Misogyny

There was neither shock nor, even, surprise when the revelations of Harvey Weinstein’s predations became public knowledge.

It has long been known that the ‘casting couch’ of Hollywood is no myth. Those that practice this method of selecting actresses and, no doubt, actors in some cases are doing the industry no good.

The attacks on these women are despicable but the other angle is that we, the paying public, are possibly not getting the best person for a particular part. How many brilliant actresses have been discarded because they said ‘No’?

Of course there were men in the film industry who were ‘outed’ before Harvey Weinstein. The shame for him is that he was a notable, a dignitary, in a highly regarded company.

Since then we have had a succession of men who have been revealed to be less than savoury in their treatment of women.

Kevin Spacey is one of the more prominent members of that sad group. His career is now suffering, and quite rightly so, for his participation in non-consensual sexual antics with men. 

The President of the United States must also come in for criticism for his statements regarding women and his particular predilections towards them; specifically, how easy they are to tempt into sexual contact.

Of course, these are just a few of the high profile characters. There are thousands more and many of them are all around us in everyday life. 

How common is it for women to be beaten by their partners? Agreed, there are also women who beat their men but women are more inclined to use a psychological approach, which is no less damaging of course.

Sean Connery openly spoke of women needing a slap to put them right under the appropriate circumstances. Indeed, it was part of a Barbara Walters interview with him some years ago. 

It is strangely immoral that there are those that support these misogynists. One wonders how they can bring themselves to believe that such behaviour is warranted.

The singer Morrissey, for example, put his hand up in support of Kevin Spacey and others have stated that Harvey Weinstein has been unduly reviled. Does this mean that those who support this behaviour have leanings towards it themselves or, perhaps, are actively involved and are hoping to alleviate the damage that can be done to them or their careers?

The latest one, that I have become aware of, is not a member of the film industry but, worryingly, a writer.

The winner of a 2008 Pulitzer Prize for his novel with the somewhat uninspiring title of “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” is a fellow by the name of Junot Diaz. Several women have accused him of sexual misconduct. 

He has also been unnecessarily aggressive towards some women and attempted to play down his role in getting their own stories from being published.

It is hard to imagine how emotionally rending it must be for a woman who has been aggressively confronted by such a man to hear him being applauded at a convention and, worse, to be upbraided by another writer for accusing him of appalling behaviour.

To say that he was raped as a child does not give him permission to carry out these acts.

Many people have had traumatic incidents in their lives at all ages. While it is recognised that this will colour our view of the world it does not mean that you can lose control and inflict that same pain on others. 

Making excuses if this nature is just an example of a grown man sucking his thumb and sulking; ‘it wasn’t my fault!’

At the start of his ‘Blog’ there was mention of those actresses who did not take part in the depredations of producers and directors failing to get the parts they so deservedly earned.

Now there are women out there who are not going into print because they are victims of sexual attack – both verbal and physical.

When will this end? When will the arrogance of certain men be recognised as a fault and not something praiseworthy? Why is it that when some man has become successful he feels the need to do something duplicitous and, what is worse, knows he will be lauded by his peers for doing it?

So far the only person who is paying for these crimes appears to be Bill Cosby. Is he an easier target because he is old? Because he is black? Because he is a comedian?

Assault on anyone is a crime. It is the strong preying on the weak. That these victims are primarily women does not absolve the guilty from their actions.

Bring them to book. All of them. There can be no exceptions.