The Women with the Privilege to Say No

I read an article recently within The Atlantic called "Harvey Weinstein and the Economics of Consent"

"The blunt power of the gatekeeper is the ability to enforce not just artistic, but also financial, exile."

by Brit Marling.

This article showed the limited choices of actresses, writers, and other females in the media industry to say no to a man as powerful as Weinstein. Within this patriarchal society, he is the one calling the shots. Weinstein could ruin careers in a matter of minutes if a woman denies his sexual advances. Some women do not have the financial stability for him to ruin their careers, so they sadly feel obligated to oblige to his disgusting sexual advances.

This article states "Weinstein was the gatekeeper who could give actresses a career that would sustain their lives and the livelihood of their families. He could also give them fame, which is one of few ways for women to gain some semblance of power and voice inside a patriarchal world. They knew it. He knew it. Weinstein could also ensure that these women would never work again if they humiliated him. That’s not just artistic or emotional exile—that’s also economic exile."

Marling, a female writer and actress, had a meeting with Weinstein and he invited her up into his hotel room. He asked if she wanted champagne, strawberries, or a massage. He then proceeded to ask if she wanted to shower with him. He even put his hands on her shoulders. She was able to leave the hotel room because of the writer in her. The actress in her a few years ago may have not had enough financial stability to reject a man of that power. Other actresses needed that pay check just to get food on the table and could not say no. Some women feel they have to to succumb to the pressures of exchanging sexual favors to keep their career from ending. Luckily, Marling was able to write her own work and create her own money to provide for herself. Men like Weinstein in the industry unfortunately take advantage of women in times of desperation for sexual gain. This has gone on for multiple decades and the media is just now finding out about how dirty the industry truly is. However, there is still no change or consequences. This does not need to occur if we change the way people view what is acceptable in the world.

Men are the wealthier gender and women are "poverty" in this society. Men, such as Weinstein, take advantage of this unfortunate circumstance, and use money, power, and sex for their personal gain. In order to be a free woman, one must be a financially independent woman. One must create their own money without the dependence on a man's name, resources, and power. Woman are just as capable as men to do the jobs they do in order to be financially dependent of them. They can make enough money to survive financially and still have a career.

However, society stereotypes women as "unfit" and not as good as the men in these media roles, such as directors. The majority of storytellers, the people with economic and artistic power, are straight, white men. As of 2017, women make up only 23 percent of the Directors Guild of America. They do not believe a woman can write about action movies, nor do they think they want to. However, the majority of women-centric movies such as Thelma and Louise, The Notebook, A Walk To Remember, Legally Blonde, and others, are all written by males. More female directors, screenwriters, and editors need to be hired in order to properly portray women in the respectful, dignified manner we deserve within the media. We need to stop buying movie tickets films that objectify and disrespect women as well. If society starts treating women more equally and changes the injustices, this will translate to reform other women inequalities within other subcultures.

Women need to know their worth and know they can make money in other ways besides letting themselves be degraded. Obviously, lots of women already know this lesson and were thankfully able to get away. However, some women believe it is their only choice in survival and it is not. Women have the ability to make their own money and power, we just need to accept, empower, and not be intimidated by their talent. We need to call out sexual assault more among powerful directors and implement harsher consequences so females will not have to endure this agony ever again. If we stop supporting endeavors that make the inequalities of women acceptable, and start punishing, then this will translate into a change in reality.