Several women are asserting their power and sharing what they describe as the predatory actions of author Junot Diaz.
In a series of tweets started by writer and novelist Zinzi Clemmons on Friday, women have come forward with stories of misconduct by Diaz. They have detailed incidents of the Dominican, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer going on misogynistic rants, throwing sexist tantrums and even forcefully touching one without consent.
“As a grad student, I invited Junot Diaz to speak to a workshop on issues of representation in literature,” Clemmons wrote. “I was an unknown wide-eyed 26 yo, and he used it as an opportunity to corner and forcibly kiss me. I’m far from the only one he’s done this 2, I refuse to be silent anymore.”
https://twitter.com/zinziclemmons/status/992299477905031170
https://twitter.com/zinziclemmons/status/992301247204966400
Clemmons’ intrepid words come after Diaz published a piece last month about childhood sexual abuse in The New Yorker, a move that some are now questioning as a pre-emptive strike to curb the spread of stories about his reported toxic masculinity.
“I was 32 and my first novel hadn’t come out yet,” Monica Byrne, a playwright and author, said. “I was invited to a dinner and sat next to him. I disagreed with him on a minor point. He shouted the word “rape” in my face to prove his. It was completely bizarre, disproportionate, and violent.”
Diaz is accused of a troubling pattern of sexism, disrespect and verbal and physical abuse against women, which many have described in detail.
“During his tour for THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE HER, Junot Diaz did a Q&A at the grad program I’d just graduated from,” Carmen Maria Machado, an author and essayist, said. “When I made the mistake of asking him a question about his protagonist’s unhealthy, pathological relationship with women, he went off [on] me for twenty minutes.”
Other women are using Twitter to demand that Diaz be held accountable for his actions.
https://twitter.com/alwaystheself/status/992402778181001217
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Junot Diaz: Women Speak Out On Misogyny, Misconduct And Toxic Masculinity was originally published on newsone.com
