Our Purpose

          THE "ME TOO" MOVEMENT

By: Dana Hernández, Alexa Cavazos, Keila Villagomez, Rocio Isassi and Eva Zambrano

“Tell your story. Shout it. Write it. Whisper it if you have to. But tell it. Some won't understand it. Some will outright reject it. But many will thank you for it. And then the most magical thing will happen. One by one, voices will start whispering, 'Me, too.'And your tribe will gather. And you will never feel alone again.”

― L.R. Knost no

The “Me Too” movement has played a very big role with helping people´s voices to be heard. Most women who suffered from sexual harassment have kept their stories from the public, or even their own family members and friends because they were afraid of what other people´s opinion would be; now thanks to this incredible movement involving millions of women and men worldwide, it has been easier for everyone to open up about their own experiences. Tarana Burke, a civil rights activist from the Bronx, was the woman who started this movement. She started the “Me Too” movement in 2006 and started using the phrase “me too” to raise awareness of sexual abuse and assault that has been going on in today’s society. Thanks to the brave women and men who have shared their stories, a difference is slowly but finally being made not only in hollywood but in many industries.

Sexual harassment doesn’t have to be an extreme action to be considered a problem, this is why it goes so unnoticed not only in the media, but in our day to day lives. From a cat call on the street to rape, all of these different actions can affect the victim in a tremendous way. This is true for both men and women, although it is most common for women to fall as victims of sexual harassment. In the United States, 91% of all sexual harassment cases are women, while only 9% of them are male. One in five women experience sexual harassment during their lives, and only one in seventy one men go through this type of abuse.

The problem starts when we make the victim feel like it’s their fault before it even happens. Worried parents warn their daughters not to be alone, to always be on the lookout, and to expect the worst to happen if they decide to wear shorts on a public place. But when will we teach sons and daughters that what a person wears doesn’t determine the respect they deserve. We can’t assume a person’s intentions just by a piece of clothing. Before teaching girls to cover themselves to avoid harassment, we should teach consent and respect.

Us, women, live in constant fear. We live with the burden of always having to check behind our backs when we are alone, be careful with what we wear, what we say and what we do. Why? The answer is very simple, yet very upsetting. We know that wherever we go, we are targets. Anywhere we go, we are in danger. And men? Men can go for a walk, at two in the morning, alone with no fear at all. Of course, in 9% of rape cases in America men are victims. But the point here is that women live with fear and all because we were taught to be scared from a very young age. We were taught how to defend ourselves from a very young age. And boys don’t get taught not to rape.

From personal experience I’ve never had to live a traumatic sexual harassment, but small things that slowly add up had made me change little things about my everyday life. For say, I usually go for a walk with a friend at night to a popular place where people go to exercice. You’d think I wouldn't have to worry about being harrased. Our walks often turn into runs because my friend and I constantly have to worry about creepy men who stare, or who look suspicious. And maybe we’re just being paranoid, maybe these people don’t have bad intentions, but as I said, society teaches girls to always expect the worst because if something happens, we tend to blame ourselves for not being “careful”.

I would agree in saying that such example sounds meaningless, and a “first world problem” but the thing is sexual harassment happens in all of the world, and it only gets worse in poorer countries. We can’t ignore it just because we don’t thing it’s not dramatic enough. Living scared is not ok. Having to feel vulnerable because some people feel powerful enough to take advantage of others is not ok. A world leader talking about doing what he pleases with women is also definitely NOT OK. If we keep saying “it’s part of growing up” or things like “boys will be boys”, promoting toxic masculinity, this problem will only get worse.