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A review by jourdanicus
She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey
challenging
informative
medium-paced
This was a frustrating read for me. I wish there had been some self reflection on the part of the authors about how pursuing consent to publish the personal experience of a sexual assault survivor can re-traumatize the survivor. There didn't seem to be any awareness or acknowledgement of how the quest for consent to publicize a story almost mirrors the very coercion that occurs during the process of sexual assault. For some survivors, breaking a story is not a priority when they are trying to live their lives and heal.
I was also irritated by the unacknowledged privilege present in the narrative... it is so, so rare for sexual assault survivors to ever see the perpetrators of the assault come to justice, much less have the chance to fly on a private jet to travel to one's hearing against one's abuser... The inclusion of some details like that without examining how they could be different from other victims'/survivors' experiences really didn't sit well with me.
It's also ultimately frustrating to know that no matter how much privilege one has, there's no guarantee of accountability or justice in the case of sexual violence. That's not the authors' fault obviously. However, overall I did feel that in being caught up in the exhilaration of breaking such an important story, a lot of nuance was lost in regards to how that story compares to the "average" experience of sexual violence.
I was also irritated by the unacknowledged privilege present in the narrative... it is so, so rare for sexual assault survivors to ever see the perpetrators of the assault come to justice, much less have the chance to fly on a private jet to travel to one's hearing against one's abuser... The inclusion of some details like that without examining how they could be different from other victims'/survivors' experiences really didn't sit well with me.
It's also ultimately frustrating to know that no matter how much privilege one has, there's no guarantee of accountability or justice in the case of sexual violence. That's not the authors' fault obviously. However, overall I did feel that in being caught up in the exhilaration of breaking such an important story, a lot of nuance was lost in regards to how that story compares to the "average" experience of sexual violence.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Alcoholism and Cancer