“You should hang around. You could have a lot of fun with these boys, or they could have a lot of fun with you!” These were the exact words that Senator Peter Lucido said to a female journalist Allison Donahue. She was left standing in mere shock because she couldn’t believe a government representative had just belittled her and treated her body like an object.
Unfortunately, we live in a patriarchal society where the men are on top. In the past decade, a lot of sexual harassment and abuse have taken over especially within the media and entertainment industry. Harvey Weinsten had over 20 charges of sexual abuse and those were the only people who came forward and talked. Within the media industry, it then came out that one of the top Good Morning America People on tv, Matt Laur, was then charged with cases of sexual assault and harrasment. People in power who we grew up watching on our TV’s idolizing were now the very men who we came to fear.
Once I reached high school I always knew I wanted to be a journalist. I was on my high school’s speech and debate team and I loved watching people’s eyes light up when they heard me speak about passionate causes. I wanted to spread not only the truth of the world to people, but I also wanted to cover passionate and storytelling topics; I knew journalism was the right career path for me. I never thought of what could happen in the media industry, how a lot of men in power tend to take their authority for granted. They think they can do whatever they want, meaning saying and doing things to their female subordinates or coworkers. I was once excited to enter the media industry and ready to take it on head first, but soon hearing about comments said to reporters like Alison Donahue or hearing about sexual harassment cases like the Fox News Founder Roger Ailes.
This proves that a lot of female journalists definitely need to stick together in this tough and crazy industry that we are trying to be a part of. Ladies, we need to remember just because a man holds a position of authority, does not give him the right to touch our bodies or make any sort of comment towards them. When will this come to an end?