To the Editor:
My letter is in response to the recent essay about #MeToo (“We Shouldn’t Teach Young Men to Fear #MeToo,” October 24, 2018). If the last few weeks have taught us anything, it is that men need to recognize our privilege and power and listen to the stories of survivors. We must listen carefully and confront the societal conditions that allow sexual assault and harassment to take place.
Many ask if the #MeToo campaign is a moment or a movement. Certainly, time will tell, but men in large part hold the answer. Men everywhere—especially those in institutions like all-boys schools, Boy Scouts, and fraternities—must reflect and take time to have an honest, much-needed conversation about the toxic masculinity reverberating in our society. This “masculinity” plays a key role in misogyny and the sexual objectification of women.
After we listen and reflect, we must then work to create school, work, and community cultures that insist on zero-tolerance harassment policies, ultimately holding each man responsible for shaping a culture of respect.
Julian Kenneth Braxton
Director of Community and Multicultural Affairs
The Winsor School
Boston, Mass.
