultaneously delineates the subtle differences and profound confluences of complex histories and simple injustices. What is problematic in Ms. Tillet's essay is the psychologically covert message is this: all men are rapists. This is also the main fault of the #MeToo message: all men are rapists, given time, place, situation, all men are rapists or will be rapists. As if rape is man's Original Sin. All are guilty until, let's face it, until dead; and even then we can't be sure. While we must applaud those who seek justice, we must also stand with and by those who are innocent. Let's be clear. Not all men are rapists. Only those who rape are rapists.

Punishing perpetrators is necessary but not be enough. Plus it's after the fact. Teach teach teach. And start young. Families and educational institutions working together will make the biggest difference. I often wonder whether Weinstein's and Cosby's parents made this matter a subject of serious conversation in their families... Likely not. I will not make that mistake. I like a prophylactic approach.

It is a sad fact that black men commit more crimes than other demographics..........Sadder still is that most victims of black crimes are black. These are just statistics and not a "attack" per say. The writer would be wise to be 1; cognizant of aggregate data, and 2; do a real data searching of what leads people in power to commit these horrific acts. Bill Cosby would be the poster child of everything wrong in Hollywood.

Maybe Weinstein will finally have time and a razor to get rid of his pity-beard in prison.

I am hopeful that, from now on, women who have been sexually assaulted will speak up about it and press charges as soon as possible. It is sad that many women have remained silent out of fear. We need to demand our rights as human beings or some males will continue to take advantage of women.

Why must everything be seen through an Identity Politics lens? A guy has been convicted of rape and sexual assault as have many before him. That's it. Hopefully we can try to reduce the number of assaults against women (and men) -regardless of race, creed or colour.

If you look at the data cited in this story, you'll see: Although 57% of rapists are white men, white men make up 82% of the male population, and the percentage of white rapists is falling. In contrast, black men make up 11% of the male population, but 27% of rapists, and their numbers are increasing. (Ethnicity wasn't asked. So, those figures will include men who identify as white Hispanic or black Hispanic.) So, I'm not sure these statistics help the author's cause, unless there are some whites so racist that they think white men rarely rape women. Most rape is intraracial, by the way. In other words, men tend to rape women of the same race. Keep in mind that marital rape was not illegal in all 50 states till 1993. So, yes, it was terrible that white men raped enslaved black women. But many of them also raped their white wives. Enslaved black men could rape enslaved black women, if the white masters allowed it. After slavery ended, black men could still rape their black wives. Of course, some of this didn't involve violence. Many women have submitted out of fear of the consequences for saying no. As part of her fight against lynching, Ida B Wells suggested that white women who accused black men of rape had actually consented. (See the book "A Shining Thread of Hope" on the history of African American women.) The idea that women who claimed rape actually wanted it had repercussions for both white and black women who were raped.

My head is spinning going through this article to find the thesis. I still don't understand how Weinstein's guilt has some unique meaning to Black women. Black men and White men both commit #MeToo infractions. Ms Tillet does not convincingly demonstrate a racial preponderance, or bias. Previous articles on this topic in the Times suggested that Black men were getting a pass on #MeToo due to the reluctance of women of color to come forward. Could someone explain to me in simple terms what she is trying to say? Thanks.

Dr. Tillet's claim: "Finally, media representation had caught up to reality. According to the most recent data released by the Justice Department in a special report on female victims of violence, white men committed more than 57 percent of sexual assaults from 2005 to 2010 in the United States. This shift in our national consciousness also chiseled away at one of our nation’s most pernicious and enduring racial stereotypes: the black male rapist" is misleading. Here's what the government report says: https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/fvsv9410.pdf "Across all three periods, white males committed the majority of sexual violence. Over time, the percentage of sexual violence committed by white offenders declined from 70% in 1994-98 to 57% in 2005-10. The percentage of black offenders increased from 18% in 1994-98 to 27% in 2005-10. White males consistently accounted for more than 82% of the total U.S. male population and black males accounted for 11%. The NCVS did not collect information on the ethnicity of the offender. Therefore, Hispanic offenders make up an unknown portion of the white, black, and other race of offender categories." Black males were 27% of offenders in 2005-2010 and 11% of males. 27/11 = 2.45. (Whites plus non-black Hispanics) were 57% of offenders and 82% of males = 0.70. 2.45/0.70 = 3.5. So, the black male rate of sexual violence offendership according to this report was 3.5 times the (white male plus non-black Hispanic male) rate in 2005-2010.

Many readers have brought up that 57% is fewer than the percentage of men who are white so therefore white men are underrepresented as rape perpetrators. However, I would argue that if we factor in socioeconomic status, then the picture would look more racially balanced. Other relevant factors include education, lead exposure, familial and neighborhood violence and so on. But there is one genetic factor associated with rape perpetration, or for that matter any violence - murder, domestic violence, mugging, terrorism - that will never fade no matter how many variables are corrected for: the male-determining SRY gene. Now, I'm not claiming that it nor other features of biological sex (testosterone) are necessarily the cause of that violence. Perhaps socialization is the main culprit. Nevertheless there it is; the most glaring, impolite, incontrovertible fact imaginable.

This is a good and important article, but I think it's a big mistake to lump all men accused of any kind of sexual misdeed together, there is a big difference between rape and unwanted advances. You diminish the seriousness of actual rape as Weinstein with Louie CK.

I thank Dr. Tillet for thoughtful article. I find her very brave to write about why Weinstein's conviction matters to Black women. I was stunned when Oprah cut ties from a documentary about Russell SImmons and the allegations of sexual abuse. Oprah denies being intimidated, however, it appears that she was scared. Also stunned about the treatment and threats Gayle King received publicly for her questions to Lisa Leslie about Kobe Bryant. The aftermath for Ms. King was terrible. So people in power, of any color, can intimidate and shut down victims, being silenced or disbelieved. Examples of convictions and due process, helps, as well as courageous women and men writing and investigating victims coming forward.

A very good article that makes a lot of valid points. However, the author did not mention another reason women of color are often not taken seriously when it comes to rape; historically, black women have been portrayed as sexually promiscuous and therefore cannot be raped. This is classic “blame the victim” mentality that has gone on for far too long. With the conviction of Harvey Weinstein and others, I hope this victim blaming and shaming of all women is finally coming to an end.

Your essay reminds me of Eldridge Cleaver’s disturbing justification, in “Soul on Ice,” that he viewed raping white women as revolutionary—taking white men’s “property.” He admitted then that he had to “practice” first, on black women. Rapists tend to create moral justifications for their terrible actions. In the case of Weinstein, he may have thought his role as a liberal-cause benefactor negated his wrong-doing.

This article contains statistics which are picked up and debated in the comments. These statistics suggest different propensity to rape between black and white men, and many racists will run with that. But without controlling for wealth, family situation or education this is grossly misleading and dangerous. For Christ's sake, we are talking about skin pigment! The idea that eye pigment or hair pigment could affect someone's propensity to rape is laughable but somehow skin gets debated as if it were a serious hypothesis.

Thank you, Professor Tillet.

Every American needs to read and understand this. We need to stop pretending slavery does not impact us today, when it is still affecting countless dynamics including rape, criminal justice, economics, and so much more. I'm sharing this. I kindly request that others do as well. Why do white men still have these sexual privileges in 2020? Who keeps enforcing this minority's brutal privilege to abuse even the youngest and most vulnerable of us? Is it you? This needs to end NOW. For all of our children, every color of the rainbow. Let our children learn of this only in history books, and not through their own abuse and suffering. Anyone triggered by this: You are part of the problem. Do better.

The trope of the rapacious black man lusting after a white woman is not limited to America. When I was a young white girl visiting relatives in apartheid South Africa, despite the fact that my family opposed apartheid, I got the strong message that all African men wanted was a white woman. I suspect that many establishments oppressing black people have used this fear of white female violation as a way to rile up animosity towards black men. I'm saddened, but not surprised, that it persists in our culture.

It's hard to tell if the author and the editors misunderstand the statistical misrepresentation here or if they are hoping the readers do.

As the grandson of black African American women and the son of a black African American mother and the father of a black African American daughter and the husband of a black African American wife and the brother of black African American sisters and the uncle of black African American nieces and the nephew of black African American aunts, I appreciate and applaud this black African American female context and perspective. Humanity denying historical black African American enslavement and equality defying separate and unequal black African American Jim Crow has enduringly and effectively distorted what it means to be a black African American man and woman. From Sallie Hemmings to Celia to Recy Taylor to Joan Little there is one historical color aka race narrative. But that excludes the majority reality of black African American men and women sexual dating, mating, meeting and marrying procreative ethnic and nationak origin potential options. Black African boys and men were generally criminally persecuted/ prosecuted and/ or lynched for desiring, disrespecting or involuntary defiling white European American Judeo-Christian girls and women. Neither black African American nor white European American boys and men had nor do they generally have any such fear if they desire, disrespect or involuntary defile a black African American girl or woman. Black African American girls and women lives don't matter as the much as the lives of any other Americans.

If you're a black woman raped by a black man and your biggest worry is being a "race traitor" if you turn him in, perhaps the problem is not with #MeToo or the justice system.

Its amazing the pervasiveness and the endurance of white defensiveness being shown here and other in columns that talk about race in the US from an African-American's point of view. Anytime a black person speaks about their racial experience there are always white commenters and apologists for whites who insist on the universality of experience, never having had to question or think about their racial status--which to them is neutral or nonexistent. Perhaps if we withheld our judgements, we might actually learn something new about our fellow citizens.

The NY Times' focus on the primacy of identity has been going off the rails for a long time. Virtually anything that references identity goes unquestioned...even when the evidence is weak or, in this case, when logic fails. In this piece the heading and sub-heading are in conflict with one another. The case is important because of what it means to "black women" and it is important because of what it means to "survivors of all backgrounds." I guess it's possible to claim that both are true but only because the second category includes all survivors...which makes the first category irrelevant and which should be the goal of a liberal organization.

Without expressing an opinion or even commenting on the content, I make this simple observation: "...white men committed more than 57 percent of sexual assaults..." Fifty-seven percent is also approximately the portion of men who are white. Ergo, white men commit sexual assault at about the same rate as men of color. * https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045218 "White alone, not Hispanic of Latino, percentage" = 60.4% Presumably very nearly half of all populations by ethnicity consist of males, so ~60.4% of white men commit ~57% of sexual assault.

"The verdict enables more survivors of all backgrounds to share their truth, regardless of their identity of perpetrators." Given the title and focus of this op-ed obviously some demographics are more important to the author than others.

Rather than divide us by parsing the importance of the Weinstein conviction by race and gender, I think it would be better to simply say his conviction matters to everyone who wants justice.

You celebrated the "Alleged Accusations" about men in the "Me Too" movement. Enough said.

Why does it matter? Because he's a rapist, perhaps? Who needs to delve deeper than that? Don't overthink this.

"Such racial consistency gave cover to white men, who, according to the historian Estelle Freedman in her book 'Redefining Rape,' historically 'decided the terms and beneficiaries of U.S. citizenship' and also shaped rape laws that “contributed to the immunities enjoyed by white men who seduced, harassed or assaulted women of any race.” Seduced? Seduced? Come on.

The Justice Department statistics actually show whites commit 57 percent of rapes while blacks commit 27 percent, but whites make up 76.65 percent of the population while blacks make up 13.40 percent of the population. Whites commit a disproportionally small percent of rapes while blacks commit a disproportionately large percent of rapes. Page 4, TABLE 4 Rape and sexual assault victimizations against females, by perceived offender characteristics, 1994–1998, 1999–2004, and 2005–2010 https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/fvsv9410.pdf

I am happy that he is going to jail. What I wonder though is if women have learned any lessons. I have heard that many women feared turning him in, for whatever reason, and I think some of that is a legitimate concern. The lesson should be that at some point, someone has to act against injustice. If you don't, it continues. In general, Americans are timid and want their safety and money security. They often let injustice slide because to fight it is a burden on them individually. This is true of all injustice, not just when battling creepy perves like Weinstein. There is plenty of injustice, and it will continue because the people are too weak or too timid to fight it. Sexual abuse is just one aspect of the greater injustices that happen every day.

Thanks for this perspective. The actual data on who Oprah targeted as predators was contrary to what I accepted as truth. The place of Clarence Thomas in muting black women was something that I never really considered.

If Bill Cosby's conviction was followed by an acquittal of Harvey Weinstein and a conviction of R. Kelly, it would be reasonable to conclude that there are different rules for white men and black men when it comes to accountability for sexual violence.

W was an easy victory. A loathsome character with a loathsome history, but to think that his conviction will change a thing is an illusion. Juries will continue to ignore women's stories.

“Finally, media representation had caught up to reality...white men committed more than 57 percent of sexual assaults from 2005 to 2010 in the United States” The DOJ report further provides that for the same period, white men were 82% of the male population and black men were 11% (committing 27% of sexual assaults). Those figures are out of proportion for the statistical representation of each group. If you are going to draw these kinds of lines to strengthen your argument, it’s best if we lay all the cards out on the table.

Tillet has written a tell-all-truths article on race and sexual predators. She situates the relationship between rape and race in history, summons facts, and is unsparing in her analysis of what both black and white men say on their own behalf. Undoing the racist discourse by pointing out how it works against women, black and white, is a generative step forward. Thank you. This is a feat of honest writing.

While I agree with your overall premise and always want to shine light on misconceptions, the data you cited shows that 57% percent of assaults on women were from white men and 27% from black men. With black men representing 13% of all men and white men representing 63%, your statistics cite that black men are more than double their representation, while white men represent less than their representation on sexual assaults. As I said, I agree with the overall tenant of your argument and the historical significance. But your argument also decides to demonize white men to help anchor your point; which is at best misleading and at worst harmful propaganda.

What a wonderful and helpful article, Ms. Tillet. Many thanks for elucidating the issue, clarifying the history and horror that most women have known for so so long and putting it into context that makes so much sense.