Sexual Assault Allegations against the Biebs?

Well, we knew it was coming. More men in Hollywood are cancelled.

But why?

Multiple women have dropped twitter threads outlining, in specific detail, with verifiable facts, personal accounts of sexual assault, rape, and cover ups, not only against Justin Bieber, but Ansel Elgort and Chris D'Elia - ALL IN ONE WEEK.

A tale as old as time. The pop star, the actor, and the comedian.

So why didn't we know until now? #MeToo was ages ago?

The same damn reason we didn't know about Bill Cosby, or literally any other man accused of this. Fear.

The fear of not being believed. The fear of being labelled as, "that girl who called out a man on reprehensible behaviour". The fear of being called a liar. The fear of getting death threats from fans. The fear of having to deal with legal repercussions of bringing the wrongdoer to justice, and henceforth reliving the experience.

All of these fears have come true for women who have come forward against sexual assault or domestic abuse and the like. Whether the perpetrator was famous or not.

So who is to blame?

We can point blame at any number of people, but I'd first like to focus in on the teams who covered it up. I don't believe for a hot second that Justin Bieber's team didn't know about what was happening. Some of the stories even suggest they may have orchestrated it, or at least enabled it. I also don't believe for a second JB wasn't encouraged by D'Elia, or that he didn't bond over the ego of it all with Elgort.

I also shoot the blame toward the way our culture pumps up men. Yes, women are crap too, however there are far more men being horridiously crap than there are of women. Potentially because men are called weak for speaking about their feelings so there are less stories, or maybe it's because men are raised to believe they are owed women's affections.

We need only look at the "classic comedies" of the 80's, 90's, and 00's to see a distinct trend. Not only are they mostly criminally unfunny, but very rapey with a hefty double standard. We see in Risky Business, a young boy being praised for his sexual experiences and frivolous partying while his parents are away. We see in Weird Science, the objectification of a woman created by young and horny teenage boys, and their drinking and sexual experiences are again, praised. We see in Can't Hardly Wait, the teenagers partying; boys praised, girls shamed, and boys using the opportunity take advantage of the girls weakened state. We see in American Pie, boys who see sexual exploits as a status symbol and manipulate the women around them into an emotional connection which leads to consent (however it is often ignored that it started with manipulation). We see in Whatever it Takes, boys manipulating the women around them into relationships, but they have a change of heart in the end so "it's ok". The same trends are all in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Superbad, She's All That, Can't Buy me Love, Say Anything, and too many more.

For my fellow theatre nerds, in Spring Awakening, I am convinced Wendla was assaulted by Melchior. While the Broadway show was changed from it's off-broadway premier, giving Wendla more vocal consent, she still has no idea what she is consenting to. The mother who bore her did not educate her, and if Melchior is so wonderful, he should not have done what he did.

I'd also like to draw our attention to our education systems. I and so many others lacked comprehensive sex ed from our schools. We weren't taught about enthusiastic consent, or consent at all. We weren't taught about anything beyond P in V, and even that was basic and not comprehensive. We weren't taught about female pleasure, or what sexual assault or abuse actually is and looks like.

While my school taught abstinence only, a friend of mines school taught them tips on how to not get raped. They taught these girls how to break a guys finger if he over reaches, and how to get out of his house is he won't take no for an answer.

Isn't it crazy how girls are taught by school how to not get raped, boys are taught by society how to rape. Boys are taught that their pleasure is more important than another persons feelings, that they are owed sexual experiences because they want it, and that women owe it them in exchange for their supposed "kindness". Maybe that needs some restructuring, if not burnt to the ground.

How can we know these allegations are even truth?

We can't. But many of these women did drop this tea while #MeToo was trendy, however they went ignored, received death threats, and nothing came of it. Then they drop the exact same story now. Which I think proves it as much any allegation like this can be proven. But let's take it all with a grain of salt and consider their previous behaviour, and whether it's surprising that these males have taken advantage of their wealth and status.

I the matter of Chris D'Elia, I was not at all surprised. His standup has never been funny to me, and he's got straight white male privilege written all over him. The vibe I get from his jokes and appearances is one of ego, power and sexism, so no, it doesn't surprise to hear that he groomed underage girls and forced himself on them.

In the matter of Ansel Elgort, I was not at all surprised. Straight, white male. He never struck me as a fantastic person, or one who respects other peoples boundaries, so no, it doesn't surprise me to hear that he raped a bunch of girls at the height of his career.

In the matter of Justin Bieber, I was not at all surprised. Straight, white, childstar male. Reckless, repentant, and reckless again. He also loves and admires Chris D'Elia as seen in his Comedy Central Roast, so no, it doesn't surprise me to hear that he raped a bunch of girls, or that he was with Selena Gomez at the time. The fact that he's married to Hailey Baldwin while these accusations are garnering attention does cause me concern for her.

Regardless whether you believe it or not, it is jarring to see so many allegations, however wouldn't the shear amount of allegations suggest at least an element of truth.

How can we fix it going forward?

Cancel them. Cut them out of profits. Cut enablers out of profits. Call out enablers.

Don't send death threats to women who speak up. Don't make excuses for garbage people.

Call out your friends. Raise your children to respect all people and understand consent. Educate yourself and others on what consent is. Push for schools to have comprehensive sexual education.

While abstinence works for me now, it won't forever, and my school failed me and others by not teaching us anything. If you've read anything else I've written, you probably know about my experience with sexual harassment and school, and maybe if we had more comprehensive education, that wouldn't have happened to me, or my friends, or to the women who have spoken out against these celebrities.

Celebrities are held to a higher standard than other people when it comes to fashion, work, and pretty much everything else, so why shouldn't we be holding them to THIS higher standard.

I have no tolerance for toxic people in my life, and no tolerance for fangirling over garbage human celebs.

JustinBieberIsOverParty