From a Private Life to Life in the Public Eye

The media and the press can have a huge effect on our country, changing the way people think about people in gossip blogs and scandals. They no longer showcase a real human but instead become a source of entertainment and laughter. People tend to forget that these stories come from real humans lives and effect these real lives. Living a private life, it is almost impossible to imagine what living in the public eye is truly like. Monica Lewinsky experienced this drastic change from her private life to being in a scandal that was world wide and was largely one of the first ever media scandals to be used by the internet. Her affair with President Clinton did not only reach people who enjoy reading gossip magazines but instead it was taken as national news. Listening to her story through her ted talk I was impressed that she shared how the media had effect her so personally, even sharing that her parents were worried she would commit suicide from the humiliation. Social media and the many platforms it controls has an even greater influence on our country today. From my experience it has always been something that has grown while I was growing up as well. I knew that people could be mean and the cyberbullying was definitely a thing but it is different to hear about it from someone who has experienced it personally. Social media gives way for people to be cruel and harmful to others from the comfort of their own homes and even hiding their own identity.

The New York Times article talked about what Mr. Clinton himself has faced after the scandal in 1998. While he remains a man of great power there is many people who do not wish to work with him because of his reputation. He first lied about having an affair and believes it was a fully consensual relationship. Many believe this relationship was created because of an abuse of power on his part and the privilege he has a man. The Clintons being strong democrats have put support into the me too movement. Some people do not wish Mr Clinton to be showing so much support for the me too movement because allegations of sexual assault that have been rumored about Clinton along with his relationship to 22 year old Monica. Mr Clinton is still valued as a past president but many still speculate on his past actions.

In an article I found about Monica Lewinsky, they describe what she had to go through during and after the scandal in 1998. She had a very hard time finding jobs because people were skeptical to hire the woman who had an affair with the United States president. She notes that she thought the relationship was consensual at the time and any abuse she faced after was only due to the fact that she was used as a scapegoat to protect his powerful position and reputation. She was thrown to the side and called a slut and a whore while he was still the president and even after still remains in positions of power. His wife Hilary even says it was not inappropriate because Monica was an adult. Clinton also has made remarks that he feels he does not need to apologize to Monica. Many people believe that while their relationship for the most part seemed to been consensual there were still many factors that put pressure on Monica to have a sexual relationship with Clinton. He was the president of our country and the most powerful man in our country. Having an extremely powerful man trying to have a relationship with a 22 year old women does raise some red flags, especially with the way the situation was handled and how he still speaks of her today. The article goes on to show that Monica has finally found her voice again and wants to speak up to show that women shouldn't be completely taken advantage of and the social media has a big role in this as well as movements like the me too movement. I believe Lewinsky is extremely brave for finally sharing her side of the story after all these years. She finally has a chance to clear her name and show how this effected her and how she's going to use her experiences to help others by becoming an activist against cyberbullying and an activist for women rights, consent rights, and even the me too movement.
https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/11/15/18095050/monica-lewinsky-clinton-affair-tv-series-interview