With Halloween coming up, there are plenty of scary movies coming out, but the scariest thing I’ve watched so far was the Kavanaugh hearing. What’s scariest about it is that the “Me Too” movement started last year, and people like Brett Kavanaugh are still being allowed positions of power. People like Dr. Christine Blasey Ford are still not being believed or even taken seriously.
With news of the hearing and Kavanaugh’s future in jeopardy, men all over the country are scared. While it might be scary to think that your whole future could be ruined because you sexually assaulted a girl one time when you were in high school, it’s significantly scarier to know that at any time, anyone could sexually assault you. If sexually assaulting someone in your teenage years can ruin your whole life, what are young men supposed to do now? Well, here’s a hint: don’t sexually assault people.
The “Me Too” movement is not about ruining men’s lives. It’s not about taking men out of Hollywood, politics or their bright future in swimming. It’s about holding them accountable for their actions. This doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to make mistakes as a kid. You can still egg your ex’s house and drink until you black out, you just can’t force yourself onto women. If you feel that’s an unreasonable request, then you are a part of the problem.
“Me Too” is about giving women a space to talk about their experiences and the chance to be heard for once. People often ask these women, “Why didn’t you report it?” Well, this is the first time in history that women are being given even a fraction of the attention they deserve on these issues. This is the first time in history that people are at least kind of taking this issue seriously. If women like Ford can report a sexual assault in 2018 and still watch the man that did it get a seat on the United States Supreme Court, how can you expect a woman in any year before that to report a sexual assault?
People try to sympathize with the movement by saying, “What if that was your sister/daughter/mother/etc.?” Well, according the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, one in three women will experience an act of sexual violence in their lifetime. That means, if you know more than three women, it probably was your sister/daughter/mother at one point in their lives, never mind the fact that you should be concerned about sexual assault regardless of your relationship with the person.
The “Me Too” movement is not just a voice for women; it’s a voice for the men who are victims of sexual assault as well. While people do not pay nearly enough attention to women who were sexually assaulted, it’s even less likely that a man suffering from a sexual assault will get the proper attention. It’s harder for male victims to come forward, and even harder for them to be taken seriously.
Two years ago, Brock Turner was sentenced to six months in jail for raping an unconscious woman behind a dumpster, but he was released after only three months. He did, however, have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. The judge in the case called the rape “20 minutes of action,” and gave Turner significantly less time than the six years that the prosecutor called for. This was only two years ago, and women are not being taken any more seriously today. There’s even a “Me Too” comeback movement going on. This is where the powerful men that got knocked down during the movement start to creep their way back into show business, like Louis C.K. The “Me Too” movement helped mobilize women and men all over the country to stand together and tell their stories. The issue, however, is that as long as privileged men are still in power, there will be no real change. Just another reason to hit the polls this November and use your voice through the ballots.