Beyond Weinstein: The Fraught History of the 'Casting Couch' and Hollywood Sexual Harassment
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As sexual harassment and assault accusations mount against Harvey Weinsten, the old trope of the casting couch—a tidy way of referring to female actors sleeping with powerful producers to get better roles—has been once again brought into focus. But is the phrase itself merely a cute rephrasing of the abuse women performers have faced since, well, forever?
This week on DirtCast, we welcome our dear coworker—and resident amateur historian—Kelly Faircloth to discuss her recent research into the history of the casting couch, something with roots that go at least as far back as the restoration, but truly took hold during the golden age of Hollywood. She finds that the casting couch was equal parts a real threat, a chance to diminish the talent of women actors (by attributing their success to sex), and a dog whistle to keep the young women of the ’20s and ’30s from moving to the big bad city in search of financial independence.