Op-ed: Thoughts on the #MeToo Movement

By Carrie Kirby

“Me too.” You’ve probably seen these words all over social media, signs, and posters lately, due to the recent popularization of a movement of solidarity, healing, and empowerment. The necessity of this movement cannot be overstated, for in this day and age of incredible opportunity and development, we cannot still be allowing the gross mistreatment of women to pass by unnoticed as if it were “okay.” It is not “okay,” and it will never be “okay” that I cannot count the number of my female friends and acquaintances who have posted “me too.” I refuse to tell my little sister she should be afraid of men; instead I will tell her how to stand up for herself if her dignity is threatened. I refuse to accept the humiliation, degradation, disrespect, and abuse that is handed to me and my friends simply because we are women. Instead, I will uphold the worth and value of over half the world’s population. I refuse to remain silent when I am told to be quiet, that I don’t know what I am talking about, that I have no right to speak, all based on a prejudice towards me because of my gender; instead I will learn as much truth as I can about issues impacting our world and attempt to educate my peers in what is a truly fair and feminist viewpoint that stands for the good of all people. The fact that our current president also has blatantly and carelessly degraded countless women including his wife, his daughters, and women of dignified positions, yet somehow manages to retain a following of many people who claim to be Christian or feminists is astounding to me. It is not Christian to degrade, disrespect, and mistreat fellow beloved children of God, and it is not feminist to support a violent and pointed assault on the dignity of other women, no matter their social status. There are so many injustices in the world today, how can it be acceptable that disrespecting women is seen as the norm, and proper treatment seen as a “gift” or a “reward”? A massive part of the women’s rights movement centers on the independence and autonomy of women, which must be protected no matter their age, race, creed, color, national origin, gender identity, or social status. We have the gift of living in the greatest country in the world, while tragically millions of others live in destitution, terror, and near-imprisonment for the crime of being a woman. It is time, it is always the time, to do something to change that culture to make the world a more safe, empowering, and uplifting place for all women to flourish. The future is bright, the future is fair, and the future is female!