Hermes Solenzol Ph.D. I will continue to think on this. My point wasn’t to silence or censor but to ask why WOMEN are still being silenced or censored, even in the wake of this movement that we have waited for so long — that we have DESERVED for so long. (Please forgive the all caps — I’m not sure how to bold text in comments and my using them is only for emphasis — not to express anger or aggression.)

I feel like it’s totally legitimate to call out the fact that the cultural, male-centered dialogue is STILL suppressing women’s voices and now trying to openly discredit the #metoo movement with criticisms like these. I have been silenced and edited so many times in my life, because of my gender, and finally, I feel like women are getting room to tell their stories and take up space…and it feels like the pushback is overwhelming. And that, as you can imagine, is upsetting and discouraging, to say the least.

Again, I will think about what you said. I agree that it’s important to examine how we speak, what terms we use. I DO think it’s fair to say that men (in the most general of terms) need to step back a bit, be less quick to insert themselves into this conversation which is about WOMEN and should primarily center women’s voices. I don’t consider that censorship or telling people what they can or cannot say. It’s no different than saying that white people (myself included) need to stop rushing into conversations about racism (especially to argue about the ways we are dealing with it or whether or not it’s “legit” — it is, period) and center black voices and experiences, instead.

I spend a LOT of time considering my word choice in my work, as you can imagine. I believe in working together. I believe we are all in this together. And so I will take another look at this article and give it more thought. But I also stand by my feeling that it’s okay to demand more space for women’s voices, which means calling out the men who are pushing back so hard on #metoo. And that’s what I intended to do here.

Thank you for commenting. ❤