Hiding Verses: Not All Men

This was a really good one to read in my closet. I am a survivor of sexual assault. I wrote this when I was feeling very tired of being told not all men are the same. I know that. I know not all men are predators, but that statement is so incredibly unhelpful to a woman who is in pain because she has repeatedly suffered at the hands of multiple men.

I was assaulted by men I thought were friends, men who were neighbors, young men whose faces I never saw because they groped me or reached into my pants while passing in crowded hallways, taking their pleasure while shouting slurs and laughing together with their friends.

Women are allowed to feel hurt and angry. When we speak up, it does not mean we are talking about "all men" even when we are talking about the standards for male culture and toxic masculinity. Until we allow women to speak up without being silenced, it will continue to feel like it is all men, and many women as well.

[Image Credit](unsplash.com/photos/3zgllN5P7Mc)

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