Why didn’t she fight back? Why did she stay? For as long as abuse and sexual violence have existed, there have been questions about how victims are “supposed” to act in their aftermath. In our last episode, we explored the public vilification of Robin Givens but there was more to say. This week, Susie and Jess chart our national obsession with “perfect” victims — and why that obsession persists. Plus, Jess talks about  E. Jean Carroll’s assault case against Donald Trump, which she covered for the Times.

FOR MORE: 
Why Didn’t She Scream? And Other Questions Not to Ask a Rape Accuser (New York Times, 2023)
What People Misunderstand About Rape (New York Times, 2023)
Robin Givens on Domestic Violence: 'Why I Stayed' (Time, 2014)

Why didn’t she fight back? Why did she stay? For as long as abuse and sexual violence have existed, there have been questions about how victims are “supposed” to act in their aftermath. In our last episode, we explored the public vilification of Robin Givens but there was more to say. This week, Susie and Jess chart our national obsession with “perfect” victims — and why that obsession persists. Plus, Jess talks about  E. Jean Carroll’s assault case against Donald Trump, which she covered for the Times.
FOR MORE: 
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/01/opinion/e-jean-carroll-trial.html">Why Didn’t She Scream? And Other Questions Not to Ask a Rape Accuser</a> (New York Times, 2023)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/22/magazine/immobility-rape-trauma-freeze.html">What People Misunderstand About Rape</a> (New York Times, 2023)</li>
<li><a href="https://time.com/3319512/ray-rice-nfl-video-robin-givens-domestic-violence/">Robin Givens on Domestic Violence: 'Why I Stayed'</a> (Time, 2014)</li>
</ul>

Is there a cultural moment from your past that looks different in retrospect? Maybe it’s a scandalous tabloid story seared into your teenage brain or a political punchline that just feels wrong now. It might be a very specific red swimsuit that inspired a decade of plastic surgery (see: “Baywatch”) or the inescapable smell of an entire generation of prepubescent boys (Axe body spray, anyone?). Each week on IN RETROSPECT, Emmy-winning journalist Susie Banikarim and New York Times editor Jessica Bennett revisit a pop culture moment from the 80s and 90s that shaped them — to try to understand what it taught us about the world, and a woman’s place in it.

Talk to us at @inretropod, @susiebnyc and @jessicabennett on Instagram. New episodes each Friday.

Is there a cultural moment from your past that looks different in retrospect? Maybe it’s a scandalous tabloid story seared into your teenage brain or a political punchline that just feels wrong now. It might be a very specific red swimsuit that inspired a decade of plastic surgery (see: “Baywatch”) or the inescapable smell of an entire generation of prepubescent boys (Axe body spray, anyone?). Each week on IN RETROSPECT, Emmy-winning journalist Susie Banikarim and New York Times editor Jessica Bennett revisit a pop culture moment from the 80s and 90s that shaped them — to try to understand what it taught us about the world, and a woman’s place in it.
Talk to us at @inretropod, @susiebnyc and @jessicabennett on Instagram. New episodes each Friday.

In Retrospect with Susie Banikarim and Jessica Bennett

Why Didn’t She Scream?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/51d01707-863c-47e4-9b04-b0d8017e65a8/transcript