Tag: Harvey Weinstein

Should Sexual Misconduct of Theologians or Sexism in Their Writings Affect Evaluation of Their Theologies: What Consitutes Complicity in the Rendering of Woman as Sexual Temptress? by Cynthia Garrity-Bond

The accusations made by over seventy women against entertainment mogul Harvey Weinstein carved out a safe space for other women to come forward with their stories of sexual harassment, abuse and assault against Hollywood elites, namely big name actors who thought their fame translated to consent by unwilling women.

The latest allegations accuse Alabama senate candidate Roy Moore of sexual misconduct against a then fourteen-year-old year old girl in 1979 when he was thirty-two-years old.  This week, fifty Alabama pastors signed a letter of endorsement for Moore, citing his unwavering biblical commitment to marriage between one woman and one man and anti-reproductive rights for women—all couched within the troupe of “religious freedom.”

For me, the Ray Moore scandal is especially noteworthy due to its theological underpinnings. How is it  37% of Alabama Evangelicals are more likely to vote for Moore since his sexual misconduct surfaced despite growing condemnation from their own Republican party? In his support for Moore, Jerry Falwell, Jr. states:

It comes down to a question of who is more credible in the eyes of the voters—the candidate or the accuser, and I believe the judge is telling the truth.

Continue reading “Should Sexual Misconduct of Theologians or Sexism in Their Writings Affect Evaluation of Their Theologies: What Consitutes Complicity in the Rendering of Woman as Sexual Temptress? by Cynthia Garrity-Bond”

Why We Don’t Tell by Gina Messina

Roy Moore is the next in line to be exposed as a sexual predator in a long list that has unfolded since the Harvey Weinstein scandal. I find it both comical and distressing that Moore has attempted to justify his behavior by saying “I’ve never dated a girl without her mother’s permission.” In addition, he argued that such claims against him could not be true; it was so long ago; who would wait forty years to tell?

Apparently Moore has not heard the term rape culture – one he is clearly a product of – and how it leaves victims feeling silenced and ashamed. Perhaps he has not listened to the woman he assaulted sob on television as she spoke of her fear, embarrassment, and pain? Recounting her victimization, Beverly Young Nelson said she didn’t speak out because Moore told her no one would believe her. At only sixteen, Nelson knew that reporting the assault would lead to more trouble for her and no consequences for Moore. Continue reading “Why We Don’t Tell by Gina Messina”

“There She Goes Again”: Speaking about Art and Sexual Violence by Carol P. Christ

I was at a dinner party for twelve lovingly prepared by two ex-pat friends, when the subject of Woody Allen’s most recent film came up. I don’t remember which one of them it was, because, as I said at the time, “I vowed never to see a Woody Allen film again as my response to the way he treats women in his films and in his personal life.” I was immediately challenged by–it seemed to me at the time–everyone else at the table.

“But this is not just about keeping an artist’s personal life separate from his work,” I responded, “Don’t you remember the film where Woody Allen was over 40 and having an affair with Mariel Hemingway when she was a teenager? Or the one about the doctor who had his wife murdered got away with it?” At this point a white male academic film critic interrupted to point out that I (who by the way also had a Ph.D.) simply did not understand what makes a film or a filmmaker great. And that was the end of the conversation. Continue reading ““There She Goes Again”: Speaking about Art and Sexual Violence by Carol P. Christ”