On Saturday, October 6, a little over a week after the hearing in which Dr. Christine Blasey Ford sat in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee and described the night of her rape, Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed into the Supreme Court. The members on the Supreme Court serve for their lifetimes, and Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation makes two seperate additions into the Supreme Court under President Donald Trump, altering the political makeup of the court for what may be most of the rest of our lives.
That day, Dr. Ford didn’t just sit in front of a committee and speak for herself. Dr. Ford spoke, with heartbreaking clarity, for the one in five women who will be raped in their lifetime. She speaks for the two-thirds of college women who have experienced sexual assault. She speaks for the women who have felt ashamed, silenced, and beaten down by an administration that consistently rules, again and again, against victims of sexual assault.
And still, despite baring herself completely to America as they watched her give her testimony, some find it hard to believe her. When I say some, I mean mostly men — men who simply cannot find it in themselves to believe a woman.
I believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford because as a woman, I have become all too aware of the dangers of toxic masculinity in our society — the same kind of toxic masculinity that helps enforce rape culture.
I believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford because the immeasurable strength and valor that it takes to stand in front of your abuser and discuss your trauma in detail should not be taken for granted.
I believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford because you don’t need to be a victim of sexual assault to understand it.
I believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford because I have no reason not to. If there is one thing we have on this earth that cannot be taken away, it is our voice. Dr. Ford has used hers to fight for what is right, knowing even as she detailed her rape on television for all of America to see that Kavanaugh would likely still be confirmed. She did it for everyone watching from home, the women (and men) that have become victims of sexual assault that needed to see someone fighting for them. She did it because she knew she had to, even if people would doubt her.
She didn’t ask for the ‘fame’, didn’t ask to become a household name or to be known across the country. She didn’t ask to be raped. She didn’t ask for any of this.
Yet, she felt that duty within her to share her story and bring hope to others.
I believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford because I believe in a future where toxic masculinity does not allow rapists to be confirmed into the Supreme Court.
I believe her because how could I not?