Sex Versus Sexual Assault: #MeToo

Humans have had this odd attitude towards sex over the centuries.  It varies from culture to culture, but the general tagline over the centuries was, “Sex is dirty, save it for someone you love”.  So humans wrestle with behavior around sex and how to have intimacy that is good, that is fulfilling, that is mutual.

The experiences have often been much more troubling and traumatic for women in this regard.  From periods where women were commodities, property to be sold for benefit to their male relatives, to periods where women were either considered virtuous or vile (Honest woman or slut), to current times when women are considered whiny by some men when they ask for equality in sexual encounters–sex seems to baffle humanity.  We like it.  We fear it.  We do it, sometimes when we choose, and sometimes when we have to, and sometimes sex becomes abuse and violence and terrorism.

The #MeToo movement has a lot to say about respecting and listening to women’s experiences.  This movement reaffirms that all people are philosophers.  Do we have actresses in a book of philosophy?  Of course–they have a platform in their visibility, and have universal stories to tell that perhaps help people listen.