Shitty Men in Media List

Overview

Shitty Men in Media List refers to a Google document shared amongst women in the media industry intended to help protect women against certain peers in their industry by naming men accused of sexual misconduct ranging from creepy behavior in direct messages to rape. Once knowledge of the list became public, as well as several names on the list, it generated controversy as many of the claims had been unsubstantiated and jeopardized the reputation of some men who were accused of lesser charges. After rumors circulated that Harper's Bazaar was about to publish a piece on the list outing the creator, the creator of the list, Moira Donegan, stepped forward.

Background

On October 12th, 2017, Buzzfeed^[1] published an article about the list which began circulating the evening prior. The sheet spread after the allegations against Harvey Weinstein had begun circulating. Writing for Buzzfeed, Doree Shafrir noted that the list included both men with allegations of unwanted flirtation and men with allegations of sexual assault and violence. She also wrote that while she was excited that men in the media industry with histories of bad behavior were being acknowledged and warned about, an anonymous spreadsheet lumping lesser, unwanted sexual advances with assault and rape may cause problems. She points to a tweet by Collier Meyerson of The Nation which read:

“There is a difference between serial sexual assaulters, harassers, rapists and dogs. There are tons of both in media. In the coming days, as aggregated lists of men are created, it’s important to distinguish who are dogs and who are sexual assaulters.”

Developments

Shortly after Buzzfeed's article was posted, the list was locked and then deleted. Nevertheless, screenshots had been taken and began to circulate online. The idea of the list was debated online as many shared Shafrir's misgivings about the potential of such a list. Jill Filipovic for NBC^[2] wrote the list was a "radical if enormously flawed feminist effort,” and would lead to backlash. Writing for Slate,^[3] Christina Caterucci echoed some misgivings about the list, saying:

“It makes sense not to hire rapists, but should every man who’s ever verbally harassed a woman never work again? What about ‘creeps’? For those of us who believe that the prison system and sex offender registries do far more harm than good, what alternatives can we offer survivors and perpetrators? At what point could an industry consider a harasser reformed and hirable? How can women protect one another without trampling the rights of the accused?”

The New Yorker's Masha Gessen critiqued the list by claiming it was a step in a sex panic akin to a witch hunt.^[4] Erin Gloria Ryan of the Daily Beast^[5] claimed the list achieved neither justice nor catharsis, and was a "shitty way" of going about changing the media.

Meanwhile, /pol/^[6] posted screenshots of the list two weeks after Buzzfeed's story. Additionally, Mike Cernovich placed a bounty on the list, offering $10,000 to anyone who could provide a copy of the document. He received the list,^[8] alleging his source did not take the money, and planned to leak its contents slowly, but stopped after leaking two people on the advice of his lawyer.^[9] Some men named on the list, including former New Republic editor Leon Wieseltier and Ryan Lizza, who was investigated and then fired by the New Yorker following a complaint of sexual misconduct.^[10]

As of January 12th, 2018, there are 565 results in the 4plebs archive^[7] related to the list, including links to the list in full.

Creator Outing

On January 9th, 2018 rumors began circulating that Harper's Bazaar writer Katie Roiphe was planning to publish a piece on the list which outed the creator.^[11] Critics were outraged at the news, as outing the creator would almost certainly lead to harassment, threats, and potential harm to her person. Adding to the outrage was the fact Roiphe had famously taken anti-feminist stances in the past, including saying women accusing men of rape in college were simply regretful for getting drunk and having sex. This led to feminists on Twitter to mobilize against the piece. For example, Twitter user and journalist Nicole Cliffe offered to reimburse writers who pulled their pieces from Harper's Bazaar, and ended up paying out $19,000. Several women stepped forward to claim responsibility for the list in show of solidarity for the actual creator. Filmmaker Lexi Alexander tweeted such a claim and convinced several news media organizations that she was the creator.^[12]

On January 10th, 2018, Moira Donegan wrote in The Cut^[13] that she had started the Shitty Men In Media list. She defended the list by saying it was never intended to go public or be weaponized in the manner it was. She admitted that this idea was naive and cynical of her. She has lost her job and lived in fear in the months since creating the list.

Search Interest

External References