Meenakshi Gigi Durham - MeToo

1 Cover

2 Dedication Dedication Dedicated to Jayalakshmi Venugopal, a feminist in times and spaces where it wasn’t always easy, and the best mother anyone could have.

3 Title Page MeToo The Impact of Rape Culture in the Media Meenakshi Gigi Durham polity

4 Copyright Page Copyright Page Copyright © Meenakshi Gigi Durham 2021 The right of Meenakshi Gigi Durham to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published in 2021 by Polity Press Polity Press 65 Bridge Street Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK Polity Press 101 Station Landing Suite 300 Medford, MA 02155, USA All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-3519-4 ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-3520-0(pb) A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. by Fakenham Prepress Solutions, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 8NL The publisher has used its best endeavours to ensure that the URLs for external websites referred to in this book are correct and active at the time of going to press. However, the publisher has no responsibility for the websites and can make no guarantee that a site will remain live or that the content is or will remain appropriate. Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition. For further information on Polity, visit our website: politybooks.com

5 Acknowledgments Acknowledgments This book came to its conclusion in turbulent times, as a deadly virus wracked the globe and Black Lives Matter demonstrations called out the ongoing crisis of racial injustice. Writing was challenging, in part because of the emotional toll these events took, and in part because I couldn’t easily get to the library or to my office at the University of Iowa. So I wrote at home, in between checking news feeds, and I am eternally grateful to my family for understanding and support, as random stacks of books piled up everywhere and I huddled with my laptop behind closed doors. My heartfelt thanks go to my husband Frank, who (as he has done for years) mulled over ideas with me, read and edited draft chapters, brought me cups of coffee when my energy was flagging, and got me to take exercise breaks. My daughters Sonali and Maya inspire me every day with their commitment to feminism and racial and social justice. I’m also deeply grateful to the University of Iowa librarians, especially Tim Arnold and Donald Baxter, for helping me obtain the materials I needed even when campus was officially closed. The amazing colleagues and friends who have supported and encouraged me have my deepest gratitude: I feel lucky to be part of such a lively and collaborative community. Many thanks to Mary Savigar and Ellen MacDonald-Kramer at Polity Books for believing in this project and for their encouragement, knowledge, and patience. Most of all I thank my mother, Jayalakshmi Venugopal, for her brilliance, sense of humor, and love. Her passing this year has left a chasm in the world.

6 Epigraph Epigraph In ancient Greece, Pandora’s box was not actually a box but a jar, or a clay pot with a lid that was kept in the kitchen, where the women were also kept. Maybe it contained evil—or maybe it just concealed it. Maybe Pandora let the evil out, or maybe she blew the lid off what was really going on back there, where nobody else could see it. Anyway, the truth got out, and all hell broke loose, leaving behind only hope. Carina Chocano, “Plain Sight,” New York Times Magazine , November 26, 2017, p. 13 A feminist ear can be how you hear what is not being heard. Sara Ahmed, Living a Feminist Life , 2016, p. 203.

7 Introduction Notes on Terminology Notes

8 1. RapacityMonsters, Inc. Danger Zones Of Presidents and Pussy Grabs Notes

9 2. RepresentationE-race-ures The Naked and the Damned Reporting and Rape Culture Notes

10 3. ResistanceReckonings Redress Notes

11 Coda: Reformulating Desire and Consent Notes

12 References

13 Index

14 End User License Agreement

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Dedicated to Jayalakshmi Venugopal, a feminist in times and spaces where it wasn’t always easy, and the best mother anyone could have.

Meenakshi Gigi Durham

polity

Copyright © Meenakshi Gigi Durham 2021

The right of Meenakshi Gigi Durham to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published in 2021 by Polity Press

Polity Press

65 Bridge Street

Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK

Polity Press

101 Station Landing

Suite 300

Medford, MA 02155, USA

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.