What Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Anita Hill Saw During Their Hearings Was Eerily Similar

From ELLE

When Anita Hill accused Judge Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment in 1991, as he was considered for a spot on the Supreme Court, she testified about her experience in front of an all-male panel of senators. Now, in 2018, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford has a similar view as she testifies that Judge Brett Kavanaugh assaulted her in the 1980s.

Here’s a visual comparison of the views Ford and Hill had during their hearings.

In the top photo are some of the Republican senators questioning Ford: Mike Crapo, Jeff Flake, Ben Sasse, Ted Cruz, and Mike Lee. In the bottom photo are some of the senators who questioned Anita Hill in 1991, from both parties: Strom Thurmond, Joe Biden, Ted Kennedy, Howard Metzenbaum, and Patrick Leahy.

To be clear, there are indeed women senators questioning Ford, and Ford also faced questions from prosecutor Rachel Mitchell. But as New Yorker staff writer Osita Nwanevu noted on Twitter, the men are the ones in Ford’s direct view as she describes her sexual assault.

Overall, it is stunning how overwhelmingly male her questioners are, especially on the Republican side. In total, there are 11 male Republican senators attending the hearing, and they chose Mitchell as an outside counsel to question her. The four women senators at the hearing are all Democrats: Dianne Feinstein, Amy Klobuchar, Mazie Hirono, and Kamala Harris.

The view isn’t the only similar thing between each hearing-some of the senators are the same, too. Chuck Grassley, Orrin Hatch, and Patrick Leahy were on the Judiciary Committee during the Hill hearings, and are still on the committee as Ford testifies.

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