And Then a (Male) Hero Comes Along…

The ever-evolving #MeToo movement has caused a seemingly seismic shift across many industries, but unfortunately, a vital voice keeps being marginalized: the voice of the male ally.

Well now a man has stepped up with a truly revolutionary supplement to #MeToo that will make the whole movement complete. It’s called #WeToo, and it’s all about dudes who want people to know that they’re not against the #MeToo movement! Talk about a hero coming along.

Michel Hazanavicius, the French director of Oscar-winning film The Artist, launched the hashtag in response to the Weinstein controversy as well as that letter signed by a bunch of French women calling #MeToo (and its French counterpart #BalanceTonPorc) a witch hunt. Hazanavicius explained to The Hollywood Reporter:

“I don’t usually speak as a man, but I felt it was really important to say that we, as men, agree with the movement. In France we have the tendency to try to be in the gray zone and sometimes say, ‘We don’t like this [point],’ and it can be interpreted as not agreeing with the entire movement. We agree with the movement, even if there are some things that are not perfect sometimes, but this movement is necessary.”

“I don’t usually speak as a man” is a weird thing to say when, as a man, you speak literally 100 percent of the time as a man.

It is crucial for men to engage in #MeToo and take responsibility for their role in the sexist and at times degrading treatment of women. #WeToo is not about taking responsibility. It’s about making sure the world knows you’re not down with the harassment of women even though you’re quick to make sure everyone knows you don’t think the movement is perfect.

Hazanavicius went on:

“Women that are victims of harassment know now their voices will be heard and for the guys who harass women, they have to know that if they are accused, we will listen to the victims,” he said. “This is the thing which is most important because so far it has been your word against mine, and it was always the strongest who would win.”

I’m super-excited for men to finally not just understand the heinous forms of misconduct women have been subjected to, but to have their very own space and platform where they feel safe realizing things that women have been actively discussing for a very long time. And as someone who has both a father and a brother and therefore tremendous respect for the guys in this world and all the ways they undermine women’s work, welcome to the resistance #WeToo!!!