the not-so-golden globes

At the 2018 Golden Globe Awards, the majority of celebrities who attended dressed in black and wore pins in solidarity with the Time’s Up and Me Too Movements. These social causes stand against sexual harassment and unify survivors in solidarity with other survivors of sexual assault.

Some celebrities in attendance who wore black included Amy Poehler, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Kerry Washington, Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, and Blake Lively. Many activists also attended the awards ceremony as celebrities’ guests. Emma Watson, for example, brought Marai Larasi who is most recognized for her role as the executive director of Imkaan, a women’s organization which aims to end violence toward black women and other minority groups. Larasi also serves as the co-chair of End Violence Against Women Coalition, which focuses on violence in the UK.

Fighting sexual harassment, assault, and power dynamics is a critical battle. The growing involvement of celebrities in social activism deserves recognition from feminist organizations and coalitions because of their vast social influence. The solidarity demonstrated at the Golden Globes was a major step to help draw attention to shared experiences of assault, recognizing that harassment and assault targeted at women is common across all races and classes. However, media coverage generally puts the attention on celebrity men who have committed sexual assault, rather than giving survivors platform and a voice. Therefore, the choice to wear outfits in solidarity brought the spotlight back to women during an event with heavy media attention. However, their activism is inconsistent as some who wore black are not active in other social causes.

Considering celebrities’ influence and wealth, it is clear that many of these celebrities can do much more than make a statement with their outfits. More productive forms of social change might include fundraising and donating to organizations supporting marginalized groups, hosting events which provide oppressed individuals a voice, and using social media to publicize important movements. Celebrities can also challenge Hollywood to create movies that promote more feminist empowerment, sex positivity, and bodily autonomy that could turn films into educational resources and conversation catalysts around subjects like sexual harassment. The influence of pop culture through an avenue like filmmaking gives writers and producers immense power to shape a more positive culture of inclusivity.

At the Golden Globes, certain celebrities wore black to stand for the movement - like Kelly Clarkson and Mandy Moore - who otherwise do not partake in social activism. While the decision to dress in solidarity is productive, their absence of participation in other movements demonstrates their unwillingness to stand for less mainstream social causes. If celebrities are willing to wear black outfits in solidarity with these movements, where is the same solidarity for the Black Lives Matter Movement? Where are the outfits and pins supporting the fight for immigration and refugees, Trans Rights, anti-xenophobia, and queer activism? Select celebrities like Emma Watson and Shailene Woodley brought advocates for these movements and publicly support social causes like Black Lives Matter, but never has there been a unified form of resistance like there was for Me Too and Time’s Up at the Golden Globes. With the exponential growth of Time’s Up and Me Too, celebrities - especially white men and women - have a responsibility to stand up for other marginalized groups as well. Celebrities must recognize that the film industry is also home to marginalized individuals. Despite their relative prestige, actors of color face police brutality, deportation, and other physical threats that demand more recognition.

Lastly, the heteronormative nature of Time’s Up and Me Too fails to recognize that harassment is not limited to a cis-man assaulting a cis-woman. Assault can happen to anyone, by anyone, and is especially targeted at trans, queer, and non-binary people of color. However, there are also stories of people who live outside the gender binary, who don’t identify with their assigned gender at birth, or even cis-men who deserve the same right to tell their stories. Again, sexual assault survivors including trans, queer, and non-binary people of color are often overlooked when they are targeted most.

All articles, interviews, and general commentary have praised celebrity women for wearing outfits that stood for something more than fashion. I agree that it was well overdue for members of the upper class to step forward and take a stance. But, I challenge media outlets and celebrities to consider the impact they could make by pushing a conversation to encourage taking more extreme action. The United States is particularly consumed by extreme and relentless racism, sexism, classism, ableism, ageism, and the like. Rather than try to stand for one movement, why not fight for all and force our government to push social movements toward the forefront of our political agenda?

Social movements tend to form from intersectional oppression of marginalized groups. Survivors of all different identities have spoken up about their experiences of sexual harassment. Celebrities need to use their social platform to radicalize, resist, and revolt along with the millions of people already working to come forward with their personal stories and create a world where people are afraid of their bodies being violated.