#MeToo – who profits?

in freedom •  7 years ago  (edited)

Back in October, the Harvey Weinstein scandal erupted, when the New York Times published a story detailing decades of sexual assault by the infamous Hollywood mogul. It all seemed a fine idea, at first, a noble cause – oppressed women speaking out a vile man who had forced them to sex acts they did not want to participate in.

Women should have a voice and the right to speak up for themselves, and crimes against us – or indeed, any human being – should be punished accordingly. And I remember at the beginning of the Weinstein scandal, everyone thought 'oh,rape!' and became alert to the pain these women had endured. But as you read through stories upon stories about alleged attacks, you realized that most of it wasn't about rape at all. While some of Weinstein's accusers suffered actual, physical assaults and were indeed violated, most of the accusations appeared pretty tame.
Many of these women accused Weinstein of answering the door in his bathrobe or that he asked them if they would give him a massage or tried to give them a massage. If you read through most of the stories, many of Mr. Weinstein's crimes are verbal attacks, more than anything else.

The #MeToo movement

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The #MeToo movement (in which thousands of women around the world “came forward”, sharing their own stories of sexual abuse) has existed since 2014, but with the Weinstein scandal, it gained momentum.
Before we go any further, let's just get this out:

Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is usually undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault.
Wikipedia

And if you click on the link for “sexual behavior”, you're taken to a page that speaks of things such as masturbation, oral sex, BDSM, foreplay and the like. Touching a woman on the knee or offering a flower...not so much.
And that's where this movement went wrong, you see. Because it t started out like a good idea – exposing sexual harassment, in order to put an end to it and give women more rights, more safety – and then turned into a frenzied witch-hunt, that deemed it just to fire men from their jobs, or to punish them in court, for smiling at a woman or hitting on her.

Sexual harassment is bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In most modern legal contexts, sexual harassment is illegal.
Wikipedia

That's the given definition of sexual harassment and it sounds pretty fair, doesn't it? Rewards for sexual favors or coercion are indeed bad things, which should be punished. But many of the stories bearing the #MeToo aren't about that. You would see dozens of these on social media every day, after the Weinstein story broke. And a lot of these stories spoke of men hitting on women in bars or catcalls or about a co-worker asking them out for a cup of coffee. And that, to me, is just ludicrous, because that's not sexual assault or harassment.

Two years ago, a boy pulled me closer to him in the back of a cab, so that my head rested on his shoulder. He liked me and I knew he liked me. I didn't like him, however, so I pulled away. End of story.

I didn't get out of that cab traumatized by the horrific abuse I'd just endured, because I understood it wasn't abuse. My 17-year-old mind could comprehend that a boy trying to kiss you or sitting closer to you is not sexual harassment. It's normal. We're humans. Humans are sexual creatures by nature, you can't deny that. The desire to procreate is normal. We spend our lives seeking a compatible mate, with whom we can start a family. It's what all animals do and it's logical that some of those potential mates won't like us back.

I didn't like said boy, I'm sure he knew girls he didn't like, either, it's the way things work. So you can't claim you were sexually assaulted, because you didn't like the guy who was hitting on you. Think about it, the exact same behavior, if done by a man you like, wouldn't raise an eyebrow. It would be perfectly okay for your crush to pat you on the knee and try and kiss you. But coming from the class nerd, it's sexual harassment. It's a double standard, because in this scenario, it's not the behavior itself that's wrong. It's just coming from the wrong person.
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Orwell predicted an anti-sex society...was he right? Image

You can't say that a co-worker asking you out is abusive, simply because you're not attracted to him. In that case, you can say 'no' to the said co-worker. But there's a difference between that and sexual abuse and the main thing that's wrong with the #MeToo movement is that it's fighting to shut this kind of behaviour down permanently.
Because if enough people say that catcalling or flirting is a crime, it will become a crime and it will be treated accordingly. If you report or sue a man for buying you a drink and that man is punished for it, then buying a drink for a woman is an offense.
For all men.
Not just for the ones you don't like. So, when you do find a man you like, you start wishing he'd ask you out or buy you a drink or hold your hand. But he won't do any of those things, because they are punishable, because other men have been persecuted for doing that same thing, perhaps even by you.
Besides, he doesn't know if he can do that. You might yell out 'rape' if he tries to buy you a drink, he might get in trouble – so why bother?
I'm not saying that we, as a society, should ignore sexual harassment or indulge sexual predators. I'm just saying that this is taking it too far and that criminalizing things that aren't crimes will hurt us, in the end.

'Enemies of sexual liberty'

Over the past two days, stories have been popping up about an open letter, signed by 100 French women in the creative industries, denouncing the #MeToo movement for exactly this mistake, demonizing tame actions of men.
The signatories of the letter, among which actress Catherine Deneuve, argued that this movement encourages puritanism and does not actually favor women, but rather religious extremists, who would see this world devoid of any sexual contact whatsoever.

“It is the characteristic of Puritanism to borrow, in the name of a so-called general good, the arguments of the protection of women and their emancipation to bind them to the status of eternal victims, poor little things under the influence of the demon patriarchy, as in the good old days of witchcraft.”

And if you look at it, that's where this hysteria is going – to the rebirth of Puritanism. It is destroying any form of human contact and the possibilty for a human relationship. We're not just talking sex here. But if people need a signed statement of consent before they can have sex and they cannot ask someone out for fear of being perceived as sexual predators, then relationships between people will become pretty bleak and basic, won't they? Men and women (because this movement seems to focus on the relationships between men and women) will have to resort to talking about the weather, probably without looking at each other.

“Rape is a crime but insistent or clumsy flirting is not, nor is gallantry a macho aggression,”

Don't you see this is destroying any form of connection that might form between us,as human beings?
That this whole movement masquerades as pro-woman, when in fact, it's anti-sex?

Because, in the new totalitarian state that is being built, sex and pleasure are wrong and undesirable. People don't need to focus on pleasure, they need to focus on doing their jobs. The only satisfaction that should matter is that of the folks on the hill.
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Besides, we're overpopulated as it is. You can see that everywhere – we need less people. The state is far too greedy to feed us all and why should the wealthy have to pay, if we – the poor – decided to have sex?
I believe that this campaign is evil masquerading as good. It's an attempt to enslave us and to tear us apart, to cause division between the sexes, so that we're too busy fighting among ourselves to see the injustices of the ruling class.

Of course, Catherine Deneuve was attacked for signing this letter. All the women who signed were. By other women, by Asia Argento (one of Weinstein's lead accusers) and by other so called women's rights activists. I wonder, don't these activists realize the double-standard in what they are doing? Don't they realize that by telling another woman to shut the hell up, they are going against everything they're supposed to represent?

Rape is not your right, whether you're a man or a woman (because no, it's not just men who do it). Rape is a crime, for which you must be punished. But flirting is not, trying to get a date is not. And by claiming that it is and demanding punishment for these things, you are only sabotaging your own freedom.

It is within our freedom to offend others. Saying that is not is an action against freedom and it's damaging to our entire society.

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The same people who yesterday knew all about Weinstein's vile deeds and kept their mouths shut, give us today moral lessons and give speeches about 'women empowerment'. Give me a break. Meryl Streep and the like who gives standing ovations to a convicted child rapist, Roman Polanski.

Let's hope Oprah becomes president. :-))

A bunch of hypocrites.

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

Exactly. They are all such liars, it's astonishing, how can people be such hypocrites? I didn't know Streep supported Polanski, but I think it's pretty well known that she referred to Weinstein as GOD, only a few years ago, so...
If you were that close to the man and knew so much about him (you don't call random strangers God, do you?), you must've known what he did. And she didn't care.
But now, she pretends she cares, as so many others do. I think they're suddenly huge activists because they're desperate for a voice, for recognition. They're struggling to stay relevant in today's world, because they probably feel like a thing of the past if they don't appear on social media or the news for more than two days.
Suddenly, all these women have become the ambassadors for women's rights. They have a say in everything. Truly pathetic.
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Thanks for the resteem and the vote:)

Hollywood is screwed up .,, twisted , sick ,.. just like the plots in their movies , ..I agree with a lot in your post ,.. but I think that there aren’t genuine voices with me too .... I don’t like the double standards of Follywood .... The rock , Oprah , Streep ... Hanks ... all are puppets .... you speak against the elite producers .... kiss your career goodbye .... The Rock ... follow his success ... he isn’t there by chance ... they’ve got plans for him

If you get a chance please read my post of 2 days ago ...cheers

Hey, I think you were wrong in answering the wrong person! ;)

Lol ... sorry ...I was making a comment after I saw you post Rocks photo .... sorry ....n thanks

OMG!!! A woman with common sense- will you marry me (just kidding- NOT sexual harassment lol). You made so many good points here. For decades everyone in Hollywood knew about Weinstein's escapades. Most of those women went in knowing the rules of the game- you want the job, you do the deed. It's wrong, but it's the way Hollywood has operated from the start. These weren't innocent ingenues being preyed upon by a bad man- they were actors who went in with their eyes open willing to trade sex for the roles they wanted. Crying foul at this late date sounds a bit hypocritical to me. They weren't forced- they had a choice. They could have walked out and gone back to middle-America with the rest of us. They CHOSE to stay and play the game. This whole "me-too" thing has reached the point of ludicrousness (if that's a word). Great post RS'd

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

Of course they knew - because I bet it wasn't just Weinstein who did that, I'm sure most of the powerful people in Hollywood ask for sexual favors in return for gigs.

Crying foul at this late date sounds a bit hypocritical to me.

That's exactly what I thought when this whole story broke - fine, Weinstein got to you and abused you (and I mean for real, 'cause I'm sorry, but asking for a massage really doesn't sound like sexual abuse, to me), why didn't you go to the police then? Nobody seems to think about that. it seems only natural that if Weinstein (or anyone) did indeed abuse them, they would report him, they would try to get him jailed as soon as possible. But no, they waited years, until they didn't need to be on his good side anymore. And then they bemoan the fate of so many young women who he "preyed on", it's hypocrisy, because they could've prevented that, if they had truly wanted to.

They CHOSE to stay and play the game.

Yes, I found a really interesting interview a few weeks ago, with Pamela Anderson, who said the exact same thing. It's basic common sense not to go into hotel rooms with little known men, or men you don't desire to have sex with. They knew what they were doing.
I don't know if ludicrousness is a word, but it definitely should be.
Thank you, Rich, I appreciate it :)

I bet if it had have been George Clooney or Brad Pitt, they wouldn't be crying so loud!

Probably not.

I think that this MeToo movement was created by the globalists with the idea of 1) what you are stating and 2)to get Trump impeached. But as always it blows into their own faces. Catherine Deneuve is a very clever lady and she cannot care less what is going to happen to her.

Exactly. Besides, I don't think it really matters if Deneuve (or the other women who singed the letter) is right - although I believe she is - but what matters is that she has the right to speak her mind. Just like anyone. And these women are trying to deny that right, which is really shitty for a movement that claims to give women a voice.
Yes, the fact that this happened during Trump's presidency may not be an accident. I think the world is spinning way out of control...

Right and that is a huge movement and hard to stop now.

It is somewhat a shame that this post/article of sound reasoning on the matters stated above is not more widely available for a far wider viewership on the mainstream-ooze; many would benefit from its clarity (and I hope I am wrong in saying that) - available When I'm lucky to find a persuasive / powerful piece I send it to my F & F outside of this platform and I will). Some years ago I lived in South Africa, a wondrous land; however, in the daily social life context, much was quite wrong, blandly open and done almost as an entitlement of class, and as well due to extremes crime, poverty and boredom. Outstanding work…

Thank you, I agree (although, as the author, I'm somewhat biased). Many things are wrong with the world, today, and I think every country has its particular minuses, so...

better said!

Well done @honeydue for bringing some well needed common sense into this debate. The kind of sexual harassment hysteria that has gone on has - in my humble opinion - done great harm to the cause of women everywhere. It is a case of crying "Wolf" too often until most people take little or no notice and look upon those making the accusations as whining snowflakes. It belittles those who have suffered real abuse. Thanks for the post. Resteemed.

Yes, that's something I'm concerned about as well - they're giving actual victims a bad name, because they're trivializing the word 'abuse'. If you complain you were abused because some dude honked after you, you're taking away credibility from a woman who was raped.
Yeah, you were abused, give me a break - a natural reaction when you hear about abuse in our days.
Thank you for the support :)

No problem - looking forward to more of your posts.

this is a tough position for of politics but I firmly belives you own your body and no body else does! honey : )

I agree, it is a tough position, but we should speak for what we believe, regardless of what others may think. Yes, you own your body, and many women do actually suffer abuse.
Thanks :)

I agree with you honey!! andThank you for your reply!, Honey did you like my last art post "indiffrence" ? would be great to get your interpretion! : )

What a brilliant piece!

Thank you, I'm glad you liked it!
The resteem is much appreciated also :)

criminalizing things that aren't crimes

Precisely that is the goal of these people, to continue with their agenda of victimhood. I do not know if this will lead to more puritan personal relationships, but I know that this is not at all what they want us to believe it is.

Indeed, they think they can get people to think whatever they dictate, which is precisely why we must think for ourselves and look at what they're trying to manipulate from all angles, so that we get a clear picture (as clear as we can get anyway).
I don't know if it's puritanism per se that they're after, but I'm sure they're trying to destroy personal, inter-human relationships because they know love is the most powerful thing, the one thing that could pose a threat to their disgusting system, so...

Curated for #informationwar
Relevance: use of identity politics and front groups
Our Purpose

Thank you. Much appreciated.
Yours is a very noble cause, in my humble opinion.

While I support the women who have actually sustained abuse and are speaking to their cause, your article is breathtaking (in a good way) in presenting the irony of the cause going too far. If birthrates are low now, they may only go lower if courtship becomes a crime.

I think you're right about the cause being hijacked by puritans. I also think you're right about the damage to gallantry and the mating rituals of modern society.

With regard to the puritan hijacking of the #metoo cause, I am reminded by the following quote:

“Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” -- H.L. Menken

Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. These people are damaging both society and the women who are actual victims. It's frightening.
Very good quote.

Powerful article. Resteemed.

Thank you, @cecicastor, I appreciate it :)

You guys are so niave xD you haven't a clue as to whats really going on and it's much darker!

Well, what is going on, in your opinion? I would genuinely like to know.