What Delevingne and Hackett’s stories highlight is how harassment like this has much less to do with sex than it does with power. Why would it matter if someone is gay, and has not even the remotest interest in a man’s advances, if their interests are irrelevant? Men like Weinstein, like my boss, like any man who’s ever asked two lesbians to have a threesome with him, like any man who’s convinced he can “turn” a gay woman straight because all she needs is a good dicking — all they’re really interested in is power. If you present as a more masculine lesbian, then you’re ugly, you’re a man, you’re a dyke, you’re a threat. If you present as a more feminine lesbian, you’re someone to proposition, to fetishize, to sexually harass or abuse. None of these things have much to do with sex, but they have everything to do with attempting to dominate and control women who step out of line, who refused to be ruled by heteronormativity and the world of overbearing men.
Of course, those without the benefits of wealth or celebrity are far worse off. I’m lucky — I am white and cisgender, and I have the privilege to live in a progressive city where, most of the time, I feel comfortable being open about who I am. Trans and gender-nonconforming people, particularly those who are transfeminine or of color, are subjected to horrifically high rates of harassment and assault. This year, at least 23 trans people have been violently killed, most of them trans women of color. We do not yet live in a world that’s remotely safe for queer people on the margins. And until all of us are safe, none of us will be. ● {read}