Let’s Stop Pretending #MeToo Applies Only to Women

Let’s Stop Pretending #MeToo Applies Only to Women

There comes a point in time when enough is enough, and I have just reached that point on the issue of sexual harassment.

The tipping point was a blog post by an author I respect who chose to single white men out as the ones who’ve had their heads buried in the sand all these years.

No, sorry. That’s just more propagandic malarky which, deliberately or otherwise, obfuscates the crux of the problem.

Sure, white men have been just as guilty as anyone else (note the broad inclusiveness there) of not knowing what to do when they encounter harassment directed at others. They’ve been just as guilty as anyone of turning a blind eye, or quietly whispering warnings where no one can hear, or worse, of assuming “everybody knows.”

Guess who else is guilty of ignoring, perpetuating, and silently condoning sexual harassment?

WOMEN.

I have seen so many instances of women sexually harassing men (or other women) in the past few years, it’s pathetic.

Let’s start with the lesbians who’ve made unwanted advances toward me, knowing that I am heterosexual, or the long-time acquaintance, a “trans lesbian woman” (her words), who continued to proposition me after I said no. I’m not the only victim of that type of harassment, either.

How about the women who groped the male models during last year’s RT Convention in Atlanta?

Or the women who share pictures of male genitalia at work?

Or, hey, how about the ones who use their authority to proposition or otherwise harass men?

It happens. A lot.

Know what else happens a lot? Women turning a blind eye to the harassment of men by women they know, or women believing that men somehow deserve to be harassed because they’re men, or women simply not understanding that when they touch a man who doesn’t want to be touched, it’s harassment or, in some cases, abuse.

Don’t pretend these things don’t happen. Don’t pretend it’s not as big a problem as male harassment of women simply because many men refuse to speak up. Don’t pretend that men, especially white men, are too “strong” to be victimized, or that they somehow deserve it because “history” and “social justice.”

And while you’re at it, stop perpetuating the inherent lie of the “white man = bad” and “white man guilt” mentalities. It’s racist and misandrist, and renders null any argument based on that assumption.

If we want to solve the problem of sexual harassment, molestation, and rape in our society, the first thing we have to do is acknowledge two truths: Women aren’t the only victims, and men aren’t the only perpetrators.

Until we understand those absolutes, we cannot move forward.

Comments are closed.