#MeToo
The hashtag #METOO has taken off. I don’t know about you, but I’m seeing it all over my social media feed. Now, I have a love-hate relationships with social media. I’ve read studies highlighting its negative effects on individuals and society, but I’ve also read studies that talk about the positives related to communication and information sharing.
So, I’m torn … BUT … not when it comes to this! Discussions around consent, sexual assault/harassment and individuals banning together to confront this problem in solidarity … to me, is a wonderful thing that social media has allowed us!
If you haven’t seen #metoo in your social media feed, let me take a minute to tell you what it’s all about. “Me too” was created for victims of sexual harassment or assault to give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.
No means no.
People typically talk about consent in the context of some kind of sexual or physical activity with a partner. In a healthy relationship, both (or all) partners are able to openly talk about and agree on what kind of activity they want to engage in. Whether it’s holding hands, kissing, touching, intercourse, or anything else, it’s really important for everyone in the relationship to feel comfortable with what’s happening. In a healthy relationship, it’s important to discuss and respect each other’s boundaries on the regular.
Consent is NOT implied, it CAN be revoked and it NEEDS to be GIVEN to someone, NOT TAKEN!!!
[Just take a minute and think about that]
…
Consent is NOT implied, it CAN be revoked and it NEEDS to be GIVEN to someone, NOT TAKEN!!!
It’s not okay to assume that once someone consents to an activity, it means they are consenting to it anytime in the future as well. Whether it’s the first time or the hundredth time, a hookup, a committed relationship or even marriage, nobody is ever obligated to consent to something, even if they’ve done it in the past. A person can decide to stop an activity at any time, even if they agreed to it earlier. Above all, everyone has a right to their own body and to feel comfortable with how they use it.
It’s a scary thing to think that someone could take this away from you, that someone could think it’s their decision, not yours. But that “someone” would be wrong.
If your consent has been violated, talk to someone, tell someone, get some help and, let’s ban together to support those who have had their consent, their choice, their power taken away from them.
#METOO
