On Sunday night, many women wore black to the Golden Globes to protest sexual assault and harassment in Hollywood and raise awareness for the Time’s Up initiative, which aims to provide legal resources and hold the industry accountable.
But women’s attire was still apparently a problem. In particular, a Variety reporter’s tweet about Blanca Blanco caught some heat for its hypocrisy.
I think I would call this look “not reading the room” this year. #goldenglobes pic.twitter.com/vZkiygLlkR
— Cynthia Littleton (@Variety_Cynthia) January 7, 2018
There’s nothing wrong with her outfit. The cool thing about gender equality is that we all get to wear whatever the fuck we want these days. https://t.co/U6jQoPwTjQ
— Sam H. Escobar (@myhairisblue) January 8, 2018
https://twitter.com/HelloCVH/status/950133840781115392
In a statement to Refinery 29, Blanco explained that she chose to wear red because she loves the color, and not because she’s “against” the movement, or trying to “shun” it, as the Daily Mail so eloquently put it in a tweet about Blanco not wearing underwear with her dress.
The issue is bigger than my dress color #TIMESUP
— Blanca Blanco (@blancablanco) January 8, 2018
Shaming is part of the problem
— Blanca Blanco (@blancablanco) January 8, 2018
Model Barbara Meier explained why she chose not to wear black in an Instagram post, stating, “We should not have to wear black to be taken seriously.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdquXTdFBbf/?hl=en&taken-by=barbarameier
Hollywood Foreign Press Association President Meher Tatna wore red as a celebration of her culture, but still expressed support of women and the movement. She told Vanity Fair before the awards: “I’m really glad that they found that power, and I hope that this is a time of profound change.”
A rare splash of color by @goldenglobes president Meher Tatna. Controversial but look at it this way: She's born in India where this red IS our basic black. pic.twitter.com/9Mfwm1Ubp8
— S. Mitra Kalita (@mitrakalita) January 8, 2018
For all the fussing over what women were wearing and what it meant, there was mostly silence from the male actors who won awards. Not one mentioned Time’s Up or #MeToo or men’s roles in fighting systemic sexism. Alexander Skarsgard was called out for playing a violent abuser in Big Little Lies and not saying a word about the real-life abuse women face. James Franco, who plays a somewhat abusive personality in The Disaster Artist, was met with reports of misconduct after winning a Globe for his role in the film.
https://twitter.com/morninggloria/status/946240251302998017
While there was still focus on what women were or weren’t wearing, many actresses still made sure to mention Time’s Up onstage or offer comment on the struggle women face. Natalie Portman called out the lack of representation in at least one category. The men’s silence showed how much work is still ahead. Now it’s time to see what the initiative can accomplish off stage.