Review by Stacey O’Carroll
Author: Reah Bravo
Publisher: Gallery Australia (Simon & Schuster)
RRP: $55
Release Date: 13 November 2024
“There was not-so-fine print attached to the mantra ‘Women can do anything!’ We absolutely could—so long as we had exceptionally thick skin.”
Ask any woman you know, and the chances they will have a story about workplace abuse are high. Perhaps the incident was laughed off as just a joke, or worse, the incident was ignored. As former American journalist Reah Bravo examines in her personal reflection and expertly researched Complicit – How our culture enables misbehaving men, appalling behaviour towards women in the workplace, social situations and schools has been allowed to fester. The male perpetrators, even after #MeToo, have been able to get away with their disturbing behaviour for too long. However, Bravo sets out a way forward for how we can change this entrenched culture for the better.
“Misdirected blame was part and parcel of the ‘90s. The cultural and political conditions of the time distorted women’s consent in a way that made us ever more vulnerable to sexual abuse—the consequences of which we’re still dealing with today.”
Expanding on her New York Review of Books expose on Charlie Rose, Bravo uses her disturbing personal experience working as an intern for the television host, research, and expert and victim interviews to inform the reader. Although such non-fiction books can often feel heavy on statistics or hard to understand, Bravo uses her speech writing and journalism to make the content easily accessible for all readers. However, by using pop-cultural references such as Margot Robbie’s viral Barbie speech and references to the 1990s, her main target audience of over thirty is clear. For this reader, the 90s references resonated and brought into focus behaviour that is now severely problematic. Often, only upon reflection do we see the bigger picture.
“To recognize how women are conditioned to enable their own mistreatment and to blame them for said mistreatment are two entirely different things.”
Bravo’s case studies demonstrate the alarming attitudes of these men in powerful positions and the excuses used to overlook such behaviours. Whilst many of Bravo’s case studies relate to American broadcast television and corporate businesses, one Australian-based example stood out. Bravo includes an interesting incident at the now-shuttered two-hatted Momofuku Seiobo restaurant in Sydney. David Chang, the American chef of the Momofuku restaurants, discussed in his book his remorse at how he lost his temper at a cleaner whistling in the Sydney dining establishment.
“[Chang] writes about a night at Momofuku Seiobo, in Sydney, Australia, when he stormed toward a maintenance worker in the restaurant who was whistling in a way that he found disruptive. Chang claims to have been out of his mind and struggles to recall the details.”
Bravo’s use of Chang demonstrates that with education, awareness and accountability, there is hope for change. Although I single out this one case study, all the events detailed in Complicit are alarming and show what unchecked power can produce. She also demonstrates that if our culture did not enable such behaviour, the likelihood of it happening would be nearly non-existent. Bravo uses her book to call out those who, for decades, have stood by, ignored or downplayed such unacceptable behaviour. She calls all of us to no longer enable abusers and to stand up and call out this behaviour.
“We often use consent as a one-size-fits-all narrative no matter the power differentials at play.”
#MeToo brought to the forefront of the public some of the horrendous sexual abuse and misconduct. But as Bravo discusses, although #MeToo started to change the landscape, we clearly have a long way to go to remove these insidious abuses of power. Bravo’s small but mighty Complicit – How our culture enables misbehaving men is an important read, and will hopefully enact change.