A great article by Amanda Hess over at Slate. Here are two excerpts, but then you should go read the whole thing (RTWT).
"Among men, misogyny hides in plain sight, and not just because most men are oblivious to the problem or callous toward its impact. Men who objectify and threaten women often strategically obscure their actions from other men, taking care to harass women when other men aren’t around."
...and...
"These are forms of male aggression that only women see. But even when men are afforded a front seat to harassment, they don’t always have the correct vantage point for recognizing the subtlety of its operation. Four years before the murders, I was sitting in a bar in Washington, D.C. with a male friend. Another young woman was alone at the bar when an older man scooted next to her. He was aggressive, wasted, and sitting too close, but she smiled curtly at his ramblings and laughed softly at his jokes as she patiently downed her drink. 'Why is she humoring him?' my friend asked me. 'You would never do that.' I was too embarrassed to say: 'Because he looks scary' and 'I do it all the time.'
"Women who have experienced this can recognize that placating these men is a rational choice, a form of self-defense to protect against setting off an aggressor. But to male bystanders, it often looks like a warm welcome, and that helps to shift blame in the public eye from the harasser and onto his target, who’s failed to respond with the type of masculine bravado that men more easily recognize."
This article made me think about THAT PRETY PRETTY; OR THE RAPE PLAY by Sheila Callaghan which was a play I shared with the Strand back when I was the Literary Manager at Woolly Mammoth. That play provides commentary on the way in which violence against women is commercialized, but it also speaks to this quiet threat of violence that women navigate every day. To me, the most horrific scene is the one in reality as we watch Jane navigate the joking suggestions of violence while she does her job delivering food to Owen and Rodney in their hotel room.
"Among men, misogyny hides in plain sight, and not just because most men are oblivious to the problem or callous toward its impact. Men who objectify and threaten women often strategically obscure their actions from other men, taking care to harass women when other men aren’t around."
...and...
"These are forms of male aggression that only women see. But even when men are afforded a front seat to harassment, they don’t always have the correct vantage point for recognizing the subtlety of its operation. Four years before the murders, I was sitting in a bar in Washington, D.C. with a male friend. Another young woman was alone at the bar when an older man scooted next to her. He was aggressive, wasted, and sitting too close, but she smiled curtly at his ramblings and laughed softly at his jokes as she patiently downed her drink. 'Why is she humoring him?' my friend asked me. 'You would never do that.' I was too embarrassed to say: 'Because he looks scary' and 'I do it all the time.'
"Women who have experienced this can recognize that placating these men is a rational choice, a form of self-defense to protect against setting off an aggressor. But to male bystanders, it often looks like a warm welcome, and that helps to shift blame in the public eye from the harasser and onto his target, who’s failed to respond with the type of masculine bravado that men more easily recognize."
This article made me think about THAT PRETY PRETTY; OR THE RAPE PLAY by Sheila Callaghan which was a play I shared with the Strand back when I was the Literary Manager at Woolly Mammoth. That play provides commentary on the way in which violence against women is commercialized, but it also speaks to this quiet threat of violence that women navigate every day. To me, the most horrific scene is the one in reality as we watch Jane navigate the joking suggestions of violence while she does her job delivering food to Owen and Rodney in their hotel room.
| Rodney: You are really good at that. What’s your name? Jane: Jane. Rodney: Like Fonda! Jane: Sure. Rodney: How long have you been working here, Jane? Jane: About six months… Rodney: Do you like it? Jane: I like it enough. Rodney: Do you get benefits and stuff? Jane: The usual. Health, 401(k)… Rodney: I’ll bet you see a lot of assholes… Jane: Ah… Rodney: I’ll bet you see a lot of rich fucking assholes who treat you like shit. Jane: People are generally all right… Rodney: You’re way polite, Jane. Do you get that a lot? Jane: Once in a while. Rodney: I suppose you have to be or else you’d get raped a lot. Are you hungry? I probably won’t eat all this… Jane: I ate, but thank you. Rodney: Would you come up later and change the sheets for us? Jane: I can send up a maid… Rodney: No, you should come. We want you. Jane: I don’t generally make up the beds… Rodney: But you will, okay? Because I’m a fucking filthy rapist and I want to get you pregnant. Jane (Polite and vaguely flirtatious): You kiss your mother with that mouth? |
There are so many elements in this scene that women can immediately identify with -- especially someone who has worked in the service industry. Read through the #YesAllWomen hashtag and you will realize that women grow up navigating these kinds of situations and will try to defuse those that they deem potentially dangerous before it hits a tipping point. Jane has no knowledge of these men outside of this scene. She (and the audience) aren't sure if Rodney would follow through on these "joking" threats. As Amanda phrases it, "placating these men is a rational choice, a form of self-defense to protect against setting off an aggressor." While the violence Owen writes into his movies is on a grand scale and the victims "dignified," these micro aggressions are far more common and invisible to many. By giving us this scene in the middle of Owen's developing screenplay, Sheila tries to give the audience a greater understanding of the threats women face on a daily basis.
If Jayme hadn't produced it before, I would direct it myself. Maybe in a few years.
If Jayme hadn't produced it before, I would direct it myself. Maybe in a few years.
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