Victoria EverleighI’d love to give Harvey Weinstein a copy of Theology of the Body for Beginners(this is an affiliate link).
It seems like everyday for the past month, there’s another man in Hollywood accused of sexual harassment or assault. I think a lot of people aren’t surprised, and are probably thinking, “It’s about time this came to light.”
We all know this doesn’t just happen in Hollywood. It probably happens in most workplaces, and it’s not just men doing the harassing; women do it as well. For the sake of this post, I’m going to focus on men because they are the subject of the brunt of accusations.
Heres my take on it all:
The prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace is a symptom of men not seeing women the way God intended them to. They look at women as objects who give them the pleasure they seek – essentially, a means to an end.
If men truly saw women as made in the image and likeness of God, I think they’d think twice before disrespecting them in the workplace or elsewhere. It’s like how (most) men know not to say crude things in front of their mothers. I’d like to think that if they recognized every woman as having the same dignity as their mother, they wouldn’t dare to use any woman.
Our Purpose
I’m trying to approach this issue with as much compassion for both sides as possible. It’s easy to feel compassion for the victims, not so much for their harassers/assaulters. My knee-jerk is to condemn those accused — and while that behavior is deplorable, this post is more about solutions than finger pointing. With that in mind…
The culture makes it very easy for most people to totally misunderstand our role as men and women; our sole purpose is not to sexually gratify each other. God intended sex to take place within a marriage and as a gift between the spouses. I think anything short of that can’t and won’t ever be as fulfilling.
This is so much of what I learned from Theology of the Body for Beginners
Theology of the Body
If Pope John Paul II were still alive, I’d recommend all those accused to go spend a month with him! He, of course, wrote “Theology of the Body,” which is all about why God made us male and female and why He invented sex. Since it’s such a dense text (I haven’t read it), I think the Beginner’s book by Christopher West is the best way to start!
Side note – I’d also love to go on a month-long retreat with JPII!
One of my favorite parts in the book is when Christopher West talks about how as you learn more about why God made us the way we are, you’ll see people differently and you’ll want to respect and honor them, not use them.
Prayers for All
I pray for all of the victims of harassment or assault. I hope that they can see their God-given dignity.
I also pray that Harvey Weinstein and all the others who have been accused/will be accused can open their hearts to see other people as sons and daughters of God with dignity beyond imagine and won’t look to prey on/use/disrespect others to satisfy themselves.
Let’s be Real
I will be the first to say I don’t have this all figured out. It’s always easier to write/read this stuff than it is to live it. We’re all human; we have hormones; we have temptations, etc. We’re all going to pass by thousands of attractive people in our lifetime, but it’s not a license to treat them like a toy for entertainment.
Ultimately, it’s not that God wants us to ignore the beauty in others; He wants us to appreciate it and respect it for the divine gift that it is.