OPINION
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Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Don’t dismiss Ansari allegation in #MeToo discussion MARISSA MARTINEZ
DAILY COLUMNIST
Please be advised that this column contains reference to sexual assault and rape. Sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein rocked Hollywood. Weinstein’s history of using power and influence against dozens of women in the industry was astounding, and he fittingly fell from grace soon after. Many celebrities were similarly boycotted after their accusers came forward as well. One notable exception to this rule: Aziz Ansari. The accusations against Ansari represent a new gray area in the world of #MeToo. Tarana Burke started the Twitter movement in 2006 as a way to express solidarity through social media with other sexual assault survivors. It quickly spread in 2017 when celebrities and citizens alike started using the hashtag to spread awareness. However, some followers of the movement erupted with anger when independent website babe.net ran an article telling the story of “Grace,” a woman who says Ansari coerced her into uncomfortable sexual encounters during a date in September. Suddenly, women who had supported the rise against Hollywood’s sexual assault problem
were dismissing Grace’s story as unworthy of being part of the #MeToo movement. They argued she was single-handedly destroying Ansari, someone who had recently shown up to the Golden Globe awards wearing a #TimesUp pin, a symbol of his support for feminist strength in a post-Weinstein Hollywood. In their eyes, how could a beloved celebrity known for his progressive show, “Master of None,” be accused of sexual impropriety? During a news broadcast, HLN reporter Ashleigh Bansfield told Grace she had “chiseled away at that powerful movement with (her) public accusation.” The Atlantic contributor Caitlin Flanagan wrote, “privileged white women (are opening) fire on brown-skinned men,” and chalked up her personal inability to understand Grace’s plight to a generational difference. The New York Times’s Bari Weiss claimed Grace’s problem was that she assumed Ansari was “a mind-reader.” Many other reductive articles, posts and comments followed, showing a nationwide inability to understand the situation and its significance. While there were assuredly problems with the article’s execution that need to be addressed, such as its unnecessarily graphic nature and overall clumsy writing, Grace’s story raises a valid point: Sexual assault is not always black-and-white, and America’s sexual culture needs to be reevaluated. Many critics claimed Grace should have ended the encounter with a curt “no,” and left the
situation completely. But it’s not that simple — I know dozens of people who share her experience: something they previously wanted is moving too fast, too aggressively, or is otherwise making them uncomfortable. They might say they want to slow down or do something different, but many reasons, from misunderstandings to uneven power dynamics, make this hard or close to impossible. Women have been shamed, physically harmed or even killed because they said “no” too forcefully. Additional factors including age, class, race and gender identity can further deepen the difference in power dynamics, multiplying the fear of potential retribution. Those realities stay with you through every encounter, making a dicey situation even more complicated. Entitlement to sex goes hand-in-hand with not asking for consent. Many believe that in a once-consensual situation, whatever happens next is inevitable and unavoidable unless you explicitly end the encounter. Yet, whether it’s in school, pop culture or even our own homes, we have been taught that being silently uneasy with how your hookup is progressing is “normal.” This is an unfortunate truth our generation needs to change. Sex should not be coerced. Sex should not be expected. Sex should not be persuaded into existence. Unlearning this will be hard: Lack of communication before, during and after sexual relationships is an ugly part of our society. Yes, candidly
discussing sex can be embarrassing and difficult, whether it concerns a one-night stand or a fortyyear marriage. But until we revise how we view consent, people everywhere will continue to have tense and deflating experiences where they feel like they “allowed” something to happen rather than wanting it. Programs like Northwestern’s “Student Body” True Northwestern Dialogue are a good starting point for changing the conversation. Teaching new community members about ongoing, knowing, active and voluntary consent is critical for fostering healthier sexual relationships in college. While not perfect, this TND and the sexual assault pre-program all incoming NU students take are important steps and are rightfully required. Changing an entire country’s attitudes toward mutual consent will not be easy, and there are many situations similar to Grace’s that occur every day. However, if #MeToo is really going to change the world, it has to include more types of sexual encounters in the conversation. Marissa Martinez is a Medill freshman. She can be contacted at marissamartinez2021@u.northwestern. edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this column, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern.com. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.
Women’s March shouldn’t just be annual commitment RACHEL HOLTZMAN
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
According to recent estimates, more than 1 million people in Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago alone attended the second annual Women’s March this Saturday, with hundreds of thousands more rallying in cities around the globe. The momentum that led to this moment, from the election of Donald Trump in 2016 to the #MeToo movement that picked up last fall, has only continued to grow, with polls suggesting that women may comprise a major blue wave this coming November. According to a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, women favor Democrats 57-31 percent for elections this year. No one is arguing that the Women’s March is perfect. We’re still having painful, necessary conversations about the intersections of gender with race, transgender identity, disability, class and religion. However, it serves as a central point and a rallying cry for change. Last year, the first Women’s March stood against the promises Donald Trump made on the campaign trail. This year, protesters loudly opposed measures such as suggested abortion term limits, the Muslim
ban, a lack of protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients and the Children’s Health Insurance Program funding expiration. At the end of the day, however, none of this matters without a specific effort to register new voters, get people to the polls and reach out to local communities. The Women’s March followed up on their Saturday March with the kickoff of “Power to the Polls” in Las Vegas on Sunday. Comprising a national registration tour in swing states and a gravssroots outreach program, the initiative acknowledges the challenges of voter suppression and engagement and will help to mobilize more Americans. The crowds that came together Saturday demonstrated a commitment to a crucial philosophy: Demand that your representatives make the system better, and if (and when) they don’t, fix it yourself. At its core, the Women’s March spurs us to take action and to gear up for the long haul of being citizens: holding Congress accountable, voting, organizing, running (or helping others run) for office and, yes, prioritizing our values over Saturday brunch. So, after rallying, what comes next? Many women are already holding their members of Congress accountable. Over the course of 2017, constituents flooded the Washington phone lines, leaving message upon message about their
positions on healthcare, women’s rights, consumer protections, gun control and the creation of a strings-free bill to protect DACA recipients. According to the app Daily Action, approximately 86 percent of these phone calls were made by women, suggesting that women are increasingly taking action in small ways. Students, office workers, stay-at-home moms and activists alike are making sure their elected officials know their actions will have consequences in November. More women than ever are running for public office and giving each other the tools to get there. According to The Cut, as of January 2018, 390 women have registered to run for seats in the House of Representatives. Women are running locally, too: EMILY’s List, a group training and fundraising for pro-choice Democratic women candidates, said more than 25,000 women have reached out to them expressing the desire to run for office. And there are many organizations willing to help them. Early last year, Amanda Litman (Weinberg ’12), a 2016 Clinton campaign alum, and Ross Morales Rocketto co-founded Run for Something, which provides resources to people under 35, especially women and people of color, for building progressive benches in their state legislatures. Last November, candidates supported by grassroots organizations like Run for Something
Ending politicization will make us happier WESLEY SHIROLA
DAILY COLUMNIST
The active discussion of politics is a necessary component of any healthy democracy, and as former President James Madison famously said, it is “sown in the nature of man.” Yet there is undoubtedly a point at which it can become too much. In the United States, we reached that point in 2017, a year in which just about everything that could be politicized was politicized — from the Oscars in Hollywood and a heartbreaking mass shooting in Vegas to the National Football League and natural disasters. Data shows that the American public was more unhappy and depressed than ever before, possibly due to the massive politicization. Clearly, then, we should do everything we can to prevent politicization from hampering our 2018 as much as it did last year. In 2007, the U.S. ranked third happiest out of 24 economically developed countries, according to the World Happiness Report. By 2016, however, the U.S. had dropped to 19th, and continues to drop, which I think is almost undoubtedly due in part to our current obsession with politics. Who’s to blame for all of the politicization? There’s not just one answer, because multiple actors are playing a part. An obvious first choice is our
president, Donald Trump. As a result of Trump’s personality, the nature of his entire administration and, of course, Twitter, politics are always with us and seems to reach into every aspect of our daily lives. But Trump isn’t the only one to blame. The vast majority of us are at fault as well. It’s been over a year now since the presidential election, yet it seems that most of the daily conversations I have with people are still about Trump, whether about the latest thing he infamously tweeted or how he supposedly watches eight hours of television every day. By now, one would think that we’d have something else to talk about, but apparently, we don’t. When I tune into a late-night television program to have a few good laughs, for example, I can’t even come close to laughing because it seems that every single attempt at a “joke” is about politics. This is not meant to be a tirade against the left, or against the right. Both are equally responsible, and equally affected. It’s just time that we all admit it. Yes, I understand that politics and politicization are a pervasive part of our culture, but in my opinion, America has not seen anything like this in a long, long time. Two other highly contentious times in American history come to mind. First, the early part of the 1860s, when half of the country seceded from the rest. And second, the 1948 election between President Harry Truman and Thomas Dewey, just three years after Truman made the still-debated decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki and end World
War II, going to bed all but believing he had lost but waking to hear news of a highly-unpredicted victory. Both of these times undoubtedly caused anger and unhappiness to sweep through the American public. But so did the massive politicization of the past year, and I think it’s hard to deny that the 2016 election, all of 2017 and what is now the first year of the Trump administration ranks right up there with them. Ask yourself this: Wouldn’t it be nice to have some occasional relief from our current political climate, perhaps by watching a good movie or having a thought-provoking conversation with your friends and family about how important they are to you? I know I would enjoy that. So, take the time to disconnect from social media from time to time. Talk about literature and theatre with your friends, rather than politics for a change. Just for a second, ignore what’s happening in Washington, no matter how much you love it or hate it, and appreciate all of the good things in your life. It will make you happier, and it will in turn make 2018 a happy and enjoyable year for everyone. Wesley Shirola is a Weinberg freshman. He can be contacted at wesleyshirola2021@u.northwestern.edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern. com. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.
became part of blue waves in the New Jersey and Virginia state governments. Many more, like Skokie resident, DePaul sophomore and Cook County Board candidate Bushra Amiwala, will work to drive another march to the polls in 2018. For those who can’t see themselves running for office at all, there are plenty of opportunities to help, from canvassing to providing pro-bono marketing and data work to candidates. Candidates need more than your presence at a march once a year. They need money, they need active callers, they need skilled help and they need people with the drive to make things better. The change we want to see in our political system starts with us at the polls and in the registry offices. It starts with women, transgender people and non-binary folks. And if it comes from the desire to help all women — not just some — our chances of riding that blue wave at all levels of government in November becomes much stronger. Rachel Holtzman is a Medill senior. She can be contacted at rachelholtzman2018@u.northwestern.edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this column, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern.com. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.
The Daily Northwestern Volume 138, Issue 57 Editor in Chief Nora Shelly
Opinion Editor Troy Closson
Managing Editors Yvonne Kim Cole Paxton
Assistant Opinion Editors Marissa Martinez Leo Sainati Alex Schwartz
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