For #MeToo to Work, We Must Draw the Line Between Sexual Assault and Being a Jerk: New at Reason

At its best, the #MeToo movement has smashed open what had been a closed, whispered conversation, mostly occurring between women, about the prevalence of male sexual harassment and assault. It has exposed serial violent predators like Harvey Weinstein and serial abusive creeps like Louis C.K., and it has apparently led at least some men to rethink their own actions and the boundaries of acceptable behavior. “The #MeToo era has changed my work,” the psychotherapist Avi Klein wrote in a New York Times column. “If therapy has a reputation for navel gazing, this powerful moment has joined men in the room, forcing them to engage with topics that they would have earlier avoided.”

But with any movement, there’s a point where the initial excitement and sense of shared purpose fades a bit. It’s time to discuss exactly what the movement is for—what it’s trying to accomplish and which goals it should seek. No set of #MeToo allegations better highlights the importance of answering these questions clearly than the story of Junot Díaz, writes Jesse Singal.

View this article.