Ruhika, Week 11 - Reynolds to Censori: Why Do Women Keep Paying the Price?
Learn history so we don’t repeat it. I hear this over and over again, but still, why do we have a habit of punishing women for the actions of men? From past to present scandals, women who are exploited or manipulated by men face harsh judgement rather than sympathy or support. Take Maria Reynolds, who was caught in the very first major sex scandal in America, or Bianca Censori, whose high-profile relationship with controversial figure Kanye West. Both women represent the same story in a different font—women facing the harshest judgment, while the men get out almost scot-free.
Let’s begin with Maria Reynolds.
Her name became infamous due to her extramarital affair in 1797 with Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s Founding Fathers. He was my person of significance, and despite the undoubtable contributions he made to America, I do not believe he was a good person. Here are the full details of the scandal.
Maria Reynolds was trapped in an abusive marriage with James Reynolds, a man who used her to extort Hamilton. When she entered the affair with Hamilton, she had little autonomy, being coerced into a situation by her husband and then later abandoned by Hamitlon when news was out about the affair. Hamilton himself leaked the in-depth chronicling of the affair in a 95-page long document. And yet, with no surprise, Maria Reynolds paid the heavier toll.
Hamilton Public publicly admitted to the affair to clear his name of corruption charges. He was eventually able to regain public trust as he had the reputation of being a founding father, a treasure of America, a war hero. Meanwhile, Maria Reynolds was left alone to navigate her fallout; her name became synonymous with disgrace, while Hamilton still had his political contributions to keep him a celebrated figure. At the end of this, what has Maria become? She's become a footnote in a man's story, another woman punished for man’s decisions.
Flash forward to 2025, and we keep seeing the same themes remain today. Many may have heard of Bianca Censori, Kanye West's wife and Australian model. However, most people do not recognize her as an accomplished architect or the center of relentless media scrutiny. The inspiration behind this blog was news from the recent Grammys. I saw an Instagram reel which was criticizing Bianca Censori for her dress (or rather lack thereof) at the Grammys and the debacle she caused. For those of you that might not be aware of the event that I’m referring to, a general summary is her and Kanye were on the Grammy Red Carpet and Bianca’s dress was a sheer dress, essentially the equivalent of being naked. My first reaction was, “What the heck. That is so inappropriate.” But something interesting was the reel focused on her face, with a visibly uncomfortable expression and a Kanye whispering something in her ear right before she took her fur coat off. The image of this powerful man dressing his wife in an extremely hypersexualized way feels so territorial and appears so messed up. She was left for the media to dissect, criticize, and pull apart into pieces, with Kanye in the corner posting, “My wife is the most Googled person on the planet called Earth.”
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| Kanye's Post After the Bianca Grammy Scandal |
Women keep getting taken advantage of by powerful men, and we the people do nothing about it. From shaming Maria to inappropriate speculation around Bianca, society is way too eager to put a woman down.
Hi Ruhika!
ReplyDeleteYour blog was such a thought-provoking one to read! It’s horrible the way history just repeats itself. Women like Maria Reynolds and Bianca Censori are blamed while the men involved just carry on with their lives, with little consequences. Your comparison of the two was extremely eye opening, especially the way public opinion hasn’t really changed, despite the centuries between them. The part about Bianca’s awkwardness really stood out to me while watching the Grammys. It’s crazy how rapidly people vilify her and lose sight of the big picture. Your blog summed up the unfairness of it all extremely clearly. Great blog!
Hi Ruhika! Your blog reminded me of Monica Lewinsky and her scandal with Bill Clinton; I find it astounding that in America’s eyes, a young White House intern was more to blame for the cheating incident rather than the most powerful man in the entire country. I’ll repeat it—American society blamed a young woman for adultery over the actual President. This video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T7kzkAnqQY) provides a lot of great examples of the entertainment industry unfairly treating women, and expands on Lewinsky in particular.
ReplyDeletePower imbalances where women are repeatedly criticized for the behavior of their male partners are by no means uncommon in today’s world. The recent incident at the Grammys with Kanye West and Bianca Censori makes me genuinely upset—there are so many people who cannot recognize the way Censori is being abused and manipulated by Kanye, especially considering that Kanye has a history of abusing women. Kanye has even harassed one of the richest women in the world, Kim Kardashian; regardless of the current state of his reputation, he still has loyal fans and many people agree with his beliefs and values. Women are always being told that they are too anything—too skinny, too fat, too promiscuous, too prudish—and often have their lives ruined through domestic abuse, sexual assault, and unfair double standards. Yet blatantly abusive men still get to go back to their mansions, they still get to objectify countless women and become championed as geniuses in the eyes of other men.