Something that seems different about the sexual misconduct conversation in 2018 is that we're more comfortable with women being in positions of respect, authority, and power.
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I was in middle school during Clarence Thomas' confirmation hearings, and in high school during the Lewinsky scandal, and I remember the cultural sense that these women- Anita Hill and Monica Lewinsky- really had no legitimate reason to be law professors or white house interns.
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The men were people with careers and reputations and legitimacy, and on the other hand it was like, well, what are these women even there for? It was all very vague. I'm not sure what evidence I could bring to explain where that feeling came from.
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In 2018, there's a sense of Ford and Ramirez as having careers, reputations, and legitimacy outside of victimhood.
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In the 1990s we weren't there yet. Hill was never afforded the dignity of having a career or reputation separate from her accusations against Thomas. Lewinsky was never portrayed as a promising young civil servant.
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In the 90s, it was almost like these women were only there to be abused by men. As sick as that sounds. Like they had no business being in these men's stories, whether or not there was truth to their allegations.
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For many Republicans, and perhaps for many other men over 50, they're still living in that world where women's lives have no right to intrude on men's important business. But we're not all living there anymore, and that gives me hope.
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