The List: A Novel

The creation of The List is inseparable from the #MeToo movement, which is intended to bring justice to the survivors of sexual assault. The first tweet on @_the_list reads, “We created this account as official channels continue to fail survivors of abuse in the media and entertainment industries. We have no choice but to do something ourselves” (23). The goal of The List is for women to take control of meting out justice. Because “official channels” do not hold predatory men accountable, #MeToo and documents like The List are meant to fill the vacuum. As sharing and listening to sexual trauma becomes the main form of justice, denying or doubting a woman’s allegations becomes a form of injustice and sets the doubter on the side of the predatory figures in the debate.

This radical new form of justice places Ola in a fraught position; she cannot ignore or dismiss The List outright but also cannot suppress her belief that Michael is innocent or, at the very least, not as guilty as he is portrayed. This inner dilemma is made manifest when Ola agrees not to write about The List for Womxxxn but still believes that Womxxxn should address the issue of