海角大神

The #MeToo movement 鈥� a loose coalition of voices and protests advocating for women鈥檚 rights 鈥� exploded in 2017. This summer, a spate of books began to enshrine and solidify #MeToo鈥檚 values, roots, and rhetoric on paper. While there鈥檚 a long history of feminist literature and scholarship, this new group of books is distinct for its wide nonacademic audience.

Two of the most prominent titles are 鈥淪he Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement鈥� by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey and 鈥淜now My Name鈥� by Chanel Miller.聽Both made The New York Times bestseller list for multiple weeks.

In 鈥淪he Said,鈥� Kantor and Twohey recount their investigation into sexual harassment and assault allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein. Their reporting for The New York Times won a Pulitzer Prize and was credited with helping catalyze the #MeToo movement. Their book also chronicles the events leading up to Stanford Professor Christine Blasey Ford鈥檚 appearance before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, during which she accused then-judicial nominee Brett Kavanaugh of attempted rape when they were teenagers. 鈥淪he Said鈥� is a meticulous accounting of confidential meetings, justifiably apprehensive sources, and sticky legal traps 鈥撀燼 sophisticated bird鈥檚-eye view of a sensitive operation that compiled a public record of the assaults of dozens of women.聽

While Kantor and Twohey document facts, 鈥淜now My Name鈥� provides a meditative account of what it鈥檚 like to live through the trauma of a sexual assault, as well as a strongly-reasoned deconstruction of rape culture. Miller was attacked by college student Brock Turner in 2015. Her case made headlines across the nation, but most early stories focused on the academic and athletic achievements of Turner, then a swimmer for Stanford University.聽At the close of his trial in 2016, she penned a trenchant victim impact statement, which went viral. Her memoir is a window into the difficult work she undertook to regain her self-worth and stability. It鈥檚 also a searing indictment of the societal and institutional structures that stymie and retraumatize rape victims in their search for justice.

Other prominent titles are Putlizer-winning journalist Ronan Farrow鈥檚 鈥淐atch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators,鈥� which details his own reporting on Weinstein, as well as his criticisms of NBC鈥檚 response to reporter Matt Lauer鈥檚 alleged sexual misconduct; and 鈥淎ll the President鈥檚 Women: Donald Trump and the Making of a Predator鈥� by Barry Levine and Monique El-Faizy, which details new and old accusations of predatory behavior on the part of the president.聽

But Miller鈥檚 book stands out from this cohort for its passion and its raw articulation of survivorship. 鈥淪he Said鈥� and other stories focused on investigations can echo the tone of television procedurals,聽where the narrative centers on the acquisition of information and the process of justice even in emotionally wrenching situations.聽

Nevertheless, similar language and arguments appear in all books, and taken together, these books form an interconnected web of rhetoric that underpins the popular contemporary understanding of rape culture. Most importantly, Kantor, Twohey, and Miller argue that the most effective way to counter sexual harassment is for women to speak out together, as a unified front. One of Twohey and Kantor鈥檚 sources 鈥渨anted to be one of many women standing up to Weinstein.鈥� Similarly, Miller recognized that she was weakened by isolation: 鈥淥ne of the greatest dangers of victimhood is the singling out.鈥�

And Miller, Kantor, and Twohey all position themselves as precedent-setters. Miller writes, 鈥淲e fight because we pray we鈥檒l be the last ones to feel this kind of pain.鈥澛燭wohey and Kantor describe their initial reporting, along with their sources鈥� decision to speak out, as 鈥渁 solvent for secrecy, pushing women all over the world to speak up about similar experiences.鈥�

That public record is important. 鈥淲omen have always been fighting ... to achieve justice, but there鈥檚 no linear, progressive story,鈥� says Linda M. Grasso, professor of English at York College, and of liberal studies at The Graduate Center, City University of New York. Academic feminist theory has covered the ground that the public continues to debate again and again, but聽those conversations don鈥檛 make it to the outside world, she adds. That鈥檚 why, today, #MeToo is as likely to politically polarize as it is to rally support for women. It鈥檚 why the resistance that law professor Anita Hill met when she accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of harassment in 1991 was echoed in 2019, when Blasey Ford took the stand.

The voices of #MeToo are cognizant of this reality. 鈥淭here isn鈥檛 ever going to be an end,鈥� Laura Madden, one of Weinstein鈥檚 accusers, tells Twohey and Kantor. 鈥淭he point is that people have to continue always speaking up and not being afraid.鈥�

And yet Grasso believes the popularity of 鈥淪he Said,鈥� 鈥淜now My Name,鈥� and similar books has as much to do with the mindset of readers as it does with any shift in institutional power. 鈥淭his spate of books being heard is coincident with political movements that are allowing them to be heard,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he one really important thing about all of this is to make sure that these books and these ideas become part of the cultural imagination.鈥�