North by Northwestern

E.J. Graff thinks “the pussyhats should have warned us” about #MeToo.

An award-winning journalist and author, Graff addressed a room of many students and staff members on topics surrounding the #MeToo moment in an event sponsored by the Northwestern University Women’s Center on Jan. 19. Currently the managing editor of "The Monkey Cage" at the Washington Post, Graff made her way in journalism by pioneering the gender and sexuality beat. According to Brandeis University, “she was one of the first openly lesbian women reporting and commenting on lesbian, gay and bisexual issues,” and her work has appeared in many notable publications.

Graff began her talk by reading from an article on the #MeToo moment that will be published in the coming months. The article presented a beautifully written narrative of how society arrived at the #MeToo moment, what’s happening now, and what should be done in the future.

Graff developed her own feminist “utopia” where every time a sexual predator got kicked out of his organization, a woman took his place; where raises and promotions were given to five women for every year the predator worked there; where bystanders would speak out as soon as they realized a predator’s presence in their midst; where survivors of sexual assault would feel no shame.

“In my utopia,” Graff said, “everyone’s gonna know that pussy grabs back.”

After reading from her material, Graff opened a panel featuring Sekile Nzinga-Johnson, Alecia Wartowski and Njoki Kamau of the Northwestern University Women’s Center to take questions. Students and community members voiced concerns about issues between the trans community and #MeToo feminism, asked how to teach children the importance of respecting sexualities, and asked how to navigate enjoying an artist’s work while disapproving of that same artist’s actions.

Graff’s #MeToo moment presentation came at a time of division within the Northwestern – and particularly Medill – community. On Feb. 7, 2018, several Medill alumnae sent a letter accusing Medill Justice Project director Alec Klein of sexual assault, and Klein has since taken a leave of absence. The alumnae, who titled their letter “Medill’s #MeToo Moment,” were on the minds of community members in Graff’s audience. Kelly Roark, a course management and training specialist for IT Services and Support, said she attended the talk because she was “not too thrilled with some of the recent events at Northwestern,” including the Klein allegations.

In an anonymous question card submitted to the panel, a community member in attendance asked Graff and members of the Women’s Center what young female journalists in Medill ought to do in the wake of the allegations against Klein. Graff directed the question back to those in attendance as a call to action.

“You tell me what you guys need to do,” Graff said. She affirmed that the systemic issues facing Medill right now lies at the feet of students and faculty. Others on the panel urged students to keep in mind that a replacement, if necessary, ought to be an authority figure with integrity and passion for investigative journalism, and someone with compassion and good leadership skills.

A theme threaded throughout the discourse was the power of the individual: “This is a moment when things change,” Graff said.

Kamau, the associate director of the Women's Center, affirmed. “When most of us feel like we’re just one little person or one little girl, I have always remembered that change is incremental," she said. "Every day, the little thing that I do that I think is small is actually needed because it’s a building block in a bigger movement.”

Editor's Note: This story was updated to reflect that Graff did not make comments on the panel about a replacement for Klein. This change was made on Feb. 19 at 10:25 p.m.