An Intersectional Analysis into Sexual Harassment

Analyzing sexual harassment from an intersectional level with a focus on the current situation in Hollywood, paying special focus to the factor of believability of victims of harassment.

In late 2017, hundreds of women in Hollywood came forward about cases of sexual harassment against Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein. Their courage inspired many women and men to share their stories on several media and online platforms. However, while many bravely shared their stories, a pattern can be seen where the majority of those who spoke out were Caucasian. The factor of believability in cases of sexual harassment is strongly correlated to privilege in regards to race, class, and beauty, which further disregards marginalized groups of women and their stories.

Kimberle Crenshaw, a law professor at UCLA and Columbia, and a leading scholar in race and gender, explained in her theory of intersectionality that different layers oppress women, where some are impacted by not only their gender, but race, class, religion, and other factors as well. By developing an intersectional analysis, privilege becomes apparent, where it is evident that white women do not face the same challenges that women of color do.

Within Hollywood, white people have had it easier where there is an abundance of opportunities to chase. However, for people of color, it has been twice as hard. This difficulty can also be in speaking up about being harassed. Power dynamics have been structured in a way that white people are at the top of the pyramid. Therefore, their stories are believed more often. Whereas if a person of color comes forward, s/he is instantly disputed. For instance, Weinstein had remained silent through the surge of accusations, but when Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o accused Weinstein of harassment, he responded saying that he had a different recollection of events.

Moreover, the white actresses who were able to speak up were not only privileged in regards to race but beauty ideals as well. Hollywood and the society at large have very ethnocentric views on beauty where being beautiful means being white, having blonde hair, blue eyes, and a slim figure. Anything that did not represent such beauty ideals is dismissed as unbeautiful, and thus, undesirable. Patriarchal societies use that notion to dispute women who came forward with cases of sexual harassment, claiming that their accusations are false, as they do not comply with patriarchal beauty ideals. Therefore, women that represent such ideals have the privilege of being believed by others when coming forward about being harassed. The issue at hand here is not only the factor of believability but also conforming to patriarchal beauty ideals, which serves as a privilege. That is not to say however that women always deliberately use patriarchal beauty ideals to their advantage, some are in fact culturally imperialized, in which they are socialized into believing this is the way they are supposed to look like.

Regardless of the form of privilege, it plays a huge role in further oppressing unprivileged women and decreasing the believability of their stories and struggles. The Weinstein scandal can make a positive mark on society despite its monstrous nature. By witnessing the magnitude of the issues women can be empowered to share their stories, and powerful men can be held accountable and discouraged from attempting similar actions. Harassers have historically been able to get away with their heinous acts; however, that is no longer the case. This can be seen with how women are raising their voices with their personal issues, and how the general public is receiving their stories. People are now more aware of the power relations between men and women, and the hope is there to make a change. As the 2018 movement founded by Hollywood celebrities in the wake of the Weinstein scandal states, harassers’ “Time’s Up”.