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She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement is a master-class in Pulitzer Prize winning journalism for the #MeToo era, by the two New York Times investigative reporters who broke the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment story. Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, both prize-winning journalists in their own right before this investigation, recount the months they spent contacting actors, former employees, and business associates of Harvey Weinstein, and piecing together a narrative more disturbing and far-reaching than they had originally imagined. The book is more about high stakes journalism and reporting than about the stories of the bad actors exposed in the tidal wave of the #MeToo movement. Kantor and Twohey’s message is clear: workplace sexism is systemic, it cannot exist without generous support from legal and financial institutions, which in turn encourage a culture of excessive toleration of mistreatment.
The book not only tackles the Weinstein investigation, but the subsequent fallout in the political sphere, including a number of accusations levied against President Trump, and the testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford in front of the Senate judiciary committee that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh had assaulted her at a party in high school. The section on Dr. Ford is a detailed exploration of Ford’s decision to testify, beginning years prior when she saw a news item and told some friends that the boy who had assaulted her in high school is now a prominent D.C. judge. The bravery required to be the sole accuser of a man being nominated for the highest court in the land is staggering, and Ford’s methodical, thorough, and professional handling of the matter is nothing short of awe-inspiring. What we can take from her narrative is that no matter how reliable an trustworthy and original appears to be, she can be silenced and discredited by the powers that be. It didn’t matter that Brett Kavanaugh was ill-prepared for his own testimony, crying like a petulant child and showing an utter disrespect for the entire process, he was protected by a government institution that has a vested interest in protecting its own from scrutiny, refusing to hold powerful people accountable for their actions when it wouldn’t serve their political aims. This is sadly an important lesson of this book, that despite the headline-grabbing successes and smaller victories of the movement, most accusers never see justice. America’s patriarchal foundation has not yet crumbled.
The book take a unique interest in the institutions that support the behavior of criminals like Weinstein, turning its searing lens to the legal and financial systems put in place to protect powerful men and silence their victims. The book begins with Rose McGowan refusing to speak to Kantor about her rape allegation against a famous producer (assumed by most to be Weinstein), citing her worry about the Times’ reporting practices: “Here’s the thing, I have been treated quite shabbily by your paper at times and I believe the root of it is sexism.” It is crucial that this story begins with an acknowledgement that there is no organization that exists entirely above the fray of sexist business practices and abuse of power. McGowan’s doubts represent the fears of most of the women that Kantor and Twohey contacted, who understandably question whether their most private traumas could be properly handled by a news organization. For most of these women, the response to their story has been silence or a financial settlement mandating silence, so why should they put their faith in reporters they’ve never met?
The sources are also concerned whether their story will be the only one reported, and they are apprehensive about shouldering the burden of public outrage all on their own. The only way that Kantor and Twohey can get women to go on the record is to assure them that there will be other voices joining them. This theme of female solidarity runs strongly throughout the narrative. Kantor and Twohey emphasize the importance of the female attorneys who prepared Dr. Ford for her testimony, and it is clear that they believe she would not have come forward had she not had the support and encouragement of these women. Sisterhood feels so vital to Kantor and Twohey’s reporting, and the movement it helped to spark, which is comprised of women of all backgrounds, in all different stages of their career in a variety of industries. While famous actresses are important accusers in terms of public interest and recognition, women working in industries like tech, finance, food service, and other male-dominated industries like construction or public works have come forward in the wake of the Weinstein story. And it seems that this is the real story, that the issue is pervasive enough to touch every industry, that we are surrounded by imbalanced power structures that promote the abuse of those who aren’t at the top of the pyramid. This has to change.