Trevino - #[Your]HarveyWeinstein

sp/sp editions

2017

digitized by

louise michel memorial publications

for the gossips

For more than ____ years, _________________ has also been trailed by rumors of sexual harassment and assault. His behavior has been an open secret to many in ________ and beyond, but previous attempts to investigate and expose him over the years fell short. Too few people were willing to speak, much less allow their names to be used, and __________________ and his associates used nondisclosure agreements, payoffs and legal threats to suppress their accounts. ______________ said that she did not speak out until now because she feared that __________________ would crush her. I know he has crushed a lot of people before, ______________ said. Thats why this storyin my case, its ____ years old, some of them are olderhas never come out.

Hes not even really hiding. I mean, the way he does it, so many people are involved and see whats happening. But everyones too scared to say anything.

More established _________ were fearful of speaking out because they had work; less established ones were scared because they did not.

He said, Well, you're not going to leave until you kiss me. I remember thats when it turned from Oh, ha ha, I can handle this guy to Well, OK, he's blocking the door, sort of.

Jumping back, I said, What are you doing? My wife saw everything and we just looked at him. __________________ grinned like a jerk. I was going to kick his ass right thenbut I thought twice about how the whole thing would appearI let it go and I understand why many women who this happens to let it go. Whos going to believe you? (few) What are the repercussions? (many) Do you want to work again? (yes) Are you prepared to be ostracized? (no)

I will definitely say that the whole atmosphere at the time and with everyone in the __________, including his __________________, who was a woman, was like, Dont cause any trouble. Dont say anything. Youre not going to be that girl because it will definitely hurt your career. This is __________________. Just don't pay attention to him, ignore it, just move on.

She then added: I was never asked, Are you OK? Do you want to say anything? Do you want to report this? Nothing like that. It was just, Thats _________________.

_____________, _____________ and ___________ who owe their careers to the disgraced __________________ are now scrambling to do damage control amid a scandal that threatens to overshadow their upcoming ______ releases and careers.

_____________ has been hit hardest, with one of the women claiming that he admitted to knowing about __________________s actions ____ years ago, even as he now expressed shock. _____________ was also forced to apologize on Twitter for groping ___________ at a __________ event years ago, after another woman tweeted him and ___________ asking about the embarrassing incident.

I didnt forget, ___________ replied, saying later: I had to laugh back then so I wouldnt cry.

Since that night in __________, Ive seen him on many other occasions. We are in the same __________, so its impossible to avoid him. Ive seen how he operates: the way he looks for an opening. The way he tests women to see what he can get away with.

According to ______________, she was staying with _____________ in ________ for a __________ one night when she was woken up by __________________s presence. She alleged that __________________ was curled up next to her in the bed wearing only his ________. He had his arm around her, was caressing her back, his face was within inches of hers and his breath reeked of alcohol. When ______________ ordered him to leave, __________________ asked, Why?

Explaining why she stayed silent, ______________ said, I guess it hadnt happened to me and so I didnt feel it was my place.

It has happened to me. It has. I only met __________________ when I was old. And __________________ goes for young because thats more vulnerable. You know. But its very, very common, ______________ said.

Ive had my ass grabbed by older, powerful men. Ive had them corner me in inappropriate sexual conversations when I was much younger. I understand the unwarranted shame, powerlessness and inability to blow the whistle. Theres a power dynamic that feels impossible to overcome.

Many who have commented in recent days have said they didn't know what was going on, even if they knew he had a sleazy reputation.

He was violent toward women and men, and his abuse came in many formsfrom screaming and berating to character assassination and nonconsensual advances. His behavior was both an open secret and a secret ritual.

Everyone knew these stories, one _________ said. Not the specifics. But people knew it was a hostile work environment, and that he was a bully to people. (Several sources, who were not authorized to speak publicly or who fear __________________s wrath even now, spoke on the condition of anonymity.)

__________________ enraged that _____________ had been unreachable for a few hours, lunged at him and began punching him in the head. The skirmish tumbled into the corridor and then the elevator. By the time _____________ reached the street, intent on never associating with _________________ again, he said, __________________ was pleading for him to stay.

Listening to __________________ try to lure that woman into his room, it gave me this visceral feeling, _____________ said. The alternating between violence, threats, commands and then begging, mock-crying, trying anything any angle to get what he wanted.

_____________ remembered one of the unwritten rules of the _________ scene was: If youre a young woman, dont be alone with __________________.

His forcefulness was a boon for _________________ that lacked bankable names. He would be their star, their champion.

All the while __________________ was on the prowl.

The acts detailed in the accounts of the women reporting abuse by __________________ were often tangentially sexual , in that they involved certain parts of the body and mimicked the motions of sexual acts. But to consider these incidents sex is a mode of thinking that fell out of use even before the 60s and 70s. Sex is defined by consent. This is not a new concept.

________ is known for its comically unbalanced ratio of supply and demand: Hordes of young, aspiring _________________ scrap over every position. For a toehold in ________, hopefuls will endure long hours, low pay and a level of mistreatment that might not stand in other professions.

In some ways, __________________s blatant bad behavior managed to mask his more insidious tendencies. In other words, you didnt believe he could be any worse in private than you had seen him behave in public.

__________________ had a knack for flattering _________________. All the favors and goodies were cherished by these _________________. It wasnt worth it to them to disrupt that system.

He said, Im the scariest motherfucker youll ever have as an enemy.

Those who violate others with impunity are best positioned to sell their own victim narrative.

He implied that she needed him. Hed set up a world in which everyone needed him.

Notes:

#[Your]HarveyWeinstein was composed using found language taken from articles related to womens allegations of sexual harassment, assault & rape against Harvey Weinstein. Some of these articles included other womens allegations of sexual harassment &/or assault against men other than Harvey Weinsteinsome named, some unnamed. Some of these articles included mens allegations of assault against Harvey Weinstein & other unnamed men.

#[Your]HarveyWeinstein was composed in under 24 hours & is in no way meant to be an exhaustive exploration of patriarchy & the power dynamics involved in sexual violence. Reading the articles related to Harvey Weinstein, I was struck by how similar the accounts were to those of friends in academiastudents, professors & scholars dealing with abusive academic men. It also occurred to me that, across mainstream professions, accounts of sexual harassment, sexual assault & rape might be so similarwhich is to say the behavior of abusers in positions of power in these professions might be so similarthat one could create account templates. That is how this project started.