A man stalked and violated Erin Andrews in three cities before releasing a video of her changing in her private hotel room in 2009.
Michael David Barrett had a routine to his stalking. He would arrange to stay in the room next to Andrews, manipulate the peephole on her door, and record her while she was inside. Barrett spent two and a half years in jail, being released in 2012. To put this video in perspective, before Barrett was convicted, there were 17 million views.
In early March, Andrews went to court against the Nashville hotel that willingly let this man room next to her without her permission. She sued for negligence, emotional distress, and invasion of privacy.
The defense's argument?
Her career has improved since this video. In other words, involuntary sexualization improved her career as a sports reporter. Her body, shown against her will and without her knowledge, validated her in the television and sports industry.
In the words of Shannon Ryan for Times Union, Andrews fight symbolizes "The demeaning...uphill battle women face when they are victimized through sexual assault, sexual harassment or when their privacy is invaded."
As Ryan pointed out, too, people will claim she is in it for the money and the fame, just like women accusing males of violence or abuse. As a matter of fact, Andrews proved she had the complete opposite intention when countering the defense's argument. She was worried this video would make a mockery out of her career.
As a woman who wants to make a career in sports, I worry that these kind of occurrences will make it even harder. I know baseball just as well, if not better, than most males. However, I will always be questioned. And, what scares me even more is that Erin Andrews did not do anything personally. Erin Andrews validated herself through her knowledge of football and her on-camera talent. She qualified for her job because she can talk about football better than the average fan. Her sexualization and invalidation was completely out of her hands. And, now that she is fighting the wrong against her, people are claiming that video is what helped her career. Not the years of studying sports. Not the effort she put into her education. Not the hours she spent studying and reviewing the statistics for each coming game. Not her on-air analysis. None of that. It was her body.
Clearly, this does not just happen in sports, as we have seen recently with Kesha's battle. Her producer construed her personality to make her a partying, sex symbol to make money, when, in reality, that is not who she is.
This is a pattern with females in entertainment, and it needs to stop.
Just last week, Kim Kardashian posted a nude on Twitter that Chloe Mortez replied to in a perfectly concise, respectable manner. She tweeted, "I truly hope you realize how important setting goals are for young women, teaching them we have so much more to offer than our bodies."
Kim K, after a rude jab at Mortez, had a reply stating that she was expressing her confidence in her own skin. That is great, really. But, Mortez is simply pointing out that, especially with everything running through the media lately, women need to realize that we do have so much more to offer.
Andrews has an amazing personality and sports knowledge to offer the world. Kesha has a unique voice to show off in ballads. Neither of them needed their body to get them where they are. We need more people to prove that.
To the women who want to make a career in this entertainment industry, rise above and rise to the challenge. Make these industries a better place for women to work.
