It is said we live in the #MeToo era and that this movement has changed the way we view sexual assault and harassment forever.
It all started two years ago, the day after Harvey Weinstein, a Hollywood producer, was expelled from the Academy (as in the Oscars) for sexual harassment. Actress Alyssa Milano tweeted: ‘If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote “Me Too.” as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.’
Within 24 hours #MeToo had been shared by millions, that year its proponents were named by Time magazine as ‘Person of the Year’ and celebrities and politicians were toppled overnight.
It’s not a stand-alone movement. #MeToo is part of the ‘fourth-wave’ of feminism, set apart by its use of technology. Platforms like Twitter provide a voice for the previously voiceless.
There is much for Christians to agree with in #MeToo. It is right for us to want justice.
We should be concerned for women’s wellbeing, as in 1 Peter 3:7 – ‘Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner.’ Sadly, these verses make some cringe, but actually they call for what #MeToo longs for.
Furthermore, gender equality was not invented in the 20th century! In creation, God made both male and female in His image (Gen. 1:27).
Truth suppression?
However, like all secular worldviews, #MeToo suppresses God’s truth (Rom. 1:18). I see two problems, concerning equality and social media.
Firstly, many don’t realise that feminism and the Bible have different ideas of equality. Scripture bases equality in our status as God’s creation, but within broader feminism (which #MeToo sits in) the basis is not so clear, and often not stated.1
In practice, feminism says women should be treated equally because they are the same as men, and differences in biology get played down. We see that when people say ‘I shouldn’t raise my male/female children differently, gender is only skin deep.’
This is where things start to unravel. If men and women are basically the same, why do women need empowering? #MeToo undercuts its own movement. After all, assault against women would not be so scary if women were on average bigger and heavier than men. So if men and women are different, why say we’re equal? It seems that feminism has been quietly plagiarising the Christian idea of equality. That feminism came out of the more Christian west and not eastern cultures highlights this point.
Secondly, can social media bring the justice #MeToo wants? No fourth-wave advocate would say they worship social media, yet for many it offers what Jesus does: impartial justice that reaches even the powerful.
But social media has flaws. Facebook is very transient, and supporting online movements doesn’t require commitment, making #MeToo very fragile. Also, discussion online can become ugly; social media can be the worst place to discuss sexual assault.
Everything we want in Christ
Only Jesus Christ offers certainty for the good things that #MeToo wants.
#MeToo wants to remove people who abuse their power, but when they go will the new generation of the powerful be better?
Christ models a better way. As creator He had all authority, yet used His power to serve, in the greatest act of love, ‘He made Himself nothing’ to die on a cross for us (Phil. 2:6-11)!
Now, seated at the right hand of God, He will bring a fair judgement (Acts 17:31). #MeToo shows that deep down we want punishment for wrongdoers; only Jesus can bring that perfectly.
Then, Jesus will bring a New Creation where the presence of sin will be completely removed, a world without fear of abuse, or even frightening dark nights (Rev. 22:5). It’s much better than what our world offers.
While #MeToo has good aims, only the gospel provides a certain basis to make sense of equality, and only through the gospel can true justice ever come about.
David and Esther Griffin
The Griffins are at Oak Hill Theological College where David is a student. The position taken in the article is that of David and Esther and not necessarily that of Oak Hill.
FOOTNOTES
1. Ethicist Ian Carter noted in 2011 ‘To identify the basis of equality is to identify “the features of human beings in virtue of which they are to be treated in accordance with the principles of [egalitarian] justice.” With a few notable exceptions, the task of identifying this property has been strangely neglect-ed by contemporary egalitarians.’ ‘Respect and the Basis of Equality,’ Ethics 121, no. 3 (2011): 539.
