Illustration by Sonia Roy; Zeitgeist/Photofest (Cherbourg), Clarence Sinclair Bull/John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images (Thin), Twentieth Century Fox Pictures/Photofest (Stormy), iStock (Lights, Clapper, Film, Hand, Countdown, Chair)
The Hollywood Reporter
by Camille Paglia
2/27/2018
Excerpt:
The social critic and academic questions special protections for women (“Speak up now, or shut up later!”) and prescribes classic films to “inform the alluring rituals of attraction” amid Hollywood’s harassment crisis.
It’s open sex war — a grisly death match that neither men nor women will win.
Ever since The New York Times opened the floodgates last October with its report about producer Harvey Weinstein’s atrocious history of sexual harassment, there has been a torrent of accusations, ranging from the trivial to the criminal, against powerful men in all walks of life.
But no profession has been more shockingly exposed and damaged than the entertainment industry, which has posed for so long as a bastion of enlightened liberalism. Despite years of pious lip service to feminism at award shows, the fabled “casting couch” of studio-era Hollywood clearly remains stubbornly in place.
The big question is whether the present wave of revelations, often consisting of unsubstantiated allegations from decades ago, will aid women’s ambitions in the long run or whether it is already creating further problems by reviving ancient stereotypes of women as hysterical, volatile and vindictive.
My philosophy of equity feminism demands removal of all barriers to women’s advancement in the political and professional realms. However, I oppose special protections for women in the workplace. Treating women as more vulnerable, virtuous or credible than men is reactionary, regressive and ultimately counterproductive.
Complaints to the Human Resources department after the fact are no substitute for women themselves drawing the line against offensive behavior — on the spot and in the moment. Working-class women are often so dependent on their jobs that they cannot fight back, but there is no excuse for well-educated, middle-class women to elevate career advantage or fear of social embarrassment over their own dignity and self-respect as human beings. Speak up now, or shut up later! Modern democracy is predicated on principles of due process and the presumption of innocence.
…………………………………………………..
View the complete article including images, links and comments at: