Me, Too
Steemers,
I would like to contribute to the "me, too" dialogue. Since the movement began, I have read and heard the reverberations of thousands of women's "me, too"s. They ring out as a collective, powerful enough to demand recognition. Society, men, systems of power: you cannot remain comfortably complacent.
Me, too.
These words are true for nearly every female- identifying individual I know. It all counts. Any act that makes a woman feel unsafe in her body, her space, her sanctuary is a violation. "Me, too" is a poignant statement because it acknowledges the shared narrative of these events. They occur in vast numbers across the world because of the disregard we show them. We respond primarily by criticizing women. We claim she made choices that rendered her vulnerable. The truth is, all women are vulnerable.
It is not our fault. The blame lies with the perpetrators of sexual harassment. The blame lies with the perpetrators of sexual harassment. Each "me, too" proclaims this. Let us allow the aggregate proclamation of thousands of woman to downright disrupt the status quo. We need rhetoric that directly states what happened. Not "she was raped", but rather "he raped her". We need a dialogue that includes men. How can they act as allies? We need to nurture boys from childhood, address trauma, and empower the women in our lives.
To every soul affected by sexual violence... You are loved. You are held by a powerful sisterhood. You are safe in your body.
Nice girls
This, a thousand times this.
You are so right about the dialog needing to change as well to reflect the perpetrators of the crime not the victims.
There's a lot that needs to be addressed in our society around this issue and it's uplifting to see the momentum around this change gaining strength and being brought to the forefront.
Thanks for sharing.
Well said @danigirl! In the last day I have begun to see #Ihave statuses from men, where they state their role in a world where most women can post a #MeToo. A friend said, "The only way to expunge rape culture, is to implement a consent culture." and I could not agree more!! I feel really hopeful for a future where young girls can grow up without this onslaught, when I see men coming forward to say things like "I catcalled a woman, this is why that is wrong..." "I did not respect my sexual partners autonomy the way I should have, here is what I should have done better.." ect. These public confessions, and motions to move forward in a way that is healthy for women are beautiful to me! Thanks for the post :)
Very wise words, danigirl.