Brett Kavanaugh and #MeToo
If you have a social media account, whether it be Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, or Instagram, the sexual allegations against Brett Kavanaugh have probably been mentioned. Among the many voices that have been highlighted recently, it seems as though the voices of women are again being silenced and devalued over men.Multiple senators have expressed that their minds have not changed since the sexual assault allegations have come to light. Essentially, this means that most Republican senators, a majority of whom are white men, do not consider sexual assault an egregious enough offense to stop a Supreme Court judge nomination. This is concerning for multiple reasons. First of all, it discounts the voices of sexual assault survivors, the majority of whom identify as women, again asserting the power of patriarchy in America. Secondly, it sends a message to the Republican base about the priorities of the Republican party, again asserting the dominance and power of patriarchy and patriarchal thinking.
When the majority of voices surrounding sexual assault are of white men who rather demonize women than believe their claims, the media is used as a tool to discount sexual survivors everywhere. The negative rhetoric surrounding these accusations only works to continue to silence victims of sexual abuse, allowing patriarchial thinking to continue to dominate the minds of the American peopel.
Thank you for sharing this. You raise a great point, the patriarchal thinking is being perpetuated in the case of Brett Kavanaugh. One point people have made asserts that he kept planners of his time in college and it didn't note a party on that night ( https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/twitter-roasts-kavanaugh-for-providing-calendars-he-allegedly-kept-at-17_us_5ba806d3e4b0375f8f9e3ceb). The New York Times also expresses Kavanaugh's turning over of calendars (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/23/us/politics/kavanaugh-senate-calendar.html). Truly what's missing, the acknowledgement that a woman's life was ruined the day she was assaulted, but this man's future is deemed more important than hers.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughts, and I think with the consequent allegations that have come out about Kavanaugh, (just another today: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/third-woman-comes-forward-with-sexual-misconduct-allegation-against-kavanaugh-further-roiling-confirmation-process/2018/09/26/32bcb504-c1a6-11e8-97a5-ab1e46bb3bc7_story.html?utm_term=.6313ce3f9bac), he seems to be further victimized and his accusers seem to be further demonized. It is terrifying to think that our lawmakers are so vehemently determined to discredit the experiences of women who have been sexually abused.
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