If you've ever read Peter Biskind's book, Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance and the Rise of Independent Film, you know that Weinstein, an upper echelon film producer and film studio exec, was a bully with an out-of-control temper.

This week, a New York Times investigation detailed numerous incidents of alleged sexual harassment by the media mogul, made over decades. Three days later he was fired from his name-sake film company, that he co-founded. He's been accused of rape by multiple women. His wife is divorcing him, and he's headed to rehab.

That these new accounts show him to be a sexual predator are not really surprising, especially when you consider these things probably happen in many corporations with men in power who think they can get away with anything.

Of course, it's not just Hollywood, it's also Uber, the music industry, Fox, the military (see the documentary The Invisible War by Kirby Dick). They do say power corrupts, after all.

On the heels of this, of Weinstein taken down by his own hubris and ego — and it being Pink October, a month dedicated to breast cancer awareness — it got me pondering women in general, and the subtle and blatant sexism we face on the regular.

I've been very fortunate. Sure, I've dealt with predatory professors, and colleagues with touchy hands, schools who police what girls wear because it could 'distract' boys, even business contacts who'd rather not deal with a woman. I say I've been fortunate, both in the literal sense, and because at this point it's all water under the bridge. I half expect it, and can handle it with humor and grace. I have the privilege of not carrying any baggage from these misadventures.

Not to say it's doesn't bother me. In a global sense, it's wonderful that Saudi women can now drive legally, but they still can't marry, divorce, travel, or get a job without permission from their 'male guardians.'

It's hard not to be irked when we see the now infamous photo from earlier this year, of a room full of men deciding the fate of women's healthcare. Or how the Trump administration rolled back the birth control mandate, opening the door for nearly any employer or insurer with religious or moral convictions against contraceptives, to exclude those benefits from their health plans.

Women's bodies are a battleground — the popular refrain, "Keep your laws off our bodies" is especially pertinent.

I once asked my late mother to really examine her religion — women can't even give sermon from the podium, I contested. She replied that she wouldn't want to hear sermon from a woman. I asked her to think about what she had just said. To her immense credit, she did. It gave her pause. This unspoken, yet indoctrinated feeling that the words wouldn't carry the same weight coming from a woman's mouth.

Ask a woman about the times she's witnessed sexism. If you dare.

It's a great anthropological experiment.

I asked my fellow roller derby girls, and they unleashed a mixed bag of tales. One works in a veterinarian's office, and the male vet thinks he should supervise the female (senior) vets' procedures. The civil engineer whose boss thinks of her like a daughter. Or the men who think strong women exist simply because all of the men in power have a wife.

Oh, it's fabulous being defined by our association to a man.

One mentioned the transgendered tech entrepreneur Dr. Vivienne Ming, who, when she was a man was esteemed — but after she transitioned, she was questioned at every turn.

Sure, some great strides are happening for women — the Boy Scouts of America will now allow girls to join the organization, the group announced Wednesday. Their board of directors unanimously voted to let girls into the Cub Scout program and create a program for older girls to allow them to become Eagle Scouts, their highest rank.

Some women even escaped captivity recently from the Playboy Mansion.

There are women-run businesses starting up and thriving in our community. Earlier this month they found a female Viking warrior in a grave in Sweden, buried with tons of battle gear. They did exist, despite previous thoughts to the contrary.

No matter what, though, it seems like you can be a mediocre man, and go far.

You just can't say the same for a woman.

— Amberly Jane Campbell