The Mary Sue: Minnie Driver has long been outspoken on issues of sexual harassment and assault, both within Hollywood and without, as well as speaking openly about her own experiences with assault. Earlier this month, she stepped down from her position as an Oxfam ambassador after it was revealed that some of the organization’s staff sexually exploited the vulnerable communities they were supposed to be serving in Haiti and other countries.
2 comments:
This article and Minnie Driver’s story amazes me of how she works not just to try to stop sexual abuse and harassment in more than just the entertainment industry. I think it important to have this inter-industry support because hopefully, it will help accomplish wide sweeping change or change in one industry will spark change in another. Minnie brings up another amazing point when she points out perfectly nice men (like when Matt Damon’ commented last year about the hierarchy of abuse) who mansplain ideas about women being harassed. This important because it reminds men and me to be supportive and helpful in the fight to end sexual misconduct in the workplace and more importantly that men shouldn’t be talking about things they have never experienced or have no authority in talking about. Minnie’s ideas are summarized by the author when she writes “Men who think of themselves as empathetic because of their niceness or intelligence or history of liberal activism that they assume translates to universal allyship.” This is a very important point to bring up. Action/allyship is the only thing that helps. Men can talk all they want about how they are and what they believe but this will accomplish nothing.
Minnie Driver is entirely right. Matt Damon's comments were tone deaf especially considering that he has not experienced what it is to live in a traditionally female body every day. Minnie Driver's acute awareness of her own privileged experiences within the existence of being a woman is very refreshing in this sea of white feminism overwhelming the MeToo movement. Since Rose McGowan came out about her experiences with Harvey Wienstien, it has felt like a sea of people that are hard to relate to have been coming out about abuse in Hollywood. Minnie Driver's commitment to calling it like she sees it and not sugar coating it for the benefit of her career is really admirable. I hope that Matt Damon truly understands why his words were unfair. Obviously all sexual violence isn't the same. But everyone deserves the space to be feel how they feel about the abuse they've endured and not have someone who doesn't understand it telling them it isn't that bad.
Post a Comment