This article will discuss sexual misconduct. If you are triggered by any of the content in this article, please close the window and call a trusted individual. If you are ready to seek treatment to work through the trauma of your past, call The Guest House today.
In October of 2017, the news became a frenzy of allegations regarding sexual misconduct toward women on the behalf of one of the most influential men in Hollywood. Within a short amount of time over thirty women admitted to harms done to them by one individual and a new world of the entertainment industry was exposed. Inspired by the bravery and transparency of these women, a social media movement was launched encouraging any women, specifically, who had experienced a form of sexual assault or harassment in their life to post something with the words “Me Too” to expose the magnitude of people who have been affected by such actions. Over hundreds of thousands of people reposted the two simple words, making a not so simple statement.
Quickly, the movement received celebration and criticism alike. Less than a week from it’s viral spread across the internet, the movement was commodified into purchasable items. Not only were women, men, and nonbinary gendered individuals identifying with the movement, they could now wear it out loud.
At first, there was hesitation by many to indulge a widespread pressure for victims of sexual assault to suddenly speak out and claim their story. For many, this is a triggering, difficult thing to do. Though it is challenging and perhaps disturbing, it can be deeply empowering.
Not telling your story gives your story power. Meaning, the power your story has over your life in making you feel any kind of shame, guilt, or emotional pain is magnified when you hold your story back. There is tremendous power in ownership. Often, we avoid owning our story because we want to deny the reality of it. Our pasts happened. They happened to us. By making a statement and speaking up we can create the reality of our future. We create new safety for ourselves, we help demand attention to an issue that is screaming “Notice me!” and we forge a solid bond of solidarity with potentially millions of other people.
If this movement has empowered people to say “this happened to me” in a way that they haven’t been able to say it before, or perhaps they were able to say “this happened to me” for the first time- the movement is huge. The movement is revolutionary. The movement might not change the culture, change the many perpetrators out there, or change much at all. If the “Me Too” movement can change one person’s life and give them one single moment of peace, power, safety, or liberation- it is a wild success.