Mayim Bialik has been accused of victim blaming for an open letter she penned for the New York Times about the allegations of sexual misconduct against Harvey Weinstein.
In the New York Times article titled ‘Being a Feminist in Harvey Weinstein’s World,’ the Big Bang Theory star wrote that she has ‘experienced the upside of not being a ‘perfect 10.’’
‘As a proud feminist with little desire to diet, get plastic surgery or hire a personal trainer, I have almost no personal experience with men asking me to meetings in their hotel rooms,’ Bialik said. ‘Those of us in Hollywood who don’t represent an impossible standard of beauty have the ‘luxury’ of being overlooked and, in many cases, ignored by men in power unless we can make them money.’
The 41-year-old actress continued, ‘I have decided that my sexual self is best reserved for private situations with those I am most intimate with. I dress modestly. I don’t act flirtatiously with men as a policy. I am entirely aware that these types of choices might feel oppressive to many young feminists. Women should be able to wear whatever they want. They should be able to flirt however they want with whomever they want.
‘Why are we the ones who have to police our behavior? In a perfect world, women should be free to act however they want. But our world isn’t perfect. Nothing—absolutely nothing—excuses men for assaulting or abusing women. But we can’t be naïve about the culture we live in,’ Bialik wrote.
The article has received a large amount of negative feedback.
Bialik has since responded to the backlash on Twitter with a statement that says, ‘I’m being told my N.Y. Times piece resonated with so many and I am beyond grateful for all of the feedback. I also see a bunch of people have taken my words out of the context of the Hollywood machine and twisted them to imply that God forbid I would blame a woman for her assault based on her clothing or behavior. Anyone who knows me and my feminism knows that’s absurd and not at all what this piece was about. It’s so sad how vicious people are being when I basically live to make things better for women.’
The star is also set to appear in a New York Times Facebook live video to explain her article in more detail.
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