Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast performs in Las Vegas, Nevada. February 23, 2014.
Photo by Ethan Miller for Getty Images
Best Coast bandleader Bethany Cosentino has written an op-ed on sexual assault for Billboard. Her essay comes in the wake of the allegations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, and wrestles with the question of how the shifting discussion on sexism and assault can bring about real change for survivors everywhere.
Cosentino reveals her own experiences with sexual assault involving a family member and a person she employed. "There are Weinstein’s everywhere," she writes. "Not just in big powerful industries, either. They’re in colleges, at Halloween parties, at car washes, in grocery stores — they’re everywhere. Like I said, women being mistreated due to their gender is nothing new, so what can we do to stop it from spreading? How do we make our women’s marches and our #MeToo hashtags an actual weapon against this mass destruction of an issue?"
Celebrating the accountability that's come as a result of survivors sharing their stories, Costenino concludes her essay with a message. "If 2016 was the year we elected a grabber-in-chief, consider 2017 the year of male consequence. So men, in all industries, all over the world, I suggest you start acting right or your creepy activities could be the next ones plastered in headlines across the globe."
Read the full essay at Billboard.
