For survivors of sexual violence, cancel culture is the equivalent of victims scrawling their assailants names on bathroom walls – it's a way of saying what needs to be said, and especially of warning others.
"Cancel culture is what happens when women feel they don't have power," said Nicole Bedera, an expert in sexual violence whose research focuses on campus rape. "It's what we are left with when our traditional institutions of accountability are not working."
But experts argue most powerful men are rarely ever truly canceled, except in the most egregious cases, and even then it can take decades such as with Bill Cosby or Harvey Weinstein.
Former political analyst Mark Halperin was accused by several women of sexual misconduct and was let go by NBC and Showtime. He later apologized for causing "pain and anguish," but also contended that some allegations were not true. He eventually went on to write a book and host Newsmax TV's show, "Mark Halperin's Focus Group."
"We really are talking about outrage for a few months. Some people might boycott a particular entertainer. ... They might lose one job. But they come back so fast," Bedera said. "It's really difficult to find an example of someone whose life was ruined, even if they deserved consequences for their actions. We mostly see injustice."
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