The Epstein files are really devastating because they remind me of how many girls and women miss out on professional...

[demmiblue]

* Thread from Bluesky…

the Epstein files are really devastating because they remind me of how many girls and women miss out on professional opportunities, mentorship and careers because of how many powerful, rich and influential men only view girls and women — and interactions with them — through the lens of sex

It doesn't matter what the women said or did, how educated or successful they are, how faithful she is to her partner, anything. The Epstein files explicitly detail how these men (and their allies) emailed each other for advice and strategy on sex with girls and women, as well as helping each other.

At the same time, the extent of the Washington Post layoffs highlight how it didn't matter how hardworking, loyal, smart, collaborative, award-winning, competitive, knowledgeable and devoted so many of the staff were. It wasn't enough to prevent being laid off by one of the richest men in the world.

It's hard, as both a woman and a journalist, to understand both of these things and figure out a path forward. I can't mitigate them through more personal effort, education or professional experience. And it's galling to read the defenses for the layoffs and the people named in the Epstein files.

How many opportunities did I lose because men I encountered or worked with did (or didn't) think of me as someone they could get in bed? What was the point of a reporter willing to cover an active warzone if they were still laid off after bad decisions made by the paper's senior managers and owner?

If I think about the Epstein files and the layoffs too much, I won't apply for jobs and reply to emails. But it's hard trying to function "like normal" when things are devastating on so many levels, besides remembering why I became a reporter, and that I need to be a reliable person for myself too.

People who reply "this point is not new", it's hard to begin to understand the extent of the damage to countless girls and women over many decades when the latest addition to the Epstein files database included "more than 3 million pages, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images". www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

I am trying to read as many of the replies and quote-posts as I can, but many of them are very sad and illustrate how many others have suffered as a result of this pervasive attitude of girls and women primarily as sex objects. It's heartbreaking to see.

[2naSalit]

1. Well...

I know for a fact that is why is was never able to get anywhere professionally. If I wouldn't fuck or blow somebody, my paycheck was either lower or I wouldn't get the job in the first place. Performing sex for a job was a dealbreaker for me.

[cksmithy]

2. Yet, it was so common, that people today can't believe it.

It was part of the 3 martini lunch routine, men became really handsy after lunch. Like you, I ignored them and got the reputation of being mean. I received a good salary and union benefits, so f um. I was an administrative assistant, no real opportunity to move up. Didn't have to tolerate their bs, as long as I could type.

[2naSalit]

3. I was...

"Mouthy" because I stood up for myself and could outwit them in conversation.

Sometimes it was kind of fun messing with the wee minds of those poor dolts.