After the sensational story of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who is accused of harassing world-class actresses, the topic of harassment has actively gained an interest from the public. The discussion about professional ethics and abuse of power has become one of the leading topics of time. However, this wasn't always the case. For a long time, people were afraid to talk about it openly. That's why this topic is still causing resonance.
Referring to terminology, harassment is the action of one person that create inconvenience or harm to another person, thereby violating the inviolability of private life and personal space. Such pressure can be found in almost all areas, from work to personal life. Consider this problem as an example of the relationship between music performers and listeners.
A musician is a person who is constantly surrounded by a large number of people, a person who is used to attention and even, in some way, is dependent on him. Returning to the question why the topic of harassment takes place in the music industry, it becomes clear that the artist has an advantage over the listener in terms of power of influence - one of the important provoking factors of harassment. Therefore, if you abuse the weakness of the listener, the musician has the opportunity to get everything he wants. But as for the listener himself? After all, this doesn't mean that his psychological health will remain normal.
I recall a recent story that happened in Kazakhstan at a party with one popular blogger, Daneli Sadykova, who became a victim of harassment from hip-hop artists. The incident at the party of the Kazakh hip-hop label caused an active discussion in social media. At the event, performing artists began to touch Danela. She wrote about this in her account:
«Why should girls go through this? Why should they listen to “Come on, forget it,” hear the laughs when someone wants to touch their body?»
After the party, the artists contacted the girl and apologized. However, their apologies were based on the fact that they were musicians, they were drunk and can afford it, like popular rappers. This caused even greater dissatisfaction with both Daneli herself and her audience, which she also reported in her post:
«And if you behave with me like that, taking into account that we're collegues and the fact that I am fraternal with people who help you build a career, how interesting are you with your fans and what can you do with them?»
The topic of harassment is about this: a man feels a power that ruins him and the people who meet him. The denouement of the story begins when Daneli's audience supported her by publishing their stories of harassment. The õzen team publicly apologized for the incident at their event and called the situation “justifying harassment and violence” unacceptable.
Indeed, when it comes to the relationship between the musician and the fan, it gets harder. A person expressing sympathy for the performer, obviously trusts and believes him, which makes him even more vulnerable to harassment. For example, the social media “Rhymes and Punches” analyzed the interviews of such popular artists in Russia as Pharaon, Feduk, Booker T-Fest and Kirill Bledny. The first three called this action uninteresting, bold and impossible. However, there remained those who considered this acceptable. Every opinion has a place to be. That is why the question arises, where did the positive attitude towards sexual contact with fans come from. There is only one rule to be guided here: if there is a demand, then there is a supply. It turns out that one of the important reasons for the appearance of harassment can be considered the easy behavior of some girls, because of which the musicians have the idea that this is normal and that all the girls want to sleep with them.
The harassment problem is found all over the world. Somewhere they attach more importance to it, somewhere less. This topic is most actively discussed in the United States of America, since the practice of imprisonment for harassment in this country began in the 1970s. At the very beginning of the article, a case from the society of Hollywood cinema was mentioned, but what about musicians?
Last year, there was an incident with an American hip-hop artist nicknamed Nelly, who was anonymously accused by two women of sexual assault, despite their refusal. The court called it "a hunter’s behavior pattern in finding a chosen female fan." An investigation is still underway. Last year also thundered around the world with news about the documentary program Surviving R. Kelly, in which the girls shared their stories about how they became victims of physical, moral and sexual violence by rapper R. Kelly. In support of the victims spoke world stars. For example, the singer Lady Gaga, who stated that she no longer considers cooperation with the performer, after the film was released, removed the joint track from all platforms. Also the model of Cara Delevingne supported women. In her instagram, the Cara wrote:
«I finished the Surviving R Kelly documentary last night and I am so shocked and outraged at how long this has gone on. We have ourselves to blame in this situation, I knew of the allegations but failed to try and understand the severity of the situation. I still continued to listen to his music. Stop separating art from the artist, just because he sings like an angel, doesn’t mean he is one»
The rap industry is saturated with hatred and attitude towards girls as a body. Most clips of hip-hop music show naked girls surrounding the artist. But the problem of harassment affects not just one genre, but all the performers. Legendary rock bands are no different from rappers.
It is worth recalling the scandal three years ago when the Marilyn Manson's basist, Georgie White, was accused of rape from his ex-girl. This led to the exclusion of a member from the group. The girl stated about the rape on her Facebook that could not ignore the media and the fans of the group:
«He forced me on to the floor with his hand around my neck. I said NO. I said NO. I said it so loud enough, that Pete came rushing in from the other room to get him off of me. But I had been raped. I had been raped by somebody I thought I loved»
In 2017, the US launched a massive campaign against violence and harassment, which received its hashtag #MeToo. During her, hundreds of influential men were accused of abuse of power and sexual violence, many of them resigned or stopped public activities. Also criticized those who tried to intervene for them. The campaign went beyond the borders of the country, but not everywhere could find support. But despite the fact that people have disagreements regarding the ongoing campaigns and rallies, all have one goal in common - to stop the tendency of harassment. To date, things don’t go beyond layoffs and accusations, and only Harvey Weinstein has been arrested.