Sexual Assault Hysteria as the New “Man-Killer” of the Century!

From the 42^nd U.S. President, William Jefferson “Bill” Clinton to once beloved actor Bill Cosby, known as “America’s Television Father”, and notorious TV-radio commentator and host of bigotry and suppressed racism, Bill O’Reilly, and now, one of Hollywood’s greatest film producer, studio executive and co-founder of Miramax Films, and celebrity/movie-star maker, Harvey Weinstein - sexual assault hysteria is the new “man-killer” of the century!

Hundreds, if not thousands of men across the globe in various industries, institutions, nations, and cultures are shaking in their shoes today as they wonder when that one-night fling, that one moment of weakness, the many instances of tit-for-tat or better yet, “opportunity and success for flesh”, and inappropriate “macho” expressions toward some office girl, some coworker, some long forgotten women, girls, or ladies will surface to undo years of hard work, great accomplishments, and damage and decimate their reputation. It is not only Hollywood producers and directors, but also government officials, corporate executives, fathers, and clergymen, and even ordinary men who must be probing their histories in mind, perhaps wondering if they made any unwanted or otherwise successful or unsuccessful sexual advances – if a rind bitten from an apple that has long ripped and withered – will come knocking on the media’s doors, creating public relations disaster that can drive men to suicide, rip apart friendship, families, and most of all, render their sweat, blood, and tears useless; their art defunct and their once admired philosophy repugnant and refused. It seems as if the new slogan for these men living in fear must now become the famous line: “I did not…have sexual relations….with…that woman!”

One of the most interesting things about the last several sexual assault allegations and accusations we have witnessed in America’s media is the age of these assaults, some decades old, even as much as half-a-century old. A second interesting social phenomenon of sexual assault allegations and accusations against “men of significant capitalist value” (referring to their levels of wealth and/or celebrity-hood) is the chain emergence of so-called assault victims coming forward – it somehow seems that being a victim of sexual assault has become a new American aspiration – a kind of new pride – a new tag – a new decorative value in the realm of human experience. Why is this the case? Is it the attention that comes with it? Are so many desperate to be part of the “victimized in-group” that they are therefore so quick and eager to join the “the line-gang pioneering by”? What offsets this modern sexual assault hysteria? Was it the Catholic Church’s quick diplomacy of admission, penitence, and payment totaling millions of dollars that rendered one of the world’s oldest wealthy institutions bankrupt by the second decade of the new millennium, or is it our society’s yearning for primal sympathy that has long been lost in the lights and glamour of Hollywood, the twists and turns of an increasingly chaotic social disorder, or just the diminutive role that pride now plays in our lives? Whatever it may be, we can now describe sexual assault allegations and accusations as “c'est à la mode!” So, have you gone through your experiences to decide who you will accuse of sexual assault as yet? If not, then you are singing the wrong rhyme and not with the times!

Sexual assault allegations and accusations seem to be characteristic of a “moths-to-a-flame” approach as evidenced from the ‘Bill Cosby Sexual Assault Saga’, and now, the ‘Harvey Weinstein Second-Life Celebrity Showdown’ which is probably best titled, “Who did Harvey Not Touch?” Let’s see who is brave enough to direct this once since Old Heffner kicked the bucket just a few weeks ago! Notwithstanding, both cases beg some very important questions. For example, why did you wait until some decades later? [Waited for the line-gang to come pioneering by?], Why did you continue working with this person despite your claim that such behavior occurred – was it that the perceived benefits outweighed the costs at that time? Oh Yes! There indeed seems to be cost-benefit analysis when it comes to all of these victims of sexual assault – the ‘Economics of Sexual Assault’ is alive and well, and some of these reported and claimed victims certainly seem to know when and how to apply the Lorenz Curve and the Gini Index (inequality of outcome from economic transactions). Who does not know that sex for celebrity-hood has been a longstanding practice in Hollywood and other similar industries – the entertainment industry in general? How many of our highly admired actors and actresses, singers, etc., have shown a boob or two (maybe even three), and a few pecs (pectoral muscles) and other parts for their start in Hollywood and the entertainment industry in order to gain a walk on the red carpet or a star in the concrete? Probably more than we would like to think, and even those whom we could not even begin to imagine!  Since the current Harvey Weinstein sexual assault allegations and accusations aired on the television and appeared in and on modern social media platforms, this author has heard remarks commenting on Harvey Weinstein’s appearance – especially from women. We all know Harvey Weinstein is not the Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, or other men of Hollywood that our media-entrenched culture uses to gauge men’s attractiveness or appeal, but perhaps if Harvey Weinstein looked more like these ‘handsome devils’ he has helped to the peak of fame, he would have lived a full life without us hearing about these allegations.  Obviously, Mr. Weinstein made some bad choices and now even derelict and supposed-to-be-retired politicians are using his downfall to maintain their public presence.

Sexual assault is a very serious matter, and a serious crime when proven concrete by evidence or otherwise. Thus, the author is not taking this issue lightly, but demonstrating how a new and somehow undesirable social phenomenon is sweeping across America. America’s social fabric seems to be unraveling in a truly depressing way, and perhaps it should not be shocking that these allegations are at their height when America for the first in its 250 years of existence has an apparently sexually violent, notorious and egomaniacal “pussy-grabber-in-chief” in the White House.

Let us see how long the sexual assault hysteria will last in this short-term oriented culture and society.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Donovan A. McFarlane, M.B.A., M.I.B., Ed.D., is an educator in Business and Political Science. He can be reached at drd.a.mcfarlane@gmail.com