Oh please, there are infinite numbers of insider accounts that talk about the macho nature of MANY restaurant kitchens. Written by men. What a straw man.
What was it that allowed macho culture to prevail in the first place then?
My theory is that because cooking was traditionally women’s work, chef’s had to overcompensate.
A lot of stereotypes exist for a reason. That doesn’t mean every single person will be like the stereotype, but there are norms in every industry.
So racial/ethnic stereotyping is okay then too? When a person says that Mexicans/“brown skined” people are more likely to be in the US illegally, that’s perfectly acceptable, right?
This seems very unlikely to me, at least on a broader scale. IMO, the physical and emotional endurance required to work in a commercial kitchen probably brings out the “macho”/go-go-go/aggressive nature of males. That’s NOT to say that female chefs can’t perform at the same level as male chefs (I honestly believe that they can) but rather there are probably statistically fewer female chefs in that pool. In other words, females are capable, but perhaps fewer of them are willing.
Studies have even shown differences in how males and females process stressful situations, and this likely does affect which sex is more attracted to the restaurant/chef industry:
Commercial kitchens historically haven’t hired women at all. The jobs are very physical - long shifts on your feet, huge stoves, large and heavy pots and vats, hot, sweaty - not an environment deemed appropriate for females. Traditionally throughout history before cooking schools became more popular, training, even in the most upscale, gourmet kitchens, has been through apprenticing and the stagiaire/commis system and in past generations women just were not hired. It was men’s work.
Besh is stepping down. Wow.
Aldine, Alon Shaya, whose namesake restaurant was named best new restaurant by Beard last year, is now saying that he was removed for talking to reporters.
To be fair Shaya has some allegations against has kitchens too.
I can’t believe that an organization as big as Besh’s went so long without an actual HR department.
People in the restaurant industry tend to socialize with each other more than many coworkers due to the kinds of hours they work. You get off work late, you’re too keyed up to go home and sleep, so you grab a drink with your coworkers.
And by it’s very nature it’s not going to have the same kinds of behavior norms as an office. It’s necessarily more unstructured and casual in many ways.
None of that means that harassment is a given. But it contributes in some ways, I think.
One of the problems with “all of this” is that women have been awarded money in the form of a settlement, in exchange for their signing a nondisclosure agreement. Lots of people are now bemoaning the NDAs, saying they permit the perpetrators to continue their behavior. What choice does a victim have if they are presented with an NDA? I suppose one could refuse to sign it, but then she’d wind up with nothing – although she would be able to talk about her experience. Most people would prefer the big bucks, and I can’t blame them. How do we get rid of the NDAs but still get the victims their settlements?
Yes, there are so many instances that never reach our ears because of NDAs. Went on in my industry all the time.
She’d have to go to court. You know how THAT would be likely to turn out.
Yeah, they’d say she’s just bringing it to court in order to shame her perpetrator. And that that’s her agenda.
There has to be another way.
This may be another aspect of the power differential that those committing any kind of sexual misconduct exploit. Victims who are low in power and money are more likely to be willing to have silence bought with money. Those who already have power and money are less likely to be targeted in the first place.
Zelda Perkins broke her NDA to speak of her encounter with HW. It was a small settlement though and it was reached in the lat 90’s - sure that $ is long gone. But she risks legal action.
It is rumored that Rose McGowan may also have broken an NDA stemming from another small settlement in the late 90’s. Think this is why we are not hearing too much from her lately – HW’s lawyers have probably been unleashed. She has most likely either been threatened with litigation or been advised it is coming. She may or may not have the funds to defend against the likes of a HW.
What happens legally when someone is viewed as breaking the terms of a NDA? How is the challenge carried out? Publicly in a court of law at some point, which would seem to defeat the purpose?
You would have to look to the terms of the specific NDA but I would think the first thing a lawyer would do is send a cease and desist letter to attempt to discourage any further public disclosures. Then go for some sort of temporary restraining order or injunction if they keep talking.
I am sure the agreement itself has all sorts of clauses holding the signatory liable for damages, but you are right that commencing a litigation just means more publicity. So not sure really why they would sue to enforce it unless they were attempting to set an example for those signing subsequent agreements. Litigation is crazy expensive and most people want to avoid it.
Some such things are plainly true.
So Bill O’Reilly continues to deny all allegations of harassment and contends his demise was a political hit job – by whom he doesn’t say – it wasn’t the women he allegedly harassed that pulled the trigger. Then he keeps dangling this “explosive” backstory that he is going to go pubic with but never does. Seems highly unlikely that he would agree to pay anyone $32M unless he had reason to do so right?
If there is more to his story I for one would really like to hear it. In the meantime he says he is “mad at God.”
http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/23/media/bill-oreilly-misconduct-allegations/index.html
I imagine that included in the NDA is a clause saying that the woman is receiving this money in exchange for her not disclosing. So, if she later winds up talking about it, I imagine that she is (a) required to return all the money, and (b) required to pay something else above and beyond the original award.
To date, it’s only been the threat of having to do that that has kept women who signed an NDA quiet. I think all of that is about to change. I think women are so fed up that they’re willing to talk about what happened, and the financial risks be damned.
Did Gretchen Carlson not have to sign an NDA? She is quite public with what happened to her. Also, people like Megyn Kelly – who never reached any sort of agreement with anyone and who have financial resources – can speak publicly with no risk, other than a libel suit.
Anyone who believes O’Reilly paid $32M plus millions more to others to protect his children from untrue allegations has rocks for brains.
As far as Weinstein is concerned, I would think there is safety in numbers. Going after any of them legally would be a losing proposition for him at this point, in terms of the court of public opinion.
Except, perhaps, for cases that allege actual rape. He still has something to lose there, if he could be convicted. Can an NDA actually prevent a person from testifying about a crime that serious?