When allegations of rape and sexual assault first became public against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, with multiple women coming forward showing a pattern, spanning many years, of Weinstein's abuse of Hollywood actresses, the media conflated the actual assaults and rapes with creepy behaviors towards others, labeling them all "victims."
The #MeToo movement blew up on social media, with woman after woman making allegations, with no evidence provided, against men in multiple industries, writers, journalists, actors, etc....., some described legally actionable assaults, with others detailing what many of us would consider a "bad date," throwing that and all sorts of other behaviors under the big umbrellas of "harassment" or "sexual misconduct."
#METOO BACKFIRES AGAINST WOMEN'S 'EQUALITY'
In a recent New York Times article (archive.is link here, since it is behind a paywall), we see the backlash that is now hitting women because of how far the #MeToo movement overreached by treating everything and anything a man said or did as some type of "sexual misconduct," or "harassment," instead of focusing on actual assault, sexual or physical, or sexual harassment that could be tried in a court of law.
Feminists from all over used social media as their court room, providing no way to confirm or verify their allegations, and the online mob became the judge and jury.
DAVOS, Switzerland — Men attending the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this year were worried about a lot of things. A global economic slowdown. Threats to cybersecurity. Populism. War.
And, several acknowledged at the meeting this past week, mentoring women in the #MeToo era.
“I now think twice about spending one-on-one time with a young female colleague,” said one American finance executive, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the issue is “just too sensitive.”
“Me, too,” said another man in the conversation.
While many of the men accused did, in fact, lose their jobs over their behaviors, others did not, yet their names were out there and the cloud of the allegations still hang over their heads, which in turn, has men in business backing away from spending time alone with a female colleague, for fear that something they say or do will be misconstrued and they will be tried in the court of public opinion, perhaps lose their jobs.
The men at Davos quoted by the New York Times are not the only ones that feel that way as the NYT cites two previous surveys that show this backlash against the #MeToo movement is growing:
• It’s a problem many have acknowledged. Last February, two online surveys by Lean In and SurveyMonkey on the effects of #MeToo in the workplace found that almost half of male managers were uncomfortable engaging in one or more common work activities with women, such as working one on one or socializing. One in six male managers was uncomfortable mentoring a female colleague, according to the studies, which together surveyed nearly 9,000 adults employed in the United States.
• “A number of men have told me that they will avoid going to dinner with a female mentee, or that they’re concerned about deploying a woman solo on-site with a male,” Ms. Milligan said. “People are concerned and have questions.”
The men have reason to be concerned as the specific portion of the NYT article caught my eye:
Once companies have identified those who make women uncomfortable, they have to assess whether the men are “clueless, creepy or criminal,” Ms. Milligan said.
“If you think they are clueless, you can coach them,” she said. “Clueless can become creepy very quickly if you don’t address it.”
In June 2017 President Trump told an Irish reporter she was beautiful with a "nice smaile," and the feminists went nuts, calling it "disgusting," "bizarre," accusing him of "sexual harassment." A compliment for heaven's sake, is now treated as a crime.
We have seen feminists, drunk on the #MeToo kool-aid, place men on a list, dubbed the "Sh*tty Media Men" list for "flirting" and for "weird lunch dates," along with actual allegations of rape, physical and sexual abuse. The list was passed around to a number of women in the media industry, behind the mens' backs, giving them no ability to defend themselves from accusations that ranged from criminal to just "creepy," with no explanation of what that "creepy" behavior entailed.
From that list we see accusations of "rape attempt" which should have immediately been filed with the police, along side of "inappropriate communication."
Fact: What may seem inappropriate to one person, whether it is a joke, a comment or a question, may be amusing to another person, yet these men are listed as "sh*tty media men," ruining reputations with nothing more than an allegation.
How much damage has the #MeToo movement, and the conflation of actual criminal behaviors with the catch-all charge of "misconduct," or "inappropriate" behaviors, done to "women's equality?" From the NYT article, we see the answer.
In its December report examining educational opportunities, life expectancy, pay equity and other factors, the World Economic Forum predicted that it would take 202 years for gender parity to be reached in the workplace. That is significantly more than the estimate of 170 years in 2016.
New York Times laughably claims "it is hard to establish any link with #MeToo," in regards to the data quoted above.
Really? More than a year after the Weinstein scandal broke, with women claiming #MeToo over everything from a compliment to stupid joke, men attacked for everything they say, how they sit, accused of "mansplaining" if they dare to debate an issue with a women, accused of being toxic just because they are masculine, and the expectation of "gender parity" in the workplace moves backwards by three decades, and they do not see a link?
No more dinners with female colleagues. Don’t sit next to them on flights. Book hotel rooms on different floors. Avoid one-on-one meetings.
In fact, as a wealth adviser put it, just hiring a woman these days is “an unknown risk.” What if she took something he said the wrong way?
Across Wall Street, men are adopting controversial strategies for the #MeToo era and, in the process, making life even harder for women.
As a woman that believes in equality, but understands there are very real differences between men and women, and celebrates those differences rather than treating men as if they are somehow "toxic," I have long warned that the way the #MeToo movement exploded, conflating actual criminal behaviors with "flirting" calling it "harassment," and jokes being the cause of grievances filed because someone considered it to be "inappropriate," would backfire against feminism and the push for equality.
The results are in, in multiple surveys, and direct quotes..... #MeToo has done irreparable harm to feminism.
While the examples are too numerous to count or document in one article, there are some in-your-face examples of women behaving very badly, or perhaps to phrase it better, behaving in a manner that sets "equality" backwards.
One prominent example is the annual Amber Rose Slutwalk, where women, supposedly in protest of the "rape culture," walk around topless, some even writing the word "SLUT" across their bare chests, claiming "still not asking for it," yet the entire premise of trying to "reclaim" the term "slut," proudly wearing the term on their bodies, while at the same time accusing any man that calls them a slut a "misogynist," or "sexist," just seems contradictory.
Another example was seen at the Women's March in January, a feminist approaches Infowars' Owen Shroyer and grabs him by his genitals, then taunts him when he asks her if that isn't sexual assault.
Why are women not being held to the same standard as men for their behaviors? They want equality, they should be "equally" criticized, highligted and suffer equal ramifications.
You can see the exchange between Shroyer and the feminist penis-grabber starting at the 3 minute mark below.
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