Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Me too

Me too.

For a long time, I felt alone.

And then the two simple words, "me too" started showing up on social media.  Sometimes they were accompanied by a story, sometimes they were not.

The sheer number left me stunned.  And sick.  Women in their 70s to women in their early 20s.  And that's just among my friends.

Stories of being taken advantage of by a boss.  Or raped by a man, sometimes known, and sometimes not.  Stories of being assaulted.  Stories of being teased or catcalled.  Stories of sexual abuse.  And stories of the system failing them if they tried to report.

Their stories and their bravery made me feel all of the feels.

I didn't post on social media.  I didn't have it in me.  I lacked the courage to put it in print for the whole world to see.  I didn't want to have to explain or be pressed for details by people I didn't want to share with.  And I didn’t want to be accused of attention seeking. This space is a little safer for me due to the semi-anonymity.

Me too.  Me.  Fucking.  Too. And the thing is, I’m not special. Or the exception. That’s the scary part.

8 comments:

  1. Oh lady. :( I’m so sorry. The sheer number of #MeToo posts has been shocking and sickening. But my hope is it’s also been empowering. Because all of you did nothing to deserve what happened. Every one of these assaulters deserve to be haunted for these actions.

    And for the record: me too.

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    1. Speaking for me, it has been empowering. Really empowering. And I think it's starting all kinds of conversations.

      And I'm sorry you too.

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  2. Me too. :( And yes, the number of "me toos" is both comforting and scary.

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    1. I'm sorry you too. Definitely comforting. And definitely scary. :(

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  3. I'm really sorry that, well, you too.

    I've just listened to a conversation on our national radio, where a woman panellist had commented on this. She said that no-one could deny that women in 2017 have a voice, but that - after her daughter had a drug slipped into her drink at a party on the weekend - clearly there are young men raised in the 1990s and 2000s and 2010s who still want to shut us up. Her comments hit home. And then I came here ...

    ... and yeah, I haven't put anything on social media either. But ... Me too. I do think I might post about something that happened some years ago that I'd never previously seen as sexual assault or harassment, but since the Me Too discussion has been prominent, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it, and I know it would never have happened (been done to me) if I had been a man.

    Hugs.

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    1. I'm sorry you too.

      I know what you mean about going for long periods of time without thinking about it, then suddenly it's all you can think about. And the fact that these things wouldn't have happened had we been men angers me so much. And the fact that there are men that just want to shut us up.

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  4. I'm not on social media, so I only got the parts that made it into the paper. But yes, reading here, seeing the comments from people whose blogs I read, oh goodness. It is so much more personal this way.
    Hugs

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  5. I'm sorry, too, and I'm mad too, because me too. I didn't offer stories for the same reason and no one asked (on social media at least). Someone said "You've been harassed or assaulted?" and I was basically like, "Yup." And they were sort of surprised, and I was like, "well, unfortunately that's sort of part of being a woman, until things change. I long for a day where I don't have to walk to my car with my keys in my hand and lock the doors the second I get inside. For a time where I don't feel so damn vulnerable all the time." It sucks, but this surge of voices will hopefully enact change in an area that has for too long fallen under the "boys will be boys" crap. :(

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