If groping sounds innocent enough, how does sexual assault grab you?
Swift’s court case and a campaign against ‘upskirting’ suggest the troubles women face, writes Sophie Donaldson
TAYLOR Swift, pop megastar and Victoria’s Secret ‘squad’ mobiliser, is currently embroiled in a court battle in Denver with radio DJ David Mueller.
He had sued her for $3m in damages, saying Swift’s claim that he placed his hand under her skirt and grabbed her buttocks at a backstage meet-and-greet led to his dismissal from radio station KYGO.
Swift countersued (for a token $1), alleging sexual assault in a case that intends to send the message that no woman should have to keep quiet about being touched inappropriately.
On Friday the Denver judge threw out Mueller’s case. The jury will still consider Swift’s claims.
At the time of the alleged assault Swift did not press charges. Swift’s mother Andrea testified that she did not contact police because she did not want the incident to lead to the kind of public speculation that now surrounds the current court case.
Despite describing herself as stunned after Mueller allegedly grabbed her “bare ass cheek” Swift said nothing about the incident because she didn’t want to disappoint other fans at the meet-and-greet. It was only after her management contacted Mueller’s employer and relayed Swift’s version of events that he was fired.
At a recent event, my girlfriend was groped by a seventy-something man. To put it in plain terms, he grabbed her arse and gave it a firm, prolonged squeeze. She was shocked and rooted to the spot, gathering herself just enough to turn and see him give her a leery smile before dissolving into the crowded dancefloor.
Should she have sued? Or at the very least, accost the man in front his friends then call the police?
It is a scenario that’s about as believable as a Taylor Swift death metal album.
The term ‘groping’ immediately diffuses a situation that may otherwise be described as an assault, violation or attack; altogether far more damning descriptions. A grope can be considered as innocent as a pat on the bottom, a workplace wink from your sleazy boss or a ‘flattering’ catcall. It is the type of harassment that women endure for want of making a fuss.
More concerning than Taylor Swift’s accusations of sexual assault in a public space is that it was deemed by her mother, and presumably herself, better to say nothing about it.
Andrea Swift told the court she didn’t want Taylor to have to endure the ”endless memes and gifs that tabloid media and internet trolls decided to come up with”.
Public backlash is part and parcel of the celebrity existence — but victim blaming doesn’t just happen to the rich and famous.
Speaking to the BBC last week, 25-year-old Gina Martin recounted being ‘upskirted’ by two men at a music festival in London in July. Without her knowledge, and obviously without her consent, they placed a smartphone between her thighs and photographed her crotch.
She managed to take possession of the phone and hand it over to police, but not before being shoved, screamed at and chased by one of the men, who continued to verbally rage at her as she was surrounded by a circle of security guards.
After arriving at the scene and consoling the distraught woman, police advised her that because her genitals were not displayed in the photo there was little they could do.
The only consolation was that they told her they deleted the photo — which was also the evidence she could have used to press charges.
After learning that ‘upskirting’ is not currently an offence in England, Martin decided to take matters into her own hands. She has garnered 58,000 online signatures on a petition that calls for upskirt photography to be made a sexual offence.
She also posted a photograph of the men online, who happened to be in the background of a photograph of her at the festival, with a description of the incident. It has since gone viral and she received both supportive and threatening messages. She describes being turned into a meme that mocked her ordeal, with commenters calling her a “slag” — pretty much exactly the scenario Taylor Swift’s mother feared had her daughter gone public.
Some commenters were in disbelief that Martin dared waste police time because she was “worried people will see the colour of her panties” while far more serious crimes were occurring elsewhere. Another Twitter user described her as a “publicityseeking millennial”.
It’s a sentiment that encapsulates why so many women stay quiet. It’s also indicative of the patriarchal belief that a woman’s body is for the taking, whether it’s done on film or in the flesh.
When she dares speak out about a ‘minor’ sexual assault it’s very quickly reduced to a woman’s overreaction; it’s no wonder so many say nothing — even the really rich and famous ones.
‘It’s no wonder many women say nothing — even rich and famous ones’