Every single one of the stipulations outlined by the ‘Gossip Girl’ star should have gone without saying, writes Caroline Brown. It shouldn’t be on women to outline what constitutes inappropriate behaviour. Fantastic news: the list of conditions Blake Lively supplied to It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni about on-set behaviour is even more depressing than it seems.
Filed as part of her legal complaint alleging sexual harassment and a campaign to destroy her reputation – which Baldoni denies – mind-bogglingly low points include insisting he not talk about “personal times that physical consent was not given in sexual acts”, “no more descriptions of their own genitalia” and “no more personal, physical touching”.
What makes this appalling state of affairs even worse? Maybe this horror show is a sign of the times; an indication of where we’re headed. Because not one of the 30 stipulations – including “no more showing nude videos or images of women, including producer’s wife” and “no more entering, attempting to enter, interrupting, pressuring or asking to enter Blake Lively’s trailer while she is nude, for any reason” – should have needed to be said. Not one.
But a common male complaint is that women expect them to be mind-readers, and how are they supposed to know what they want – and don’t want?. Perhaps life would run much more smoothly if there was no grey area; nothing left to interpretation. Before every interaction with every man they come across, maybe women should simply provide a clear rundown stating exactly how they expect to be treated, and what they deem unacceptable.
