I’ll admit I was a little annoyed when I saw the social media posts about Hillary Clinton’s statements about her husband Bill Clinton’s behavior with Monica Lewinsky when he was president. Why are we talking about this now, with the midterms soon approaching? What’s with asking someone who isn’t running for office about her now-retired husband in a media interview like this? Probably so they can get social media friendly clips geared for outrage shares.
It definitely worked. In an interview with Tony Dokoupil of CBS, Clinton dismisses the idea that her husband abused his power by having a sexual relationship with an intern while he was President of the United States of America—you know, “the leader of the free world.”
It’s a shame that Hillary responded in this way, but it isn’t surprising. As Bill’s wife, I’m sure she’s been exposed to only one side of the story. And, honestly, a lot of people still don’t really grasp the full concept of consent. It isn’t just about age. Yes, he was legally permitted to engage in sex with a 22-year-old unpaid intern while he was the 49-year-old occupying the Oval Office, but was it the right thing to do, ethically? With Lewinsky as a young intern at the beginning her professional life at the time, doesn’t his position not in the world—but in the field of professional politics—give him outsized power?
As the older and more mature person in the situation, the onus was on President Clinton to set that boundary. The public shaming and bullying of Monica Lewinsky that resulted simply due to Republicans’ willingness to use her as a political pawn and the impact it had on her life compared to Clinton highlights just how uneven the power scales were in that relationship. She did not have the resources and power to truly defend herself on a level even close to that of the Clintons.
I also think the former Secretary of State missed an opportunity to give a compassionate answer about the whole Lewinsky scandal. A part of practicing compassion is considering the point of view of the people involved. Monica Lewinsky’s return to the public stage has focused on anti-bullying. It’s worth taking the time to actually note how she feels about the situation.
The road to healing has many stops and takes a lot of time and reflection. Lewinsky’s stance on her relationship with Clinton has publicly evolved. Yet recently, in the March 2018 issue of Vanity Fair, there’s an essay by her where she says, yes, Clinton absolutely abused his power.
“I now see how problematic it was that the two of us even got to a place where there was a question of consent,” she writes. “Instead, the road that led there was littered with inappropriate abuse of authority, station, and privilege. (Full stop.)”
The calls to “Believe Women” are about more than politics. It isn’t a slogan to use only when it’s personally or politically convenient. Hillary Clinton could have used the question as an opportunity to show what believing women looks like even—especially—when it gets a little messy.
Lewinsky is clear that she isn’t saying what happened was sexual assault, but I do think she is right to highlight how that abuses of power are connected. While Hillary may not completely get it now, I hope she can be a teaching moment for the rest of us.