Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey

81 reviews

sayitcharlie's review against another edition

dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

4.5

I have already gotten the gist of how awful HW is from news reports years ago, as well as the movie adaptation of this book. But I was disappointed with what I learned about Gloria Allred and her work history that was mentioned here.

The narration amazingly sounds like Carey Mulligan, who played the role of Megan Twohey in the movie.

Content Warnings

leslie_overbookedsocialworker's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional informative tense medium-paced

4.5

Content Warnings

josxphinchen's review

Go to review page

dark inspiring reflective slow-paced

3.75

Content Warnings

abby_can_read's review against another edition

Go to review page

informative

4.0

🎧
This was a powerful book. It was eye opening. This was hard to listen to at times. It has a lot of information about the start of the #MeToo Movement.

Content Warnings

just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I've had this book on a low-setting back burner, as far as being aware of it and interested in reading it, but I definitely wasn't rushing. Then this past fall, while visiting my friend in Boston, I stopped in the Harvard bookstore (among others, because...bookstores) and this one was on a "special sale" rack. So, naturally, I bought it. And I just now found the right time to pick it up.

She Said is a recounting, by the two journalists who broke the story, of the research and effort behind the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment and abuse scandal (is that was we should call it?) in October 2017. New York Times reporters Kantor and Twohey spent months interviewing actresses and former employees of Weinstein, as well as looking into the "paper trail" of NDAs and secret payoffs in trade for silence, and they detail the ups and downs and efforts of that experience here. From the back and forth with confidential informants trying to convince them to go on the record, to the underhanded tactics of Weinsten's "team" in trying to threaten and bully and bury the story, to the aftermath when the proverbial "floodgates" opened after the article was published, this was a fascinating journey to take behind the scenes. And even after the publication of their breaking article, they give the reader further insight and story development with their perspective of the soon-afterwards Kavanaugh/Blasey Ford hearing, and the journey she took in speaking out about his assault on her from decades before. It ended with a wonderful "epilogue" in which they checked back in with a number of their sources to see how they and their lives had been affected due to their choices in speaking out, going on record, breaking their NDAs...or not, depending on what they had decided to do.

I think I have noticed that a nonfiction style I really like is this type of journalistic "explaining not only the story itself but how the story was researched and collected and broken open." It's similar to Empire of Pain in that way, just a bit, and the final section of Evicted, among others. And it's just really compelling for me. The writing in this book is so clear and straightforward, as I would expect from a book written by renowned journalists, but it was a necessary way to communicate this story, with the levels of intensity in the content. The professional candidness that Kantor and Twohey used allowed them to treat the topics (the sexual harassment - and more) that their sources disclosed and revisited, with the gravity they deserved.

As expected, this was overall a heartbreaking and infuriating read. The pattern of abuse against hopeful young women, who just want to succeed/follow their ambitions, overpowering them and causing them to feel choiceless and out of their depth and taken advantage of, was a lot. From the very early stages, when interviewees close to Weinstein at the time commented things like “we all thought it was extramarital cheating or philandering” (which is, at best, a double standard, as the public outcry against a female 'philanderer' would have looked very different, even without the sexual harassment/assault/rape realities being ignored behind that), I was already angry. And as the story unfolded, and more and more evidence was gathered, I was further and further enraged. There's a quote I pulled (listed below) that just really, for me, summed up a lot of both the issue (I mean, obviously the actual issue was the sexual harassment/abuse, but as far as the system/structure that allowed it to happen and continue) and the way it spiraled to this extent: the authors talk about the narrow response to the allegations, prioritizing company stability over women’s safety, being what created and allowed the problem to grow to begin with. And even in the final moments before everything went public, they continued to follow that broken/unsuccessful model, having learned essentially nothing. Another thought about these "in the final moments" responses...Weinstein's personal denial and shallow contrition and threats and self-pity was altogether just…gross on top of gross. But even in that time, as in all the others, Kantor and Twohey consistently gave space, and in the pages of this book give space, to all the voices involved in the story.

There were also a few chapters after the breaking of the Weinstein article that covered the aftermath, in general and in the specific example of the Blasey Ford testimony, that I really liked. Kantor and Twohey asked questions about what had changed, if anything, as a result of the publication of their investigations. This was an unexpected aspect of this reading experience for me, and a favorite. I found the speculation on and thoughts about the implications of these “cases” on the future (and if there have yet been, or will be, any substantial changes to policies, processes and public action/thought as a result) very fascinating. And while I liked that they pointed out that sometimes this type of reporting or grassroots or other interpersonal conversation starting is important to changing public opinion and how people think/act, I also appreciate that they said unequivocally that this story and journalism shouldn’t be a substitute for better laws/processes/definitions/protections. That is such an important point. And when they talked about the "this has begun a witch hunt for men" versus " we haven't gone nearly far enough in retribution" voices, I loved the analysis that that lack (of better and clearer laws/processes regarding dealing with sexual harassment) is actually the same complaints of "unfairness" coming from both extremes, in different words/perspectives. That's why I loved reading, especially nonfiction, those types of insights and connections are so eye-opening. Oh! And speaking of connections, the tie in to #metoo, as created by Tarana Burke (to read more about that, her memoir Unbound is fantastic), as the coming together of separate movements with the same goal in growth to become something more was covered as well.

Finally, for me, the epilogue was everything. That this was written by women is clear to me, because they thought to address the afterward. The story, especially this kind, doesn’t end with coming forward or publication, not even close. There are lifelong consequences, of all kinds, based on the choices these women made about the different times/ways they chose to come forward with their stories, or not. I deeply appreciated the way we got to check back in with them - that perspective is so important and I'm so grateful we got it here.

This was an intense, frustrating, upsetting, and just enough encouraging book. I was captivated from start to finish and, within your capacity and readiness, I absolutely recommend this.

“The United States had a system for muting sexual harassment claims, which often enabled the harassers instead of stopping them. Women routinely signed away the right to talk about their own experiences. Harassers often continued onward, finding fresh ground on which to commit the same offenses. The settlements and confidentiality agreements were almost never examined in law school classrooms or open court. This is why the public had never really understood that this was happening. Even those in the room with long histories of covering gender issues had never fully registered what was going on.”

“Even at that late hour, they sounded more concerned with the welfare of the company than the welfare of the women, which had been the problem all along. By focusing so narrowly on liability, they had allowed the problem to grow and ultimately destroy what they had sought to protect."

“That’s where a lot of the most profound change was happening, with the cacophonous public conversations, so frequently unsatisfying, sparking more contemplative private ones.”

“Problems that are not seen cannot be addressed.”

“Their stories involved a kind of poetic reversal. They had suffered from harassment but gained new authority and respect from fighting it.”

Content Warnings