Considering context

Erin Bamer Argonaut

Why the press should focus on Monica Lewinsky’s message, not her wardrobe

Monica Lewinsky is back in the spotlight again, but this time it’s for the right reasons. Unfortunately, the majority of media outlets don’t seem to understand this.

In the last year, Lewinsky has voluntarily stepped back into the public eye to share her message about the impact of slut shaming and cyber bullying.

In 1998, Lewinsky was the face of a scandal that rocked the White House. It was revealed that Lewinsky and former U.S. President Bill Clinton had been engaged in an on-and-off relationship for about two years and what’s more, Clinton lied about the affair under oath.

Erin Bamer

While Clinton endured an impeachment trial charged with perjury and obstruction of justice, he was acquitted of both charges in 1999. It is arguable then that Lewinsky bore the brunt of the damage caused by the scandal.

The story broke through the infant Internet, and Lewinsky described herself as the first victim of online harassment, the first person to have their reputation destroyed by the digital universe. She was labeled a tart, a tramp and a slut.

Paired with a president who was quite popular as far as most U.S. presidents go, Lewinsky was viewed primarily as the villain in the midst of the scandal. People figured she had seduced Clinton and he was the victim, not her. They don’t look at the situation as an impressionable 22-year-old girl being influenced by her boss — the most powerful man in America at the time.

The crazy thing is, we still think this way even if we say we don’t.

When Clinton makes a public appearance, no one ever remembers the old scandal anymore. Instead, people look in awe of someone who was once one of the most popular presidents of the United States.

This is not the case when Lewinsky goes out into the public eye.

After a speech she gave at Forbes’ 30 Under 30 summit, she said she was hit on by a 27-year-old who claimed “he could make her feel like she was 22 again.” More notably, at several public events, including this year’s Tony awards, the press criticized Lewinsky’s choice of clothing, mainly accusing her of dressing too young for her age.

This is not uncommon for most female celebrities. Many headlines featuring famous women aren’t in reference to their achievements, but rather which designer they wore to the Oscars.

While this shouldn’t be accepted for any celebrity, it is especially important not to ignore in Lewinsky’s case. Most people would shrug it off, thinking that she is just paying the price of fame. The problem lies in where Lewinsky’s fame comes from and what that means on a bigger level.

After willingly stepping back into the public arena, paparazzi don’t flock to her because she is trying to send a powerful message about victim blaming and cyber bullying. They flock to Lewinsky because she was once the most famous alleged floozy in America.

By writing stories about Lewinsky’s “prom” dress at the Tony’s, these media outlets are minimizing the positive impact she is attempting to bring now and instead they are bringing back old memories of what she was nearly 20 years ago. Furthermore, it sends the message that what happened to her was OK. It perpetuates the idea behind victim blaming and slut shaming, even if that wasn’t what the media outlets wanted to do with their coverage.

The fact that most female celebrities get the majority of their press in relation to their appearance shouldn’t be accepted anyway. But in Lewinsky’s case, the primary focus should be on her present, rather than her past.

Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ErinBamer

Leave a Reply

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.