When I was younger, I was told myself that monsters were just figures of my imagination and I should fall back asleep. Today, the world is waking up to this very real threat that affects our sisters, wives, friends, colleagues and is an issue to all of humanity.
Salma Hayek wrote an honest article in the New York Times where she discussed her experience in Hollywood. Harvey Weinstein made her strip naked for a film to satisfy some twisted fantasy of his. Finally, we have come to a point in time where we don’t ask Salma,
“Why did you not report him sooner?”
“You are an actress, isn’t it part of the job?”
“You could have said no…”
She did say no. She always said no. That was the problem. No one heard or believed her. She said no to letting him watch her shower, she said no to him giving her a massage… In Harvey Weinstein Is My Monster Too, Salma Hayek said, “Little did I know it would become my turn to say no”.
Now the world is listening. Listening to all the cries, seeing all the locked doors and instead of looking away, we are seeing what is happening continuously, and it is our turn to help.
I am pursuing a theater degree at Grand Canyon University. The environment I am entering is the same one where I have to be conscious of people like Harvey. Yes, not everyone is a monster. But there are monsters. Yes, I will continue to take steps to follow whatever career awaits for me in the acting industry. As times are changing, women can now come forward to voice injustice, which has been happening behind closed doors for far too long with reprimanding those at fault and with power, instead of blaming the victim. The cycle of “well what was she wearing?” is over. Next let us ask, “What are we going to do about the monsters abusing women?”
The good news is that the monsters are being discovered and are being forced to the face their actions. Thanks to social media and feminism, the rise of awareness is growing more than ever. The #Metoo and #TimesUp movements have increased awareness and has offered freedom to those who were abused for so long and who were once silenced. Now, they are speaking up and raising their voices. Men are also becoming more involved, showing everyone that this is not just simply a women’s issue.
In sensitive gender related issues, it is good to hear all sides of an issue. On December 14th, in an interview by ABC news, Matt Damon had a constructive, informative and groundbreaking interview regarding Weinstein. Being an acquaintance and colleague with him for years, Matt said, “Hopefully men will be so terrified, entering this new age with social media, people have the same platform as New York Times- there are no secrets anymore.”
Peter Travers, an ABC interviewer, asked Matt a question that hit close to home. Travers asked, “If your daughters experienced something similar, how would you react or do?” Damon replied with a swift and educated response discussing his hopes for his daughters to make the right decision. Damon told Travers that no matter how smart and prepared his daughters are, monsters still exist and the nightmare is very real.
After reading the responses in the comment section of Salma’s article, one particular commenter stood out from the 993 other comments. Sachi G. writes,
“Thank you, Salma Hayek, for not just adding your name to the list of those abused by Harvey Weinstein. This piece is more meaningful than that; it conveys with a vivid additional dimension the personal toll a truly hateful man’s abuses takes on its victims”.
if you have never
stood with the oppressed
there is still time
-lift them
– Rupi Kaur
Salma Hayek from Harvey Weinstein Is My Monster Too
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/13/opinion/contributors/salm…
Interview with Matt Damon
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/matt-damon-opens-harvey-weinstein-se…
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