Outspoken feminist icon Amber Rose has spoken up about her frustrations with the #MeToo movement.
But unlike other critics of this trend, she’s not a man with something to hide who fears that he’ll be exposed next.
She’s also not one of those thoroughly unwoke women who have been so shaped by the culture that they’ll defend predators and shame victims just to feel accepted in the “boys club.”
No, Amber has built a reputation based on sex positivity and intersectional awareness for years now.
Fans know her for her famous SlutWalk, and now those same fans are signing up in droves for her mysterious Slutbox , which we’ll get to in a minute.
This is a woman who works to reclaim derogatory terms and make them empowering, and make no mistake, she’s not condemning anyone for coming forward with their harrowing experiences.
So what is her issue with the #MeToo movement?
It’s complicated, but she lays it out clearly …
Amber Rose starts by explaining exactly why she’s frustrated “With the #MeToo movement,” Amber explains. “It’s kind of very frustrating to me, because all of the sudden feminism became such a mainstream thing … now that white — no shade — white, rich actresses starting coming out and saying ‘me too, me too.'”
#MeToo, she says, didn’t say anything that marginalized groups haven’t been saying for decades “But what happened to all of us?” Amber continues. “What happened to the strippers and the LGBTQ community and the black girls in college?”
Rose touches on a related topic that white Hollywood too often forgets “And going past that … black women don’t even make half as much as white women in movies.”
She’s right, by the way (Getty) The gender pay gap is real — in Hollywood and in most other industries. But what non-intersectional feminists so often forget to mention is that as white women make less than white men, women of color make even less than white women. It’s heartbreaking.
And Amber explains what, sadly, she believes it will take to make that change “I really feel like it’s going to take, unfortunately, a white actress to come out and say ‘Hey, black women need to make as much as we do in movies,’ for there to actually be a change.”
Amber is exactly right about that, plain and simple (Getty Images) This isn’t hypothetical. Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer recently revealed that as she and friend Jessica Chastain were talking about the gender pay gap when Octavia mentioned to her that it was even worse for women of color in Hollywood.
But that story has a happy ending (Getty Images) Jessica and Octavia teamed up to demand fair payment, and an emotional Octavia mentioned that they received FIVE times what they were asking for. That’s white allyship in action.
But why does Amber say that this is “unfortunate,” you wonder? Simple — because an Oscar winning, top notch actress like Octavia Spencer shouldn’t need anyone else to speak for her. Jessica Chastain used her white privilege to lobby on Octavia’s behalf, but no one should look at Octavia and decide that they can pay her less.
This ties in directly to Rose’s issues with #MeToo In both cases, we’re talking about women of color — among others — and their statements being ignored until the cause is taken up by the most privileged and powerful women in the world.
Some critics point out a perceived flaw in Amber Rose’s argument Not all of the women who’ve spoken out during #MeToo are rich. Plenty of assistants – and former, now fired assistants – are involved.
Are there examples that don’t fit her narrative? (Getty) Ryan Seacrest’s former stylist only kept her job as long as she did because, as a single mother, she was desperate for the work. One of Harvey Weinstein’s accusers was Lupita Nyong’o, and we all remember her horrifying story that, in light of what else we’ve heard, came across as a narrow escape.
Still, counterexamples don’t disprove an overwhelming trend (Getty) For generations, survivors of sexual abuse who come forward have been met with questions that no one whose been mugged or had their television stolen would ever be asked. These victim-blaming questions come from so-called friends, from family, from society, and even from police. Now, suddenly, there’s a cultural shift.
And Amber Rose would know Remember, her SlutWalk aims to raise awareness about social injustice and gender inequality. She’s been fighting this battle for years. She is, to her core, an intersectional feminist.
Ultimately, it doesn’t sound like she’s condemning #MeToo (Getty) Most of us are overjoyed to see despicable men held accountable for their misdeeds. It’s just a few, but it could be the foundation of a better world for future generations. But Amber Rose — and she’s not alone — takes issue with how many others were ignored before this movement began.
Rose’s statements aren’t an indictment of an important movement Her statements are an indictment of our culture. Racism is also a feminist issue.
It’s no surprise to hear her nuanced critique (Getty) After all, Amber has been an outspoken feminist for years. On her show, in interviews, and in her outreach to fans.
Amber helps to push to reclaim words that were once derogatory (Getty) Her famous SlutWalk is one example. The word brings to mind the “walk of shame,” a real-world trope in which women are shamed for sexual encounters while men receive high-fives. Amber is turning that around and turning it into a message of empowerment.
And she didn’t stop with the SlutWalk Recently, Amber Rose has also been teasing fans with a “Slutbox.” The term has derogatory origins. Men have used it to refer to a woman of any age, as if she were nothing more than a sexual object. But Amber’s giving it a whole new meaning.
Amber Rose is turning that around into something positive We don’t know what Amber’s Slutbox is, exactly, but she’s taking to social media and encouraging fans to sign up for it.