Photographers' Sexual Misconduct Allegations Reignite Conversation

Originally posted on January 18, 2018.

Photographers Mario Testino and Bruce Weber have been suspended from working at publications such as Vogue due to several sexual misconduct allegations against them, according to The Guardian and New York Times.

Testino, known for taken the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s engagement photos, has been accused by 13 male models and assistants of sexual exploitation.

His accusations range from an assistant alleging that he masturbated on him and several models saying they were groped by the photographer.

Weber was accused by 15 male models of sexual misconduct including incidents of groping during nude shoots and other inappropriate behavior.

Both have denied the allegations against them.

Anna Wintour commented on the allegations against her “personal friends.”

“’I believe strongly in the value of remorse and forgiveness, but I take the allegations very seriously, and we at Condé Nast have decided to put our working relationship with both photographers on hold for the foreseeable future,’” Wintour said in a statement published in The Guardian.

The allegations come during an important time regarding sexual assault and misconduct.

With the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements causing many victims of sexual assault and harassment to come forward, there are few industries that have remained unaffected.

It is incidents like these that demonstrate that the fashion industry is not innocent. And, more importantly, that sexual assault is not solely a women’s issue.

According to RAINN, 1 in 10 rape victims are male.

While many women have come forward to speak out against their attacker, male victims have stayed relatively quiet.

While Anthony Rapp’s allegations against Kevin Spacey sparked a conversation about male sexual assault victims, the majority of victims who have come forward have been female.

It is important to keep the conversation going, not only about female victims, but about male victims, as well.

It is events like Testino and Weber’s allegations that remind us that sexual assault is not a purely women’s issue.