#metoo can be you.
I want you to believe you are worthy of being treated with respect. Do you know that? There are times when I can sense your insecurities, your vulnerabilities, and your need for assurance, and this is certainly NORMAL. We all feel that way about ourselves at times. But please understand no matter how you feel about yourself, you DESERVE respect. You must have the courage and confidence to stop anyone who is behaving inappropriately with you, no matter how uncomfortable it might be. Please honor who you are and believe you always have the right to defend yourself and protect yourself. It might be scary, you might worry about the consequences, and you may think it would be easier to just let it go…
But you are wrong. It is so much harder to live with the resulting emotional damage that comes from being violated. It could haunt you for the rest of your life. These beautiful and brave gymnasts have proven just that. Their testimonies break every parent’s heart wide open and leave it raw and vulnerable to consider their own child’s safety- at any age.
For you, the risk gets higher. You are at the age where the chances of you becoming a victim rise to an astonishing rate. These years, you are under a great deal of pressure. Pressure from your teachers, your coaches, your boss, your peers. But there is no situation or circumstance that should ever allow anyone to pressure you into being a victim. Be on guard, be mindful of the value you place on the people around you and don’t ever let their position take over your own beliefs about what is wrong and right.
Please don’t ever compromise your principles for the sake of acceptance, attention, or praise. It will harm you. You may feel like one comment, one inappropriate advance, one awkward conversation is no big deal- but it IS. Don’t allow one person to take advantage of you and defile your integrity as a woman. If there has been anything I want you to learn from the #metoo movement, it’s this: Let these women’s voices empower you to stand up, be strong, and defend your right to be treated with respect.
You have been given a gift of knowledge, a gift of strength, and a gift of empowerment through the #metoo and #timesup movements. You hold on tight to the wings of millions of women as they rise while showing you how to rise too.
I will always stand with you, believe in you, fight for you, and rise alongside you.
I love you always and forever,
Mom
This article originally appeared at The Mom Cafe.
***
Read this next: The Line in Aly Raisman’s Victim Impact Statement That Moms Can’t Miss
