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1991 was a big year for feminism.
That's when Naomi Wolf’s bestselling book, The Beauty Myth, first described how mass media exploited women by creating unrealistic and harmful beauty standards.
It's also when Susan Faludi argued that the media was silently waging a war against women following the advances feminists had made through the 1970s in her influential book, Backlash.
But perhaps most importantly, there was the Anita Hill case, which showed America that women frequently faced widespread (and largely unreported) sexual harassment at work. In 1991, Hill testified to a U.S. Senate Committee that she was sexually harassed while working under Judge Clarence Thomas. The case divided the nation, resulting in a heated “he-said, she-said” battle, as Thomas was being considered for a seat on the Supreme Court.
Ultimately, Hill's allegations against Thomas, who went on to win the nomination, were dismissed. Still, her case put workplace sexual harassment at the forefront of the feminist agenda, and encouraged more women to speak out.
Ahead of HBO's upcoming film Confirmation, which stars Kerry Washington as Anita Hill, here are seven ways Hill changed the face of modern American feminism.
1. She encouraged women to speak up about their sexual harassment
Hill was an African-American woman standing up to male patriarchy. She faced ridicule, job loss, and death threats, but still spoke out against her boss’ alleged inappropriate advances. Her decision to speak out against a high-powered political figure's misconduct proved that women had the power and right to speak out against their abusers—regardless of possible consequences.
2. Her story pushed more women to enter politics
Hill's story showed that more women were sorely needed in American politics, as men greatly outweighed women in the U.S. Senate and Congress. Since 1991, there has been a surge in the number of women in Congress, a development that many credit to Hill's legacy. Today, 20 percent of Congress is made up of women—a much higher number than the two who held court in the late 1980s.
3. She started a national conversation about sexual harassment
In 1991, Time magazine ran a cover story titled “Sex, Lies and Politics,” sparking a national conversation about how normalized sexual harassment in workplaces had become, and how seldom people discussed it. Hill's case changed history and showed that all women—in any workplace and harassed by any man, including one headed for the Supreme Court—had the right to feel respected and safe in their workplaces and treated as equals.
4. Her case showed the dangers of the 'he-said, she-said' debate
The trial ignited a "he-said, she-said" debate, as many felt Hill's accusations against Thomas couldn't be proven because there were no witnesses, and their accounts conflicted so dramatically. Some went even further, writing off the entire case as mere “bedroom politics.”
Ultimately, it showed that sexual harassment and abuse are not clear-cut issues and, worse yet, such claims could be dismissed in the court of law. The case also illustrated that anything “he said”—particularly if power, money, and a Y chromosome are thrown in the mix—could delegitimize a woman’s claims of sexual harassment.
5. She proved African-American women can speak out against sexual abuse
When Hill testified against her alleged abuser, she emboldened other African-American women to do the same. Her decision was so powerful that three African-American feminists raised $50,000 to pay for an ad in the New York Times. Called "African-American Women in Defense of Ourselves," it outlined a manifesto rejecting sexism waged against black women.
6. Her story got more female toliets installed in the Senate
It sounds hard to believe, but there was only one toliet stall for women working in the U.S. Senate in 1993. Twenty years later, to mark the record number of women in Senate (20 at the time), a new bathroom was installed accommodate them. Although it might seem insignificant today, the act of expanding the number of female toilets represented the importance of acknowledging women-only spaces in male-dominated areas.
7. She was a black women entering conversations dominated by white women
Hill’s trial was a watershed moment in U.S. feminist history. As an African-American lawyer speaking out against alleged sexual harassment, Hill symbolically brought women of color into a discussion often dominated by white women. This was a considerable achievement since most important feminist commentators at the time—including Camille Paglia, Naomi Wolf, and Susan Faludi—were white women.
Rebecca Walker, an African-American feminist writer, summarized this idea best when she said, “I am not a post-feminism feminist. I am the third-wave.”
