e ssential community
SEXUAL HARASSMENT CLOAKING IN PROGRESS BY KYLE JACOBSON
Brienne Allan, brewer at Notch Brewing in Salem, Massachusetts, shook the craft beer world when she vented on Instagram, asking if anyone else was experiencing sexist comments on the job. She didn’t know what to expect, but just needed to put it out there. Over a thousand responded. Stories went beyond sexist comments, describing events ranging from unprofessional to horrific. When Erica DeAnda, brewmaster at Tumbled Rock Brewery and former chapter leader of Wisconsin’s Pink Boots Society, reached out to me to
write this article, I had no idea what she was talking about. I hadn’t been paying attention. Sure, I’d followed the ongoing #MeToo movement and celebrated its exposing of some powerful and vial persons, particularly in Hollywood, but never did I take a step back to look at our own brewing community and consider it’s happening right here. I struggled to even sort out my emotions on the topic. First off, I was angry...I’m still angry. Much of the craft brewing world is backed by ideas of social progress—some of the best labels promote important causes
and constitutional rights. I know there’s a strong marketing aspect to it, but maybe I’ve been underestimating just how much. After I’d sorted through my anger, or at least compartmentalized it, I talked through the right way to approach this subject. I thought about discussing toxic masculinity, the idea that harmful and aggressive traits have, for some, become determining factors for assessing manhood, but then I thought of those close to me who have experienced sexual assault. It became clear that this isn’t about educating others on heavily researched social theories, and it’s not about sex or gender. This is about returning voices to silenced victims. I interviewed five people concerning their experiences with sexual harassment and worse in breweries in and just outside of the Greater Madison area. Almost every single one of them started by discussing how they rationalized what was going on. How it was their first brewing job, and they just assumed it was normal. How, given the setting of a brewery is much like a jobsite, certain behaviors just come with
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