This past week, political analysts on major news networks have harmonized to the phrase “She’s baaaacckkk” in reference to Monica Lewinsky’s new Vanity Fair article entitled “Shame and Survival”.
After remaining silent for about ten years, Monica Lewinsky writes about her affair with President Bill Clinton and the humiliation she endured during the scandal’s aftermath. And what perfect timing too. Hillary Clinton is likely preparing her 2016 presidential candidacy and, like her husband, she cannot seem to remove herself from the Monica Lewinsky affair.
Political pundits contend that the timing of Lewinsky’s article is no accident. Because of the proximity between the Vanity Fair piece and Hillary’s presidential bid, it is hard not to draw political implications. Republicans, in particular, theorize that the return of Lewinsky actually benefits Hillary. By popularizing Monica Lewinsky now – two years before the 2016 presidential election – the Hilary campaign assures itself that it will not have to deal with questions about Lewinsky during the heat of election season. Democrats, on the other hand, may view Lewinsky’s piece as a sad resurfacing of a negative aspect of Bill Clinton’s presidency.
Pundits, however, may be too quick to judge.
Underneath all the current speculation surrounding Monica Lewinsky lies Lewinsky’s true motive for writing her Vanity Fair article: as a sympathetic response to the 2010 Tyler Clementi incident. In September 2010, Clementi, a freshman at Rutgers, committed suicide after he was streamed via Webcam sharing a kiss with another male. Lewinsky identifies with the shame that Clementi must have felt after his public embarrassment and as the first person whose humiliation was spread by the Internet, Lewinsky admits that “perhaps by sharing my story…I might be able to help others in their darkest moments of humiliation.”
Additionally, rather than stirring further conflict, Lewinsky focuses the beginning of her Vanity Fair piece on clearing the air, rather than introducing new accusations to throw at the Clinton family. For example, she emphasizes that her relationship with President Clinton was “consensual.”
So in the typical tumult surrounding presidential elections, the public should not forget to view Lewinsky’s article as an important project in itself: to give a purpose to her past that helps others battle through heart-wrenching and life-threatening shame.