Dear Readers,
How much do you know of the Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal that became a national sensation in the winter of 1998?
I can’t answer for you, but I can definitely tell you that before I read Monica Lewinsky’s June 2014 Vanity Fair article–aptly titled, “Shame and Survival,” I knew little of the affair. The media took advantage of this nationwide scandal, and in their coverages, they painted Monica Lewinsky as the aggressive seducer and then-President Bill Clinton as the noble family man everyone expected him to be. The consequences of the affair had little effect on Mr. Clinton’s present power and influence, but the lasting effects of the scandal for Monica Lewinsky are just as potent today as it was 17 years ago.
First and foremost, the blame is not solely Monica Lewinsky’s. In fact, the blame belongs to both parties involved in the affair, and while Lewinsky was made into a scape goat to “protect his [Bill Clinton’s] powerful position,” Bill Clinton remained virtually unscathed with an unexpected rise in popularity. This is the reason why I refuse to address the affair as only the “Lewinsky Scandal,” but rather the “Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal” because I simply believe that it is wrong for us to solely adjust the blame on one half of the guilty parties. Whether we realize it or not, whenever we call it the “Lewinsky Scandal,” we’re initially putting the blame on Lewinsky herself. By referring to the affair as the Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal, I’m also trying to discourage and fight against America’s culture of victim-shaming.
For far too long has Monica Lewinsky’s side of the story been overridden and overlooked, as the media continued to antagonize her. While I realize that what she did was wrong, I also realize that we can’t continue to wholly blame Miss Lewinsky for a mistake she made 17 years back in the past. Because of this, I want to better analyze the way the media and news outlets have portrayed Monica Lewinsky in their news coverages, and the lasting effect on her image and reputation. Compared to America in the late 20th century, the American population today (or at least the younger generations), are much more lenient and understanding of Lewinsky’s position.
I watched Monica Lewinsky’s TedTalk and I read her Vanity Fair article before I even fully understood the events and consequences of the scandal. At first, I was fueled by a self-righteous feminist rage that supported Lewinsky’s freedom as an American woman. How dare Clinton use his standing as a white, affluential man to take advantage and ignore this woman? Had his heart been so cold to this woman who had loved him? Well, on a second glance after reading the articles and listening to the tape recordings myself, I see that my initial perception of Lewinsky comes from her present, more mature persona as opposed to the teenage persona everyone has already been exposed to.
In a way, I feel terribly embarrassed because I had reached a conclusion before I even explored all the reasons why Lewinsky has obtained such an awful reputation. Empathy is powerful, but excessive amounts can be detrimental to one’s perception of the world.
On a totally unrelated noted, did you know that there’s a currently a production of the Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal on Broadway? It’s called “Clinton The Musical,” and even the title of the production makes me snort in laughter. I’m definitely interested in seeing the musical.
Sincerely,
Serena Law
Serena Law
English 2150H – KTRH
Essay #2
April 15, 2015
The Culture of Victim Shaming When One Story Overshadows Another
In a January 1998 press conference held by the White House, President Bill Clinton addressed allegations of an inappropriate relationship he had with a government employee. Clinton denied the claims, but news and speculations of his newfound relationship refused to fade. The circumstances and details surrounding his relationship spurred a media frenzy that swept through the nation. On January 26, 1998, President Clinton reaffirmed his declared innocence on national television. Red-faced and posture stiff with tension, he repeated himself: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”
That Woman.
That Woman happened to be 24 year old Monica Samille Lewinsky, the government official Bill Clinton vehemently denied having an affair with. Bill Clinton was twenty-eight years Lewinsky’s senior. He was married to Hillary Rodham Clinton with a teenage daughter and was positioned at the highest rank of the political system; needless to say, the Clinton patriarch was quick to reject the relationship. Before Bill Clinton’s first proclamation of innocence, Lewinsky’s name was introduced to the American public by the internet gossip column, Drudge Report. Speculations made by other news organizations followed, and Lewinsky quickly found herself in a political and media maelstrom.
Since 1998, Monica Lewinsky has become a cultural icon following the scandal named after her. Originally, she was an opportunistic, bright-eyed woman with many prospects lying ahead. However, with her connection exposed, Monica Lewinsky’s future was jeopardized. Lewinsky’s media-produced image spread quickly throughout the nation, and with the help of modern technology that enabled quick, convenient, and reliable communication, Lewinsky’s reputation easily stabilized and remained. The toxicity of her reputation is as potent today as it was seventeen years ago. Today, her name is synonymous with affair, infidelity, and promiscuity. Since the scandal’s outbreak, the media portrayed Lewinsky as the aggressive and immature girl who successfully seduce President Clinton despite the importance of his political and marital status. Monica Lewinsky has been the butt of every television host’s joke at least once, and music artists mention her when referring to sexual acts. Monica Lewinsky has become an endless source of entertainment from the image America has produced of her. People’s impression of Lewinsky is similar to a processed good–an unavoidable commodity consumed almost mindlessly by the American population daily. People accept Lewinsky for what the media has shown her as, and they lose sight of who she might be. They demonize her and turn her into an inhumane figure–one without emotions or thoughts of consequences. They forget that she is human, and they overlook the qualities that make her one of us: her fears, her dreams, the side of her personality undisclosed by the media, and so forth. By looking at only one aspect of Lewinsky, we have committed the exact folly Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie warned us about. In Adichie’s July 2009 TedTalk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” Adichie urged us to extend empathy to others so that we may not unjustly paint a single story of them. A single story is one perspective a person has taken into account without regarding other views or opinions. A single view can be a very narrow and short-sighted one, and Adichie understands the importance of various stories and the impact they have on individuals: “All of these stories make me who I am. But to insist only on these negative stories is to flatten my experience and to overlook the many other stories that formed me. The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story” (Adichie). Whether we realize it or not, single stories are unfair to the individual and group of individuals being judged, and I fear that the majority of the American population has listened to only one story of Monica Lewinsky for far too long. Single stories are dangerous because they overlook the possibilities and connections we have to the people around us; they ostracize and dehumanize others. If we follow Adichie’s advice and start listening to the stories others have to tell instead of creating immediate and biased assumptions, the world could become a better place, and we can start right now by extending the story of a single person: Monica Lewinsky.
Before Monica Lewinsky became known as “America’s premier blow-job queen,” she was a student at Bel Air Preparatory (presently known as Pacific Hills School)–a private high school situated near the upscale Beverly Hills neighborhood she lived in. Lewinsky came from an upper-middle class family with successful, influential parents. Her father–Bernard Lewinsky, is a renowned oncologist who came from a line of Jewish Germans that escaped Nazi Germany. Lewinsky’s mother is Marcia Kay Lewinsky (née Valinsky), a published writer. After Monica Lewinsky finished high school in 1991, she enrolled in Santa Monica College but earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Lewis & Clark College. With the recommendation of an affluent family friend, Lewinsky entered the White House as an unpaid intern in June 1995 at the ripe age of 21.
Five months after her entrance, Lewinsky and Clinton started the affair. The relationship lasted from November 1995 to March 1997. According to U.S. NEWS & Reports, Evelyn Lieberman–the deputy chief of staff and supervisor to the interns, reportedly thought that compared to the 249 other White House trainees, Lewinsky was especially prominent in her desire and ambition to be noticed by the President (Nelson). Likewise, some acquaintances familiar with Lewinsky saw her as “‘spoiled,’ ‘arrogant,’ and ‘immature;’” while others viewed her as “‘sweet,’ ‘polite,’ and ‘intelligent’”(Leen). Six months after she began her internship, Lewinsky became a full-time staff member in the White House. Lieberman and several other supervisors thought Lewinsky was excessively engaged and personal with President Clinton. Lewinsky often found excuses to stay near the Oval Office. Not only was she extremely attentive to the President’s needs and calls, it also became increasingly evident that she lacked interest and concentration when it came to her work. She made basic errors in letters addressed to government officials, including having written “pubic” instead of “public” when referring to White House tours (Brownstein, Walsh). Lewinsky was reassigned as the assistant to Pentagon spokesman, Kent Bacon, the following year. In addition, Monica Lewinsky met Linda Rose Tripp while working at the Pentagon, and the two quickly formed a close friendship. Tripp eventually became an advisor and confidant to Lewinsky. As Lewinsky entrusted details of her relationship to Linda Tripp, Tripp recorded their conversations without Lewinsky’s consent nor knowledge.
When Arkansas State employee Paula Jones decided to bring charges against President Clinton for the sexual assault he committed during his time as governor, rumors of Lewinsky’s alleged relationship with Clinton reached Jones’s lawyer. Initially, Lewinsky gave a false affidavit–presumably with the acknowledgement and encouragement of Bill Clinton, but once Tripp released the recordings through her lawyer–Jim Moody, Lewinsky’s own denial lost credit. As President Clinton attempted to deny his association with “That Woman,” his passion and determination in proving his innocence worked, and the majority of the American population continued to trust him despite the appearance of the Blue Dress. The sapphire colored dress became famous because it was the undeniable proof of Clinton’s infidelity. The semen stain on Lewinsky’s dress verified suspicions. The President could no longer conceal the affair he had with Monica Lewinsky. News of the scandal appeared on every newspaper headline and continued to surface on the internet. While Bill Clinton was tried and successfully impeached by Congress, he remained in office with support from the Senate. His popularity surged during his remaining time as President. With the “Lewinsky Scandal” behind him, Clinton’s current influence and power has not deteriorated in the least; this is palpable by the success of the Clinton Foundation and Hillary Clinton’s current attempt to become the 45th President of the United States.
On the other hand, the scandal had ruined Monica Lewinsky’s life. Her closest ally in Washington D.C. had betrayed her; the extramarital affair she had with her high school drama teacher was exposed, and her face and name will forever be remembered by the public. Older, more conservative Americans blamed Lewinsky for being weak, reckless, and not understanding the position both parties had been in, and they still think so today. Through the amount of media coverage the scandal had received, Lewinsky claimed she was the first victim of the internet: “I know I’m not alone when it comes to public humiliation. No one, it seems, can escape the unforgiving gaze of the Internet, where gossip, half-truths, and lies take root and fester. We have created, to borrow a term from historian Nicolaus Mills, a ‘culture of humiliation’ that not only encourages and revels in Schadenfreude but also rewards those who humiliate others, from the ranks of the paparazzi to the gossip bloggers, the late-night comedians, and the Web ‘entrepreneurs’ who profit from clandestine videos ” (Lewinsky, Vanity Fair). Monica Lewinsky’s image is consumed by television watchers and internet users, and she has been made into something so much more terrible and horrific than she really is. Even now, the story of the Blue Dress and her affair still chases her without mercy. According to Lewinsky’s June 2014 Vanity Fair essay, “Shame and Survival,” job prospects were gone, and Lewinsky sometimes struggled with legal fees and living costs. She tried business ventures instead of pursuing traditional careers because no one wanted to hire her. Her dating life–while existent, is now a complicated mess where she can no longer trust others as completely or easily as she once did. There is also the paparazzi and newscasters that come after her every time her name is mentioned in a congressional jab or whenever the Clintons are involved; needless to say, this is becoming much more frequent due to Hillary Clinton’s second attempt at Presidency. Maureen Dowd from The New York Times puts it more eloquently: “‘Though she’s striking yet another come-hither pose in the magazine, there’s something poignant about a 40-year-old frozen like a fly in amber for something reckless she did in her 20s, while the unbreakable Clintons bulldoze ahead.’”
In a sense, it is almost amusing Maureen Dowd would write such an opinion piece because she had once tirelessly hounded Monica Lewinsky for details of the scandal. A year after the scandal first made headlines, Maureen Dowd won a Pulitzer Prize for her series of articles on the Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal. Her satirical writings in the widely circulated New York Times helped create the caricature of Monica Lewinsky; in Dowd’s writings, Lewinsky was portrayed as immature and facetious. To the older generations of America, Lewinsky lived a privileged life after the scandal; she was a woman who used her body and took advantage of the President. She did book signings, gave speeches and interviews, and even made lucrative amounts of money when randomly appearing in public. In one particular article named “Monica Gets Her Man,” Dowd wrote: “That Woman stamped her feet. Like the Glenn Close character in ‘Fatal Attraction,’ Monica Lewinsky issued a chilling ultimatum to the man who jilted her: I will not be ignored” (Dowd). According to the online magazine, Slate, Dowd also wrote in her series: “‘It is Ms. Lewinsky who comes across as the red-blooded predator, wailing to her girl friends that the President wouldn’t go all the way.’ And, ‘It is Mr. Clinton who behaves more like a teen-age girl trying to protect her virginity. … Ms. Lewinsky is the one who bristles with testosterone.’” Monica Lewinsky was automatically labeled as the seductive aggressor. It makes no sense that the blame is entirely put on Miss Lewinsky when Bill Clinton has an entire history of womanizing. He hides under a layer of respect for women, but it is a layer supported by the affiliation he has with his wife, Hillary Clinton, who is the real champion of women’s rights. Furthermore, in an article Jeff Leen wrote for the website, Clinton Accused, Leen’s article “Lewinsky: Two Coasts, Two Lives, Many Images” examines the way acquaintances familiar with Lewinsky thought of her. The majority of the people thought of her as “flirtatious” and “seemingly oblivious” while having a “youthful exuberance” (Leen). They also saw Lewinsky as an attention seeker, but other individuals who claimed to know Lewinsky thought of her as a person who liked her privacy. In the 2013 U.S. NEWS & Report article, “Starstruck,” Ronald Brownstein and Kenneth T. Walsh continued to foster Lewinsky’s image as the careless, attention-seeking girl: Stephen Enghouse remembered “‘Monica as being insecure enough to make anything up just to get attention. She was very friendly, bubbly, and she was a bit flirtatious with men. She was immature and insecure’” (Brownstein, Walsh). As the numerous tabloids, newspapers, and gossip columns festering with excitement derived from the Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal, the writers of these articles continued to enhance and foster the negative impression the American public had of Monica Lewinsky. Monica Lewinsky’s caricature is not just a product of the most provocative impressions people had of her, but it was also a product of the spin that the media put on the story.
Besides news organizations, Monica’s appearances in interviews were also attacked by television personalities; the perception others had of her appearances further supported their impression of the “White House intern.” The 2002 HBO special, “Monica in Black and White,” starts with a recording Tripp made from a conversation she once had with Lewinsky. The dialogue starts with a debate on the definition of sex before dissolving to into a tug-of-war between Linda Tripp’s “Yes it is” and Lewinsky’s own “No, it’s not.” In the documentary, Lewinsky answered questions from students and HBO staff members. In an account of how her relationship started with the President of the United States, Lewinsky was very candid and open: “I blurted out, ‘I have a crush on you!’ And he [Bill Clinton] smiled and he said, Why don’t you come into the back office?'” Not even half an hour into the documentary, and the young audience seemed to immediately like Lewinsky; some audience members whistled and howled in good humor. Lewinsky responded with giggles and a cheeky smile; she seemed comfortable–as if she was a conversation with friends. She continued after a few seconds. “I thought it was just going to be fun fling. I judged him in the sense of thinking, ‘Well, okay, whatever, you know, I’m young, he’s the President, he’s cute. He’s kinda cool. Irresponsible, but cool. I didn’t even see him as a real person,… and I started having real feeling for him.’” From there, the documentary stops Monica Lewinsky’s side of the story and started showing the reactions and attitude media outlets and personalities had toward the Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal, or more specifically, Lewinsky. In the March 7, 1999 recording of “This Week,” Sam Donaldson freely gave out his sense of the situation: “She apparently has no sense of the fact the President of the United States, the White House, the revered institution in our republic was something” (reelsarency). In addition to Donaldson, David Brooks, the editor of “Weekly Standard,” confronted Lucianne Goldberg, a book agent on “Crossfire” by saying: “She meets the President of the United States, and she flips her skirt and show her thong. Was that how you were behaving as a young woman?” The attack on Lewinsky’s image and responsibility in the affair continued. On “Politically Incorrect,” Lewinsky was called a “provocative little kid,” and Joanne Rivers also poked fun at Lewinsky: “She went after him. She leaned over and went ‘Hello,’ and missed his hand” (reelsarency).
The media impressions of Monica Lewinsky does not stop there. Lewinsky’s infamy continues and extends to the present in other areas of popular culture. Beyoncé’s song “Partition” is heavily laden with sexual innuendos. During her engagement to Jay Z, Beyoncé went to a strip club to study how to be more seductive and pleasing to Jay Z, and a result of her efforts, “Partition” was formed and inspired by the desire to please her spouse, Jay Z. In the highly accalimed 2013 song, “Partition,” Beyoncé sang: “Now my mascara running, red lipstick smudged / Oh he so horny, yeah he want to f**k / He popped all my buttons, and he ripped my blouse / He Monica Lewinsky-ed all on my gown” (Beyoncé). In addition to Beyonce, singers such as Nas in “The American Way,” Mac Miller in “Willie Dynamite,” Jay Z in “A Star is Born,” and many other artists have also mentioned Monica Lewinsky in their songs.
While the majority of Americans have a great dislike of the Monica Lewinsky displayed in front of them, there were a few exceptions who supported Monica Lewinsky. In the 1999 peer-reviewed journal “American Sexual Morality After ‘That Woman’” by Johnathan B. Imber, Imber notes how the majority of older Americans viewed as Clinton’s needs as imminent because of his powerful position, the stress he garners from his job, and his age. According to Imber, “Monica Lewinsky was a special agent of sorts in the corridors of power. She provided sexual stimulation of several kinds, which was reciprocated by the president in the very act of his paying attention, in a manner of speaking, to her in particular.” This is to say that even to Imber, Lewinsky was not entirely at fault. Furthermore, Imber mentions Bill Clinton’s private confession that being with Lewinsky did make him feel young again. He notes that Viagara has become immersed within American culture during the past decade, and the usage of the drug has altered sex. Imber views Viagara as the tangible equivalent of sexual freedom, and because of the wide accessibility to Viagara, sex is no longer just a critical part of happiness; it can extend past the basic desires or requirements for happiness and self-fulfillment. Under the caption of “Sex Without Guilt,” Imber writes: “With the alleged end of a double standard about who can have sex without consequences, the most profound effects of this broken consensus [over what is or is not legitimate sex or “love making”] are suffered in silence, in the breaking of vows, in the despoiling of trust, and in the poverty of consent” (Imber).
In addition, minor women’s advocates who talked freely of sex and the place of women in society were supportive of Monica Lewinsky. In the June 1999 issue of Ms Magazine, “Dear Monica” was a letter-like article addressed to Miss Lewinsky written by Abiola Wendy Abrams, who is a successful esteem coach and award-winning personality who supports women’s rights. Just as Abiola noted, more people who saw Monica Lewinsky’s Barbara Walters’s interview thought that she did not seem sorry at all. Perhaps this was what gave away the impression that Lewinsky was a facetious and attention-loving figure. In society, Abrams notes how: “Our [female] sexuality is supposed to make us feel guilty. Popular opinion indicates that people prefer a woman who seems more victim than opportunist. Maybe that’s why you [Monica Lewinsky] are being persecuted more for your brazenness and aggressive sexual persona than for the fact that you, like many of the ‘moral majority’ who’ve attacked you, behaved questionably. On the other hand, attempting to build up one’s self-esteem by abusing other women, like Hillary Rodham and Chelsea Clinton, is unacceptable and inhumane.” Back in the day, Abiola may have sounded radical and improper, but in today’s modern times, her view is acceptable in the wider and more accepting streets of New York City.
Let us be as strong and empathetic as Adichie wanted us to be; let us have the power she thought strong people had: “Power is the ability not just to tell the story of another person, but to make it the definitive story of that person. The Palestinian poet Mourid Barghouti writes that if you want to dispossess a people, the simplest way to do it is to tell their story and to start with, secondly’” (Adichie).
Bibliography
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. “The Danger of a Single Story.” Ted Talks. TEDTalk LLC. July 2009. Video. 23 March 2015
Lewinsky, Monica. “Shame and Survival.” Vanity Fair. June 2014. Web. Apr 2015
Hess, Amanda. “‘Ditsy, Predatory White House Intern.’” Slate. The Slate Group. 7 May 2014. Web. April 2015
Abrams, Abiola Wendy. “Dear Monica.” Ms. Magazine. June 1999. Web. April 2015
JW00534. “Bill Clinton—‘I did not have sexual relations with that woman.’” Online Video Clip. Youtube. Youtube. 18 Apr 2012. Web. 14 Apr 2015
Imber, Johnathan B. “American Sexual Morality After “That Woman.” Transaction. Society, March-April, 1999, Vol.36(3), p.29(8)
“A Chronology: Key Moments in the Clinton-Lewnisky Saga.” All Politics: CNN. All Politics. web. April 2015
Nelson, Steven. “Bill Clinton 15 Years Ago: ‘I Did not Have Sexual Relations With That Woman.’”