Now The Whole World’s Watching You.....
A short letter to Harvey Weinstein on behalf of the women who were devalued and manipulated by your actions,
Everybody knows, about what you do
Everybody saw, and sold the truth
I was young and gullible
But baby I grew
Now the whole world’s watching you.
I drew on a lot of things when writing the song ‘Everybody Knows’ but it would be untrue to say there was no reference to times in my life where I have felt reduced and disrespected by the actions of men who had more influence, power and ability to steer a situation in the direction of their benefit. Like many women, at times I have felt my value as an artist reduced by the assumption that my personal worth was epitomized by my body, and my willingness to play along with those in more powerful positions. We need accountability in our places of work. We need men standing up when they see other men devalue women.
One of the hardest lines to sing and write in this song for me was….. ‘is it a fight worth fighting?‘
I believe this has been a question that women have asked themselves for years as they endured circumstances that devalued them. They feared what was at stake if they spoke out. I have heard my female musician friends tell me story after story of being disrespected at a studio or receiving physical touch where it was not wanted. I count myself included in this experience. Countless times I have been presented with a situation where I have to make infinitely clear where I stand on a romantic / sexual level so I can be respected as a professional artist and focus on the task at hand. I have attended business meetings at record labels and exchanged numbers with men of high influence after a productive, positive meeting with the thought that it would benefit my career to maintain my networks only to receive a text after midnight that night while I’m with my boyfriend at the time, asking ‘what r u up 2′. Countless times I have, like many women, wondered where and how to draw a line, is it a fight worth fighting? A flirty text message that means nothing to a man could end up meaning or risking EVERYTHING to a woman.
We then feel shame that they may have 'led someone on’ even if we were incredibly clear that we were there to WORK. Why should women be doubted in the first place for that? Together I believe we can change the culture within our workplaces. But this will only change when there is equality established. Equality eliminates the power play. It demands respect. When there is respect, both parties listen and see eachother as professionals, not as objects to be attained or intimidated. Equality demands that both women and men are given the opportunity to be paid according to the work they have put in, not according to their gender which continues to reinforce outdated ideas around the role of women and their worth in the workplace.
We will not have accountability until women are earning the same as men for doing the same work, until women are in positions of power in places like the film industry, the music industry, the law firms, the government… we will not see change until there are women who can speak to the culture from a position of EQUAL worth and EQUAL influence.
I feel so fortunate to do what I do and to have such creative control over my career. I hear stories all the time of artists who are not given this, they are told what to wear, what to sing, what to say, how to be most profitable for someone else’s benefit. I promised myself that I would not play into that game, but it meant I had to create a culture within the people I worked with. And it doesn’t mean that I haven’t faced situations where I felt immense pressure.On a shoot with a stylist (from the Magazine - both will remain unnamed), I began to express some concerns around an outfit, but was reassured that 'the main thing that matters is that you look cute so guys will want to f*** you’. I swore it wouldn’t happen again and now create my own team for shoots and make it very clear that although I am proud of my body and am happy to 'look cute’ for my own enjoyment and others, it is outrageously disrespectful to think that my main concern at a photoshoot should be only to appear sexually desireable. People do photoshoots & features on me, because I am a MUSICAN, an ARTIST and a VOICE first. The rest is secondary.
As a producer also in this industry, I have often been doubted for my ability as a technician and engineer then proved myself countless times to be the fastest Protools user in the whole room. I have experienced assumptions made that I am just the 'singer’ and had to work twice as hard to gain respect as a credible technical voice in the room (later becoming nicknamed 'Eagle Ears’ at the studio’s I work at).
If we continue to feed this culture of assumption, women will not only veer from taking roles in the more 'male dominated’ industries for fear of being doubted or not give the same opportunities, but they will also settle for less and fall victim to circumstances where they are promised opportunities in exchange for their self respect.When we learn that women are consistently being paid less than men across the board, we reinforce and permit a preconceived assumption that there is less value to the work of a women, this feeds into a culture that allows for women to be easily seen as objects rather than equals. We must fight for equality in the fields we work within. Would Harvey Weinstein have continued to get away with these crude acts if there had been a more balanced display of women and men at the top ranks? We must speak out, but we must also speak to the structures in place.
I don’t really talk around these things often but I can’t deny my responsibility to offer my voice as a woman in a largely male dominated industry, I am not only working everyday in a line of work that often makes the assumption I am less capable, I have made it my goal each day to let my WORK speak for itself, but if we continue to undermine the work of women by saying it is worth less and therefore paying less than the same work of men, then we will never get to the true core of why these things continue to happen in industries where men abuse their positions of power.
Bodies alone, we hide in the dark
But is it a fight worth fighting?
Yes, it is. Will it cause trouble? Yes, it may. Will it put your job at risk? Very possible. Could it prove as a chance for you to speak to the structures and demand justice where there is so little? Definitely. Could it empower someone else to fight back for their self respect and speak out also? Yes. Could it cause other men to speak out in support and hold their fellow work friends accountable? Yes, and this is the only way we’ll create change. If we stand together on the same team, for women to be treated with equal respect and worth in their fields of work. I’m hopeful for the future.
To Harvey Weinstein, the whole world’s watching you. So what will you do?
(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0d3XbH12cs)
