# 42 Facility Manager Magazine
MeTo
Where Do We Collectively Go From Here? By Alexis Berggren
I started writing this article four months ago. At that time, my open- ing line was, “Boy, that Harvey Weinstein sure liked his massages, didn’t he?” I intended it to be crass, because four months ago I felt frame the whole thing. We were still trying to be gentle and politically correct. Even as recently as two months ago, a “strong” statement by female celebrities was wearing a black dress to one awards show. I thought I’d be edgy, but I struggled, and the article sat lonely and un- at the hands of a “trusted” doctor, I thought, “What’s my problem?” words, then what am I worried about? So here goes … I’m going to put my thoughts into the universe about IAVM, and
how we intersect with #MeToo, men, women, and power. We are, af- ter all, directly connected to multiple industries that have already been thrown into chaos, from the entertainment world of producers, agents and promoters, to sports and even food service. I’m not an expert, and I know I don’t represent all women. I’m not here to make accusations, and I won’t name names, so we can all breathe a sigh of relief; it’s not that kind of manifesto. Let me begin by taking you back several years. I mentioned earlier
an awards show, and I actually had the privilege of working several of them in one of my former positions. There are some pretty strict rules surrounding some of these events and what you can and can’t disclose, so I’m going to be purposely vague, but I think you’ll get the idea.
attendees that I observed that night, which left a lasting impression on
was a young woman who would go on to win an impressive award her face, nor did I know who she was at that moment, but she was celestial. She maneuvered through the crowd easily despite her large and awkward gown, unaware that other guests were organically mov- man, on the other hand, moved from one end of the lobby to the other, parting the crowd like Moses – purposeful and commanding. They both had such power and, from where I stood, equal amounts of authority and charisma. It was their recognition and manipulation of that power that provided such contrast. I’ll never forget thinking then Fast forward to October 16, 2017, the day I started writing this ar-
ticle. I was attending the International Association of Entertainment Buyers (IEBA) in Nashville, and thousands were posting #MeToo to their social media accounts. I posted #MeToo to my Facebook page and then promptly deleted it; something didn’t feel right. Sure, it would have been easy to throw out a hashtag and stand with millions some form, but I couldn’t do it. Rather, I didn’t want to do it, because it would have been a symbol to the world that I had experienced “in- mention, #MeToo is really a call to arms, but it didn’t feel scalable. Yes, my experiences may be worse than some, but I’ll bet they’re not as bad as others. I don’t think the woman whose backside was patted by
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