Shame is an industry

As a society, we are still figuring out the long term effects of social media. With teenagers stuck behind the screen hours after hours, there is little research on how this screen time will impact our long term health. However, what we do know is the correlation between mental health and the internet. Monica Lewinsky summed it up perfectly, the internet is an industry founded on humiliation. Don't get me wrong there are a lot of plus sides to the internet, but social media is a perfect platform for bullies to hide behind. Untraceable comments, videos, and photos allow bullies to prey on their victims seamlessly. There are different types of bullying, none of which are okay, but bullying over the internet is permanent. The comments, videos and or photos will stay on the web for years after years following children in their journey into becoming adults. Most cyberbullies are afraid to be mean to others face to face because they are scared of the consequences. On the internet, there seems to be no consequences.

Monica Lewinsky's case is a perfect example of bullies using the internet as a platform to write rude emails. Lewinsky's relationship with Clinton was very scandalous, but what intrigues me the most is the stark difference between how she was treated and how he was treated over the internet. Bill Clinton certainly got some backlash from the media for these actions, yet he still got to keep his title as president and he remained married to his wife. Unlike Clinton, Lewinsky was forced to change her whole life, practically hiding from the public for years. She was afraid to be seen and scared to face her own demons of depressions. She was so close to ending her life, meanwhile, Clinton's biggest issue was bad press impacting his political career. This is shown in the New York Times article Bill Clinton Says He Doesn't Owe Lewinsky a Private Apology in Light of #Metoo. In this article, Clinton admits that he never gave Lewinsky an apology. After and during this scandal Clinton has continuously treated Lewinsky as an object rather than a person. Clinton got no backlash for treating Lewinsky horribly in the press and in real life. I think this is connected to the Me Too movement because Clinton abused his power and title which is completely correlated to this movement. The Me Too movement focuses on ensuring women are treated equally in their sexual relationships. Clinton treated Lewinsky horribly and did not sympathize with her situation. This shows that when a man is married and is having an affair it's consistently the other women's fault. Lewinsky is a "slut" because she slept with the president. But what the media needs to understand is that it takes two to tango. The hate towards Lewinsky was far more aggressive and vulgar than what Clinton had to endure. This comparison shows how women are seen as weak and vulnerable, allowing them to become easy targets for bullies. Clinton and Lewinsky are both at fault for their actions, but in the eyes of our society women are to be blamed.

Today, we live in a society that continues to condemn sexual assault and slut-shaming of women. Our current president has faced numerous sexual assault allegations and still, nothing has happened to him. The men get to keep their powerful positions while the women are being marginalized by people on the internet. The only reason why Clinton got impeached was because he lied about the affair rather than actually having an affair and sexually assaulting more than one woman. Politicians set an example for our countries, they are the leaders our children look up to and yet they are at the forefront of women's inequality.