GQ Discusses #MeToo by Lisa
Let’s begin the conversation.
In the aftermath of the Weinstein scandal and the subsequent #MeToo movement that exposed the actions of men globally, the initial reaction of most men was to remain quiet.
Primarily, this silence was born out of the understanding that while there was a lot to be discussed, men were not the ones to initiate the conversation. When women courageously voice their experiences of assault and harassment, the last thing they need is a man explaining their experiences back to them. In essence, we needed to close our mouths and open our ears.
However, there was another factor at play: uncertainty. Fear. A realization not that the norms of sexual behavior had changed – because seriously, what did you think the norms were? – but that we hadn’t been paying enough attention to them. That we hadn’t given it enough thought. And the shocking realization that some men – more than we’d like to admit – simply didn’t care about the rules or about women.
But now, it’s time for a change. By remaining silent and not engaging in discussions among ourselves, we risk perpetuating the status quo, ignoring the problem, and patting ourselves on the back for not being one of ‘those’ men.
But maintaining the status quo isn’t how things improve: it’s how they remain stagnant.
Therefore, this week on our website, and in our print edition next month, GQ is addressing #MeToo. We’re doing so honestly, respectfully, and openly. After all, acknowledging the problem is the first step towards solving it.
We need to have this conversation.
In our initial meeting, a young female intern made a statement that surprised the male GQ editors. She admitted that after reading so much about men behaving badly – the molesters and the rapists, the Weinsteins and the Spaceys, the corrupt CEOs, the hypocritical journalists, and everyone in between – she now viewed all men differently.
She confessed that she was now afraid of men. Every man she encountered – the stranger on the subway, the random guy in the elevator, the man across the street – was now a potential threat. Every man could be one of those men.
This became the first article – a truly brilliant one – by 23-year-old Olive Pometsey.
We examined the institutions that are still resistant to change.
Our Style and Grooming Director Teo van den Broeke delved into the fashion industry’s toxic culture of abuse, while John Niven, the renowned chronicler of music industry abuse with his 2015 novel Kill Your Friends, questioned why their Weinstein moment is yet to come.
We highlighted the people and places that are making an effort.
Technology writer Amelia Tait reported on how dating apps are evolving in the wake of #MeToo, while GQ’s Staff Writer Eleanor Halls visited her alma mater Oxford to report on the toxic masculinity of their exclusive societies – and the mandatory “consent courses” every student is now required to take.
We asked female writers to point out our mistakes.
Prospect’s Head of Digital Stephanie Boland writes about the unconscious sexism of the everyday – the “hundred petty violations, often more irritating than humiliating, which are nothing like the crimes Weinstein and others have been found guilty of, but similarly put you in your place” – while The New Statesman’s Deputy Editor Helen Lewis writes about the “bullshit tax” of having to speak out while supposedly liberal, feminist men stay silent.