In the modern age, after years of women protesting and discussing sexual harassment, we would think that there would be no need for another movement. We were obviously wrong. The “Me Too” movement was created by Tarana Burke, and it targeted empowerment of women who had experienced sexual assault, especially in underprivileged communities. The movement has gained momentum in the past two years, beginning with Hollywood Producer Harvey Weinstein, who was exposed to be an abuser to his actresses. After that, we have seen countless other people in positions of power being exposed for this type of abuse.

The Chicago Tribune comments about why the right-wing Conservatives are more likely to be opposed to the “Me Too” movement.  They also took a survey giving out information to the public. The article describes that 92% of right-wing men are said to believe that men will be less willing to mentor women in the workforce and 80% of right-wing women feel the exact same way. Taking this into consideration, this goes back to men and women having more respect for each other. With a good percentage of right-wing men and women thinking this way, I believe this is a very toxic thought produced by generations putting down women. Having the “Me Too” movement and having it alter laws in the United States should not prohibit the greater improvement of women and men together in the workplace; it should only improve women and men together in the workplace. With the “Me Too” movement here to bring awareness to sexual assault in the world but most importantly in the workplace, right-wing members have lots of room to see that this is not a movement to prohibit men and women in the workplace, but to encourage them to work together and fight back against sexual harassment.  

Excluding the right wing men and women, we now need to look at men and their reasons for not respecting women and the “Me Too” movement.  In a recent article, CNN News discusses this known invention called the “Man Box.” This man box shows the different character traits that men feel that they need and have observed all of their lives. One trait that stood out to me was that of “women are objects.” With this trait being built into men, it is an obvious reason why women are being harassed in the workplace. But this goes back to the upbringing of the man and the traits that society has taught him. Society has conditioned men to have traits to prioritize masculinity, and these include the refusal to show pain, the image of always being powerful, the refusal to show his feelings, the image of being a protector of the woman and family and the image of showing anger.  These are just a few traits that has been taught to the man all his life and that is a factor of the mistreatment of women in the workplace.

On a more positive note, the “Me Too” movement gained increasing momentum when TIME Magazine awarded “The Silence Breakers” as the 2017 TIME Person of the Year.  “The Silence Breakers” are people who have been sexually assaulted, abused, and hurt and have stood up for what they believe in. They also speak out against what is happening in the world about women and sexual harassment.  TIME awarding “The Silence Breakers” this award has and will have a positive impact on everyone around the world. Knowing that someone has experienced the same thing that they have experienced will give women who have been assaulted hope for the future.  And it will also continue to bring awareness to the problem, that not just people in the U.S. are having, but also women all around the world. This is not just a U.S. problem, this is a global problem and it needs to be fixed.