The author of one of Australia’s most beloved books has revealed the sexual abuse she received at the hands of a job interviewer.
Kathy Lette, who wrote the popular book-turned-television show Puberty Blues, spoke of the sexual misconduct she experienced while applying for a job at a major Australian network.
‘A group of about five men sat there and one slapped ten dollars on the table and said, ‘I bet I can make your tits move without touching them’. And then he leant over and mauled my breasts and said, ‘Haha, you won’,’ she told News.
‘I replied, ‘I bet you 20 bucks I can make your balls move without touching them’. And then I kicked him between the legs. I don’t think I got quite the good enough aim because they laughed and I got the job.’
Kathy Lette, who wrote the popular book-turned-television show Puberty Blues, spoke of the sexual misconduct she experienced while applying for a job at a major Australian network
Ms Lette was just 21-years-old at the time and growing up through the early 80s, but she believes the culture has not changed, particularly with the rise of the #MeToo campaign
Ms Lette was just 21-years-old at the time and growing up through the early 80s, but she believes the culture has not drastically changed, particularly with the rise of the #MeToo campaign.
‘I think we were just so used to the sexism at the time — you really had to gird you loins wherever you went. All the jobs were run by men — it was like going to battle every single day,’ she said.
She says she hopes this leads to a ‘seismic-shift’ in how women are treated, particularly within the media and arts community following the allegations against Harvey Weinstein and other prominent Hollywood figures.
Ms Lette says she even met the former producer, saying there was a huge gulf between his alleged behaviour and his eye for art.
‘Even the fact he chose Girls Night Out – it’s a funny, feminist, gutsy little book that champions women and yet, in his own life, he was behaving monstrously … Who can make sense of that?’ she said.
She says she hopes this leads to a ‘seismic-shift’ in how women are treated, particularly within the media and arts community following the allegations against Harvey Weinstein and other prominent Hollywood figures
The biggest difference she sees between being a woman growing up in the 70s and 80s as compared to 2017 is that now people conceal their true feelings better and can be more misleading with their intentions
The biggest difference she sees between being a woman growing up in the 70s and 80s as compared to 2017 is that now people conceal their true feelings better and can be more misleading with their intentions.
She says decades ago they knew which men to look out for, but now the harassment may be more subtle.
Her most recent book, After The Blues, follows on from the story she made famous and applies modern themes to the old setting of The Shire.