>> I THINK MANY OF US ON THIS
PANEL HAVE EXPERIENCED SOMETHING
SIMILAR TO WHAT THIS YOUNG WOMAN
IS DESCRIBING.
SO, BRITTANY, FOR MEN WHO FEIGN
SUCH CONFUSION, WHAT DO WE DO
AND EVERYTHING WE SAY AND I
CAN’T TELL SOMEONE THEY HAVE A
NICE DRESS THESE DAYS WITHOUT IT
BEING SOMETHING, CAN YOU EXPLAIN
TO MEN WHO HAVE THOSE QUESTIONS
THE POWER DYNAMIC WHEN WHAT IT
MEANS WHEN SOMEONE PUTS A YOUNG
WOMAN IN THAT POSITION?
>> THE QUESTION I WOULD ASK
THOSE MEN IS WHY DO YOU WANT TO
SAY THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE?
WHY DO YOU FEEL LIKE IT’S YOUR
PLACE?
WHY IS IT A NECESSARY PART OF A
PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENT OR
CONVERSATION?
MY PLAY COUSIN ANNA PRESLEY
ALWAYS SAY THE POWER OF THE
PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS GREATER THAN
THE PEOPLE IN POWER.
REALLY.
THIS IS A QUESTION AND
CONVERSATION ABOUT POWER.
ANDREW CUOMO SEEMS TO HAVE
FORGOTTEN THE POWER OF THE
PEOPLE MATTERS AND UNFORTUNATELY
HIS ABUSES OF POWER ARE A
PATTERN.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT HOW HE STEPPED
OVER LINES WITH THE TEACHERS’
UNION, WHEN YOU LEARNED ABOUT
THE ALLEGATIONS AROUND HIDING
THE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE INFECTED
WITH COVID IN NURSING HOMES,
AND, YES, WE’VE SEEN MULTIPLE,
MULTIPLE ALLEGATIONS FROM
MULTIPLE WOMEN.
THESE ARE CONSISTENT ABUSES OF
POWER AND IF THE GOVERNMENT IS
WILLING TO LURE HIS POWER OVER
WOMEN THIS WAY, IT MEANS IT
COULD HAPPEN TO MORE WOMEN AND
HE CAN ABUSE HIS POWER IN MORE
WAYS.
FUNDAMENTALLY, THIS IS NOT
GIVING SOMEBODY A COMPLIMENT,
THIS IS ABOUT UNDERSTANDING
THESE POWER DYNAMICS ARE VERY
REAL BETWEEN GENDERS AND WE NEED
TO RECOGNIZE THIS DOESN’T HAVE
TO BE PART OF THE CULTURE
ANYMORE JUST BECAUSE THIS IS THE
WAY IT’S BEEN FOR A LONG TIME.
>> MARIA, I IMAGINE THAT YOU
HAVE SEEN TIMES CHANGE
SIGNIFICANTLY.
I KNOW THINGS CERTAINLY CHANGED
FOR ME SINCE I WAS IN MY 20s AND
30s AND NOW BEHAVIOR IS A LOT
LESS TOLERABLE.
FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, WHAT DO
YOU SAY TO PEOPLE WHO ARE STILL
CONFUSED ABOUT WHAT’S APPROPRIATE AND WHAT’S NOT?
APPROPRIATE AND WHAT’S NOT?
>> YEAH, SO TIFFANY, YOU KNOW,
AND PEOPLE ON THE PANEL KNOW,
POLITICIANS, I’M NOT A BIG FAN
OF POLITICIANS IN GENERAL.
SO A YEAR AGO, MORE OR LESS --
ACTUALLY, IT WAS AROUND APRIL
WHEN I GOT SICK WITH COVID AND
SUDDENLY I FIND MYSELF WATCHING
GOVERNOR CUOMO LIKE EVERY DAY,
NOT SOMETHING I’M USUALLY DOING
WITH A PARTICULAR POLITICIAN,
AND I REMEMBER THINKING, WOW,
THIS GUY REALLY GETS FAMILY
DYNAMICS.
BECAUSE, OF COURSE, WE HAD OUR
ADULT CHILDREN LIVING AT HOME
AND HE TALKED ABOUT THE
BOYFRIEND.
WOW, HE’S REALLY A POLITICIAN
UNDERSTANDING THIS AND AT
SOMEBODY WHO WAS SICK AT THAT
POINT, I REALLY NEEDED THAT
AFFIRMATION.
AND THEN YOU BEGIN TO SEE THESE
THINGS AND THAT’S THE EXACT
QUESTION, WHICH IS ARE YOU JUST
TOTALLY CLUELESS?
AND THAT IS WHERE YOU CANNOT BE
THAT CLUELESS.
YOU CANNOT BE THAT KIND OF AWARE
OF A FAMILY DYNAMIC.
HE HAS DAUGHTERS WHO ARE THE AGE
OF MY OWN DAUGHTER IN THEIR 20s.
YOU CANNOT BE SO AWARE OF FAMILY
DYNAMICS AND BE COMPLETELY
CLUELESS WHEN YOU’RE ALONE WITH
A YOUNG WOMAN.
I SPOKE TO OLDER WOMEN WHO HAVE
WORKED WITH CUOMO FOR YEARS,
VERY POWERFUL WOMEN, AND THEY’RE
LIKE, I DON’T SEE THIS.
I DON’T SEE THIS.
HE’S NEVER DONE THIS AROUND ME.
YEAH, BECAUSE YOU’RE A POWERFUL
WOMAN AND HE’S NOT GOING TO DO
THAT.
BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN HE’S ALONG
WITH A YOUNGER WOMAN AND IT’S
LIKE NO, YOU CANNOT BE THAT
CLUELESS, JUST CANNOT.
>> WHAT ARE SOME WAYS WOMEN CAN
ASSERT THEMSELVES WHEN THEY’RE
IN THOSE POSITIONS, OR SHOULD
THEY JUST IMMEDIATELY REPORT
THIS TO THEIR SUPERIOR OR
SUPERVISOR?
I’M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF
THERE’S A SPECTRUM HERE, CAN YOU
JUST CONFRONT THE BEHAVIOR OR
ARE YOU OBLIGATED TO REPORT IT
OR BOTH?
>> I THINK IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT
TO RECOGNIZE THAT OFTENTIMES IN
THESE SITUATIONS, WE’RE
EXPERIENCING THE FIGHT FLIGHT
AND THE FAWNING RESPONSE, WHEN
YOU BEGIN TO PEOPLE PLEASE TO
AVOID CONFLICT TO RE-ESTABLISH A
SENSE OF SAFETY.
I THINK WE REALLY NEED TO GO
BEYOND THIS BY IDENTIFYING
WHAT’S ACTUALLY GOING ON.
YOUR BODY TELLS YOU SO MUCH IF
YOU JUST LISTEN TO IT.
I THINK WE SHOULD CONFRONT THEM
IN THE MOMENT BY SPEAKING
CLEARLY AND DIRECTLY, YOU KNOW,
SAYING I FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE WITH
THE WAY YOU’RE TOUCHING ME RIGHT
NOW.
AND BY DOING THIS, WE CAN
HOPEFULLY CORRECT THEIR BEHAVIOR
SO THEY DON’T DO IT AGAIN.
OTHERWISE, WE JUST NORMALIZE IT
AND THEY’RE JUST GOING TO THINK