Sexual Abuse is About Power. Working class, Poor, Women of Color its Prime Victims

Richard Mellor
Afscme Local 444, retired

Thanks to Naïma Wadile for sharing the Facebook post from Ellen Page (below). It’s a powerful commentary on the problem of sexual harassment and predatory sexual behavior. It is important that Ms Page brings the plight of working class, poor, and immigrant women in to the picture. That many of these women are women of color as well as immigrants. Her own story as a lesbian is also shared and the struggle of indigenous women against sexual predators. I recall speaking with a Native American women who told me of the sexual abuse on the reservation. You can’t put men, teenage boys, unemployment, alcohol and despair all living under the same roof and without the young women among them suffering for it. I have no idea what the level of sexual abuse among this population is, but behind it all, no matter which community, is power and control and behind that is a system that dehumanizes us all. You cannot have capitalism, without sexism. Capitalism is built on exploitation and the victimization of the weak by the powerful.

As well as the commentary from Ms Page below which is on her Facebook page  there is an excellent article by Sarah Leonard that also stresses the crisis of this social epidemic and the damage it does among the working class; women that do not have the privileges that celebrities do.  She stresses organization and gives some examples of organizing against sexual harassment in the workplace. It was titled Want To Stop Predators: Organize but I could only find it on the web with the title How to Stop the PredatorsWho Aren’t Famous.

We had a clause in our union contract that was added in 1985 after our strike. I am including it at the end of Ms Page’s comments, I sent a letter to the NY Times in response to Ms Leonard’s article and included the contract language. Like Ms Leonard writes, organization is no guarantee against sexual predators and harassment, women have to face it in the union movement as well. But it gives women a vehicle through which to fight back against the bosses and against harrassmen in the workplace. I got my local to take up the issue of domestic violence against women as some of our best union stewards and two presidents were women. It’s a class issue too. How can we have a strong union when half of our members are fighting off sexual harassment and violence from the boss, an abusive male at home or co-workers? This is how I appealed to male co-workers.

There are only two sources of power in the workplace whether the movie industry or meatpacking and that is the bosses or the organized workers. It is in a man’s interest, the interests of his children and family, that he stand with women on this issue. This could not have gone on in the film industry had male actors spoke out and let the women know they were with them. The old American slogan, “An Injury to One is an Injury to All” is a good one.

Here’s the commentary from Ms Ellen Page. It’s pretty descriptive. Some of my union’s contract language is below it. The image is not with her original.

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“You should fuck her to make her realize she’s gay.” He said this about me during a cast and crew “meet and greet” before we began filming, X Men: The Last Stand. I was eighteen years old. He looked at a woman standing next to me, ten years my senior, pointed to me and said: “You should fuck her to make her realize she’s gay.” He was the film’s director, Brett Ratner.

I was a young adult who had not yet come out to myself. I knew I was gay, but did not know, so to speak. I felt violated when this happened. I looked down at my feet, didn’t say a word and watched as no one else did either. This man, who had cast me in the film, started our months of filming at a work event with this horrific, unchallenged plea. He “outed” me with no regard for my well-being, an act we all recognize as homophobic. I proceeded to watch him on set say degrading things to women. I remember a woman walking by the monitor as he made a comment about her “flappy pussy”.

We are all entitled to come into an awareness of our sexual orientation privately and on our own terms. I was young and although already a working actor for so long I had in many ways been insulated, growing up on film sets instead of surrounded by my peers. This public, aggressive outing left me with long standing feelings of shame, one of the most destructive results of homophobia. Making someone feel ashamed of who they are is a cruel manipulation, designed to oppress and repress. I was robbed of more than autonomy over my ability to define myself. Ratner’s comment replayed in my mind many times over the years as I encountered homophobia and coped with feelings of reluctance and uncertainty about the industry and my future in it. The difference is that I can now assert myself and use my voice to to fight back against the insidious queer and transphobic attitude in Hollywood and beyond. Hopefully having the position I have, I can help people who may be struggling to be accepted and allowed to be who they are –to thrive. Vulnerable young people without my advantages are so often diminished and made to feel they have no options for living the life they were meant to joyously lead.

I got into an altercation with Brett at a certain point. He was pressuring me, in front of many people, to don a t-shirt with “Team Ratner” on it. I said no and he insisted. I responded, “I am not on your team.” Later in the day, producers of the film came to my trailer to say that I “couldn’t talk like that to him.” I was being reprimanded, yet he was not being punished nor fired for the blatantly homophobic and abusive behavior we all witnessed. I was an actor that no one knew. I was eighteen and had no tools to know how to handle the situation.

I have been a professional actor since the age of ten. I’ve had the good fortune to work with many honorable and respectful collaborators both behind and in front of the camera. But the behavior I’m describing is ubiquitous. They (abusers), want you to feel small, to make you insecure, to make you feel like you are indebted to them, or that your actions are to blame for their unwelcome advances.
When I was sixteen a director took me to dinner (a professional obligation and a very common one). He fondled my leg under the table and said, “You have to make the move, I can’t.” I did not make the move and I was fortunate to get away from that situation. It was a painful realization: my safety was not guaranteed at work. An adult authority figure for whom I worked intended to exploit me, physically. I was sexually assaulted by a grip months later. I was asked by a director to sleep with a man in his late twenties and to tell them about it. I did not. This is just what happened during my sixteenth year, a teenager in the entertainment industry.

Look at the history of what’s happened to minors who’ve described sexual abuse in Hollywood. Some of them are no longer with us, lost to substance abuse and suicide. Their victimizers? Still working. Protected even as I write this. You know who they are; they’ve been discussed behind closed doors as often as Weinstein was. If I, a person with significant privilege, remain reluctant and at such risk simply by saying a person’s name, what are the options for those who do not have what I have?

Misty Upham from Frozen River fame.

Let’s remember the epidemic of violence against women in our society disproportionately affects low income women, particularly women of color, trans and queer women and indigenous women, who are silenced by their economic circumstances and profound mistrust of a justice system that acquits the guilty in the face of overwhelming evidence and continues to oppress people of color. I have the means to hire security if I feel threatened. I have the wealth and insurance to receive mental health care. I have the privilege of having a platform that enables me to write this and have it published, while the most marginalized do not have access to such resources.

The reality is, women of color, trans and queer and indigenous women have been leading this fight for decades (forever actually). Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Winona LaDuke, Miss Major, Audre Lorde, bell hooks, to name a few. Misty Upham fought tirelessly to end violence against indigenous women, domestic workers and undocumented women. Misty was found dead at the bottom of a cliff three years ago. Her father, Charles Upham, just made a Facebook post saying she was raped at a party by a Miramax executive. The most marginalized have been left behind. As a cis, white lesbian, I have benefited and have the privileges I have, because of these extraordinary and courageous individuals who have led the way and risked their lives while doing so. White supremacy continues to silence people of color, while I have the rights I have because of these leaders. They are who we should be listening to and learning from.

These abusers make us feel powerless and overwhelmed by their empire. Let’s not forget the sitting Supreme Court justice and President of the United States. One accused of sexual harassment by Anita Hill, whose testimony was discredited. The other proudly describing his own pattern of assault to an entertainment reporter. How many men in the media – titans of industry - need to be exposed for us to understand the gravity of the situation and to demand the fundamental safety and respect that is our right?

Bill Cosby was known to be predatory. The crimes were his, but many were complicit. Many more chose to look the other way. Harvey was known to be predatory. The crimes were his, but many were complicit. Many more chose to look the other way. We continue to celebrate filmmaker Roman Polanski, who was convicted of drugging and anally raping a young girl and who fled sentencing. A fugitive from justice. I’ve heard the industry decry Weinstein’s behavior and vow to affect meaningful change. But let’s be truthful: the list is long and still protected by the status quo. We have work to do. We cannot look the other way.

I did a Woody Allen movie and it is the biggest regret of my career. I am ashamed I did this. I had yet to find my voice and was not who I am now and felt pressured, because “of course you have to say yes to this Woody Allen film.” Ultimately, however, it is my choice what films I decide to do and I made the wrong choice. I made an awful mistake.

I want to see these men have to face what they have done. I want them to not have power anymore. I want them to sit and think about who they are without their lawyers, their millions, their fancy cars, houses upon houses, their “playboy” status and swagger.

What I want the most, is for this to result in healing for the victims. For Hollywood to wake up and start taking some responsibility for how we all have played a role in this. I want us to reflect on this endemic issue and how this power dynamic of abuse leads to an enormous amount of suffering. Violence against women is an epidemic in this country and around the world. How is this cascade of immorality and injustice shaping our society? One of the greatest risks to a pregnant woman’s health in the United States is murder. Trans women of color in this country have a life expectancy of thirty-five. Why are we not addressing this as a society? We must remember the consequences of such actions. Mental health issues, suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, to name a few.

What are we afraid to say and why can’t we say it? Women, particularly the most marginalized, are silenced, while powerful abusers can scream as loudly as they want, lie as much as they want and continue to profit through it all.

This is a long awaited reckoning. It must be. It’s sad that“codes of conduct” have to be enforced to ensure we experience fundamental human decency and respect. Inclusion and representation are the answer. We’ve learned that the status quo perpetuates unfair, victimizing behavior to protect and perpetuate itself. Don’t allow this behavior to be normalized. Don’t compare wrongs or criminal acts by their degrees of severity. Don’t allow yourselves to be numb to the voices of victims coming forward. Don’t stop demanding our civil rights. I am grateful to anyone and everyone who speaks out against abuse and trauma they have suffered. You are breaking the silence. You are revolution.

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American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (Afscme) Local 444, Oakland California. Contract language. Letter to NY Times

Re “Want to stop Predators? Organize.”  Sarah Leaonard Op-Ed article, NY Times November 17^th.
Thank you for your article of the above title and date.  I enclose for your readers’ information three clauses from my union contract of 1985. My union is Local 444. American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees. 

Article 4. No Discrimination/Harassment.

4.1.1. There shall be no discrimination of any kind by the union or the district (management) against any employee, to the extent the applicable law prohibits such discrimination, harassment, or disparate treatment, because of race, religion, color, creed, age, marital status, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, political affiliation, physical or mental disability.

4.2. Harassment, Disparate Treatment and Inappropriate Behavior

4.2.1 In addition to behavior violative of Section 4.1.1 above the following behavior will not be permitted, tolerated or condoned:

Abusive, threatening or intimidating behavior, gestures or language.