Esther Perel on

Esther Perel responds to a press conference of Bill Clinton about the Lewinsky-affair, in which he makes his famous statement: "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky". Esther Perel used this clip to look at the role of sexual scandal in the United States. She also showed an interview with French feminist Elisabeth Badinter who responds to the French version of #MeToo called #balancetonporc. Perel looks at the distinction between testifying and pillorying and the new conversations about power in the age of #MeToo.
“There’s a very puritan and judgmental attitude towards sexuality in the United States.”
“It’s important for a group that has been living in silence, in secret, in shame to be able to speak out, to testify. But there is a distinction between testifying and ratting on people.”
“If there’s a person I’d like to have this conversation with, about #MeToo, it’s Badinter.”
Interviewer: Janine Abbring
This clip is an edited segment from the renowned Dutch 3-hour interview program VPRO Zomergasten (Summer Residents) and part of a playlist that contains an edited version of the interview, without the movie clips, which we cannot show online due to copyrights: • Esther Perel Interview...
VPRO Zomergasten is a staple interview program in the Netherlands, produced by the Dutch public broadcasting station VPRO. Each summer 6 renowned guests are invited to compose their ideal evening of television, filling up an entire Sunday evening, consisting of a 3-hour live in-depth studio interview prompted by their selection of cinema and television clips or any other form of moving images, which run like a thread through the entire interview.
Esther Perel was a guest in the summer of 2018. She selected clips from the following movies, television history, documentary films and interviews: I, Tonya; Salvador Minuchin; My Architect; Before Midnight; The {The And}; Bill Clinton; Elisabeth Badinter; Shoah; Mr. Gaga; A Walk on the Moon; Away from Her; Newness; Call Me by Your Name.

[@vproextra3443]

Hi everybody. English subtitles are available. Please click on the Subtitles/Closed Captions button at the bottom of the video screen.

[@B30pt87]

Thank you!

[@elenikominos7404]

👍❤️

[@MRProgressor]

Pro tip: Breng het volume van het gesprek in balans met het "Thank you for watching" outro. Dan hoeven nietsvermoedende kijkers niet zo te schrikken. ;-)

[@vproextra3443]

We zullen er op letten. Dank voor de feedback.

[@LaurasBeehive]

This is where Esther Perel has lost me. She addresses the power dynamic and still doesn't see it as a "me too" experience. Monica changes her mind as she learns and grows from the idea that this was a "consensual" relationship to being one of manipulation under the circumstances of the POWER DYNAMIC of having sex with the president... he had power over... the whole power dynamic is lost here. POWER. It is the basis of PATRIARCHY. Yes there is a contradiction when it comes to
sexuality and there are extremes when it comes to patriarchy. We could bring in class culture.. which is a huge issue in Europe. Speaking out is not the same as ratting and... speaking out is never wrong when it includes ratting.

[@nathanmcclellan8078]

@DarthYuYevonBoth of your points miss the mark in my opinion. They are both valid, yes. But neither ever can or will be adequately resolved because there will never be any way to police a person's motives within that power dynamic. Laurabeehive is correct to point out that power is a FACTOR---a person [not just a woman BTW] who relies upon a boss for an income to feed their family is to some degree [not wholly, but some] at their mercy. It can be difficult for a person who is being harassed or pressured to stave off the advances of their superior. Power dynamic is real. But it isn't everything. There are plenty of people [mostly women, let's be honest] who use their sexual wiles to seduce and manipulate a person of higher status for economy or power and that is how they get ahead in life. My point is, there is absolutely no way to govern this dynamic. All you can do is rearrange it. I think it is wrong to see things through the lens of "patriarchy" and to blow up the influence of men beyond what it has been in reality as much as I think it is wrong to reduce the power dynamic to nothing. The problem is there IS no clear-cut solution to the problem. It will never be resolved. But to speak to the extremes of the matter is reductionist and inferior.