How We Make Men Like Andrew Cuomo

A recent investigation concluded that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo either sexually harassed or acted inappropriately with at least eleven women. In response, several high-profile Democrats, including President Biden, have asked Cuomo to resign. Cuomo is refusing to resign, but the pressure is mounting.

This all began in December 2020 with a Twitter thread from Cuomo’s former aide Lindsey Boylan, accusing Cuomo of repeated harassment. As has happened to many other harassers in the past, the courage of Boylan led to other victims speaking out. A second aide, Charlotte Bennett, also accused Cuomo of harassment in February of this year. This led to an impeachment investigation starting in March, which concluded this week.

Cuomo is the latest of a long list of famous people who have been accused of sexual misconduct since 2017, when the #MeToo movement went viral.

I do not know enough about the Cuomo situation to make specific claims about him or the women accusing him of inappropriate behavior (the report is here). But I do believe that men like Cuomo are the end result of a societal wide reluctance to talk openly with boys and young men about expected behaviors towards women.

In order for this to make sense, I need to first talk about social control.