#me too
Whatever your opinion or experience on the matter is, I wanted to share my 2 cents around the issue. If you are not familiar with this hashtag and social media trend, it was in response to a tweet Alyssa Milano wrote,
“Me too… If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote ‘Me too’ as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem. Please copy/paste.”
Although I’m not sure social media is the best way to talk about these things, I do value that these conversations are being brought to the forefront more and more.
But why do they have to be? Doesn’t society KNOW by now WTF is going on?
Harassment is not ok. Violence is not ok. It is so sad to see the flood of #metoos in my feed. And I know its not just women who are affected.
This is one of the reasons I’m doing this work around sexuality. I truly feel if people were able to safely express their desires there would be less of this shadow. The harassment, violence, etc.
I too have my share of “me too” experiences.
From the dentist when I was 7, to being flashed walking home from school in middle school, to inappropriate comments being made to me by drunk men driving me home from babysitting their kids, to being raped in college, to having my No being ignored, to being harassed at a job by a coworker every night at closing.
I don’t have the answers, but I do believe that being vulnerable and talking about this can help. I also believe in teaching body safety, proper terms for anatomy, and lessons around consent from day one.
To allowing our boys to be boys in many ways, and not have to constantly fight to prove their masculinity. (on a side note there is a great documentary I recommend “The Mask You Live In” around how our culture harms boys.
In the words of my beautiful friend Caroline Diaco..”Let us allow this to unite us and not divide. To begin to heal. I celebrate a man who posted #idid on his status. For every woman who posts #metoo, there is a man who needs to apologize, to her, to himself, to be forgiven – collectively. We’ve all been deeply negatively conditioned around this beautiful sexual system of ours that is meant to be understood and engaged as holistically as eating, sleeping and exercising. I invite a safe, compassionate, positive conversation for men as well.”
Let’s keep the conversation going. You can also check out my video about this HERE.
