“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” George Orwell. “Don’t know your past don’t know your future.” Ziggy Marley.
A BRIEF MONTAGE OF THE RECENT HISTORY OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND THE MEDIA
Scene I-The magazine with the highest readership in the United States “Parade”, discussing sexual harassment, warns men against complementing women regarding their hairstyles (Diane Hales, Dr. Robert Hales, Can Men and Women Work Together, Parade Magazine, March 20th, 1994). We learn that behaviors such as an unwanted sexual glance can constitute sexual harassment. A woman reports a man who she witnesses hugging a woman whose mother had died. He is put on probation (Cathy Young, ‘Ceasefire 1999, Simon and Shuster, page 181). To site a few examples out of many. (To view a number of interesting examples, read “Ceasefire”, Chapter Seven, “Sexual McCarthyism”).
SCENE II-President Clinton, while as governor (quoting a rare feminist dissident voice, Marjorie Williamson) is accused by Paula Jones of an: “episode that allegedly included dropping his trousers to waggle his erect penis at a woman who held a $6.35-an-hour clerical job in the state government over which he presided (https://www.vanityfair .com/magazine/1998/05/ https).”
Feminist’s, put on a voracious defense of Clinton, claiming it doesn’t matter if the President did what was alleged, because his actions did not reach the level of sexual harassment. After all, the allegations said Clinton took no for an answer regarding oral sex.
An example, Ellen Goodman, who I believe was the most widely read feminist columnist in the country at the time, writes two columns claiming that Clinton’s behavior does not reach the standard of sexual harassment (Why Paula Jones Must Wait To Be Heard, Baltimore Sun, 1997, May Be Lurid But Not illegal. St Louis Dispatch, 1997 ). The charges are dismissed. Goodman writes a third piece, where she says “I told you so”, regarding the court’s decision (“Paula Jones Gone But Not Forgotten”, Baltimore Sun 1998).” Goodman’s words are accompanied with silence regarding the decision by other feminists.
So the public is lead to believe that behavior similar to that alleged by Jones is acceptable, as long as the women’s refusal is accepted. Still men at my job and others places get fired for much less, to put it mildly. A question to journalist Charlie Rose and Matt Lauer who covered such issues. Did you believe what you were told about sexual harassment by feminists based on their defense of Clinton, and surmise your behavior was acceptable?
Scene III-2017-Pre-Dating the Harvey Weinstein charges, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift’s allegation that her behind had been grabbed by a disc jockey during a photograph, goes to court. The charges are consistently categorized as sexual assault. He got fired, losing his $150,000 job. He refuted the charges and sued for three million dollars. His case was denied. She sued him successfully for $1 for assault and battery.
In court, Swift characterized the incident as: “a very shocking thing that has never happened before.” Journalist Heather Gardner described Swift’s testimony “as shocking and heart breaking.” Swift’s mother asserted: “He sexually assaulted my daughter: I wanted to vomit and cry at the same time. (Heather Gardner, You Tube, Taylor Swift Describes Ass Grabbing Incident in Sexual Assault Case).”
Swift makes the cover of “Time” magazine for her actions, as one of “Times” “People of the Year.” So I would contend that in many ways, the recent condemnation of male sexual behavior exceeded the Pre-Clinton scandal, even before Harvey Weinstein. Not though regarding male top employees and women who work for them. The belief that charges against Clinton regarding Paula Jones, as well as Katherine Willey, even if true, were not serious enough to be considered sexual harassment is largely whitewashed. So we don’t learn the degree that the coverage of the Clinton scandal led to men thinking such behavior was permissible, as well as caused women to be more reluctant in reporting such conduct by men. End of Montage.
Also omitted, is the fact that it is females who are allowed to be aggressive towards male celebrities, not the reverse. This denial was particularly absurd in the discussion regarding Taylor Swift. After all, she is part of the industry of popular music, a well-known environment of sexually aggressive female fans.
For example, on the show “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross, the host quoted her guest Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones: “The power of teenage females of 13, 14, 15, when they’re in a gang, has never left me. They nearly killed me.” This aggression started when Richards was about 19 years of age, before the Stones became the giant act they would become. So I surmise his experience was typical of a number of popular bands of the time, made up of guys around Richards age. Richards went on to describe an incident of what he said, was “I suppose the most graphic.”
I’m the last one out of the stage door. And silly me, I was wearing, you know, a kind of chain around my neck, and some chick from the left got hold of one side and some chick from the right got the other side. And to cut a long story short, quite honestly, I woke up in the garbage can and to see The Stones’ car without – minus a door, zooming off in the horizon and I’m just left lying there with a, you know, maybe a half a shirt and a shoe. And things like that happened to me every day. It’s crazy Keith Richards: The ‘Fresh Air’ Interview : NPR’.”.
Notice that Richards blamed himself for what he was wearing. But then again, he committed the crime of walking while being a male celebrity. Gross who has expressed a lot of concern regarding sexual harassment regarding women, immediately went to her next subject “the Stones anti-girl songs.”
To be fair, there is a big difference in the experiences of males and females. The typical young guy is intensely sexually interested in numerous females he sees everyday as he walks through the mall. This gives young women great sexual power, which in turn, can make women feel like sexual objects. But it is males who are taught not to act on such feelings. It is females not males who feel entitlement regarding aggressive behavior towards the other sex. I would warn feminist to be careful though. No doubt some such attacks such as that of male strippers and others, have been caught on camera. It could turn out that not just men could end up suffering serious consequences.
KISSING AS VIOLENCE
It was inevitable that kissing would be part of the discussion regarding male sexual aggression. Research finds women regard: “kissing as more important than men do at all stages of a relationship “. There’s a shocker for you. (www.theglobeandmail.com/life/relationships/what-do-men-and-women-want-when-they-kiss/artic). Add to that, boys are not supposed to ask for the first kiss, but go ahead and do it, as myself and other boys learned from girls as teenagers. Or as Diane told Sam in an episode of the television show “Cheers”, a first kiss is supposed to be spontaneous. For the male sex, that means making it seem spontaneous. So one of the many prices of having physical contact with women is to risk engaging in what turns out to be unwanted kissing. Also inevitable, was feminist condemning men for it and the press following their lead.
Take for example, “The Unconditional Surrender” statue in Sarasota. The statue is a depiction of a sailor kissing a nurse he does not know, when he learns World War II is over. An article about the statue noted: “Opponents, mostly women, said the sculpture is a reminder of a sexual assault and urged the committee to remove it (iconic ‘Unconditional Surrender’ statue may have new home …).”
I have been to Sarasota many times and never heard any such a complaint. What I did hear was that a number of people did not think the sculpture was of high quality, and the giant depiction (the people, both are about 25 feet tall) did not meet the standards of art displayed in Sarasota. But then people were twenty-five feet tall back then. What can you do? Currently the “Disneyland” ride where a sleeping Snow White is kissed, is receiving a lot of reproachment (Controversy surrounds Disneyland ride and kiss with Snow White …May 4, 2021).
But past events have a way of finding their way to the present, even when journalist refuse to discuss them. The “Dr. Phil” show is airing “some of its most talked about” past episodes. They recently aired a show from November 25 2002 (Classic “Dr. Phil”: Flirts, Teases, and Women Who Hate Women). The program was about a contest where women competed to walk up and kiss the most men. Notice the words in the show’s title include the words “Women Who Hate Women.” This is due to the fact that the women walk up and kiss men regardless whether they are with a female companion or not. The women also show no concern about whether the men want to be kissed.
Even back in 2002, men who behaved that way would be strongly condemned for their treatment of women. But using current standards, we know these women to be sexual predators. If it was men who engaged in such behaviors, even with it being years ago. I would not be surprised if they would be tracked down and admonished, perhaps even prosecuted.
So what if we practice some reverse feminism? Which sex is it that picks up a baby and kisses them without asking the parent? Babies sometimes cry in response. Should we call that child abuse of a baby? Or what about the female relatives myself and many other had as a child, who would consistently kiss us on the cheek, despite our obvious displeasure? What about “Morgana the Kissing Bandit” who made a career out of running out on the field during games and kissing baseball players on the cheek? Need I go on? Of course, it would be despicable to ruin women’s lives in the way feminist do to men. But we need to talk about such things.
