Anita Hill Really Was Forced to Put Up with These Incredibly Sexist Comments...
A look back at the storm of controversy that surrounded the woman who accused future Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment.
David Brock: In a book trashing Hill’s reputation, the conservative operative famously called her “a little bit nutty and a little bit slutty,” a phrase that speaks for itself. Nearly a decade later, Brock, who went on to found the left-wing watchdog group Media Matters, apologized for the statement in his book, Blinded by the Right, admitting that he published “virtually every derogatory and often contradictory allegation” he could find in order to discredit her, and even coordinated with the Thomas camp in that effort.
Virginia Thomas: The justice’s wife may not have been overtly sexist, but she still apparently loathes Hill’s testimony. The loathing continues to this day: in 2010, nearly two decades after the hearings, Thomas left Hill a voicemail message demanding an apology for her remarks. Hill refused, saying she had “no intention of apologizing because I testified truthfully about my experience and I stand by that testimony.” (Later, Virginia admitted that the call was “probably a mistake.”)
Alan K. Simpson: In a memorable moment during the hearing, the Republican senator from Wyoming was confounded when Hill revealed that she continued to talk to Thomas long after she left the E.E.O.C. “But let me tell you, if what you say this man said to you occurred, why in God’s name, when he left his position of power or status or authority over you—and you left it in 1983—why in God’s name would you ever speak to a man like that the rest of your life?” he asked. Despite Hill’s attempts to explain that she was worried about her professional career, Simpson still could not believe her.
Many other people: Foreshadowing the travails of modern-day women on the Internet, Hill had to deal with strangers telling her that she was wrong. As she said in a press conference:
I had a call from a male who identified himself by name, and also identified himself as associated with a national organization, a civil rights organization, and he said to me that Clarence Thomas was only acting the way any man would act with a woman . . . I have received other harassing phone calls, mostly they’re messages on my machine where males have made jokes about this, and then that one unfortunate call where an individual was very forceful that this was only normal male behavior, which I think insults all of you men in the room.
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/04/anita-hill-sexism
A look back at the storm of controversy that surrounded the woman who accused future Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment.
David Brock: In a book trashing Hill’s reputation, the conservative operative famously called her “a little bit nutty and a little bit slutty,” a phrase that speaks for itself. Nearly a decade later, Brock, who went on to found the left-wing watchdog group Media Matters, apologized for the statement in his book, Blinded by the Right, admitting that he published “virtually every derogatory and often contradictory allegation” he could find in order to discredit her, and even coordinated with the Thomas camp in that effort.
Virginia Thomas: The justice’s wife may not have been overtly sexist, but she still apparently loathes Hill’s testimony. The loathing continues to this day: in 2010, nearly two decades after the hearings, Thomas left Hill a voicemail message demanding an apology for her remarks. Hill refused, saying she had “no intention of apologizing because I testified truthfully about my experience and I stand by that testimony.” (Later, Virginia admitted that the call was “probably a mistake.”)
Alan K. Simpson: In a memorable moment during the hearing, the Republican senator from Wyoming was confounded when Hill revealed that she continued to talk to Thomas long after she left the E.E.O.C. “But let me tell you, if what you say this man said to you occurred, why in God’s name, when he left his position of power or status or authority over you—and you left it in 1983—why in God’s name would you ever speak to a man like that the rest of your life?” he asked. Despite Hill’s attempts to explain that she was worried about her professional career, Simpson still could not believe her.
Many other people: Foreshadowing the travails of modern-day women on the Internet, Hill had to deal with strangers telling her that she was wrong. As she said in a press conference:
I had a call from a male who identified himself by name, and also identified himself as associated with a national organization, a civil rights organization, and he said to me that Clarence Thomas was only acting the way any man would act with a woman . . . I have received other harassing phone calls, mostly they’re messages on my machine where males have made jokes about this, and then that one unfortunate call where an individual was very forceful that this was only normal male behavior, which I think insults all of you men in the room.
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/04/anita-hill-sexism
