Big Reputations: Who Has the Power to Speak #MeToo?

Abstract

In providing a character reference for Ronell that called upon her intellectual regard, the letter echoed testimonies of 'reputation' often provided in cases of alleged sexual harassment or assault. According to Kipnis, that there might be a power differential between professor and student may be part of the excitement of the encounter. While power is distributed in gendered ways, responding to stories of sexual assault and harassment via the lens of gender alone does not do justice to the dynamics at play. (Walters) Walters' point here is that although we may take intersectional and/or transnational feminist views that seek to understand the subtleties of sexual assault and harassment, incontrovertibly the majority of violence and harassment is committed by men.