It looks like Harvey Weinstein is going to spend most, if not all of his sunset years in a federal prison when he is not in court to answer more charges of sexual assault. The significance of the guilty verdict handed down yesterday should not be lost in the press of other news.
As the father of 3 girls, I know first hand some of the anguish women feel in a world designed for and run by men. From mildly misogynistic male teachers to boys who felt entitled to more than a polite kiss after a date, to actual harassment and discrimination on the job sometimes by other women, my girls have experienced things no male would put up with for a New York minute. The Weinstein verdict and an avalanche of lawsuits across the country are starting to change the contours of the relationships between men and women. But it isn't enough. Men with daughters need to not only protect the women in their lives. They need to help them understand that the existing rules, written and unwritten need to be revised and full equality of the sexes needs to be real and tangible.
It is ironic that a genital grabbing misogynist is currently president* and will probably bend the justice system in order to protect male privilege. However, as each successive generation of women is raised to respect themselves and demand the same from their male counterparts there will be less need for judicial remedies.
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