When you and I hear the phrase, “The MeToo Movement,” it comes across as a newer issue affecting our current world.
But we know better, right?
“There is nothing new under the sun…”
Ecclesiastes 1:9
The issue has been with us for centuries.
Centuries.
Check out THIS painting from 1874: “The Irritating Gentlemen” by Bertold Woltze.
“The Me Too” Movement, according to the 1800s.
This painting exemplifies an artistic genre that sprang up in the mid- nineteenth century, referred to as “The Problem Picture.” The art from this genre focused on portraying uncomfortable, ambiguous scenes, often showcasing compromising positions and vulnerability.
We see that in full effect in this painting. Let’s look a little closer.
We are drawn to the young woman.
She’s fair, probably barely out of her teens, if that. She’s alone, staring at “the viewer,” with an appeal for… help?
We see a tear, resting on her check, under her right eye.
So, she has been provoked to cry. This situation has brought her to that point.
She has that “deer in headlights” look.
She’s uncomfortable, distressed, fearful, and desperate for someone to intervene and rescue her.
Who knows how long she has been in this predicament?
Minutes?
Hours?
He doesn’t seem to be leaving her alone.
And she WANTS to be left alone!
But she is trapped.
Stuck.
Nowhere to go.
And “he” knows it, doesn’t he?
And he is taking advantage of the opportunity.
The “gentlemen?”
Well, he possesses an exaggerated grin, as he leans over the train car seat, focused on this young woman. He appears lecherous, not just “irritating.”
“Unwanted Attention.”
“But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” Matthew 5:37
She couldn’t-didn’t- say “no.”
And/or she DID, and it was disregarded.
“Me Too,” anyone?
The powerlessness.
Can you relate?
I can.
Here’s an ugly reality, especially for females?
It is WHEN, NOT IF we will be “messed with?”
Bothered.
Harassed.
Assaulted.
Raped.
“Violated.”
“Unwanted Attention.”
It usually can start with a moment like this painting.
“The Problem Picture.”
(“Just Violated?” Book Excerpt):
…As a theatre major, I was involved in college productions. In this instance, I was the twenty-year-old Assistant Director of the Spring production of “The Fantasticks.”
My theatre professor was its director.
Let me set the scene, since I am so theatrically inclined.
I was standing in the lobby area of the theatre department, looking at the poster for the production.
My Professor/Director comes up behind me, engulfing me with a big bear hug. I froze.
What do I do? What do I say?
There was no one else roaming around the department at this point. An opportune time, I suppose.
He didn’t say a word. He was over six feet tall, to me, being a, then, five-foot four stature in height.
And even though I was overweight at the time, from the “Bulimia phase” of my eating disorder behaviors, I still felt overpowered, miniscule in his bear hug shadow.
He hugged me silently for probably two minutes.
And then, he kissed my neck.
What?
Now what am I supposed to do?
I looked around to see if other people were walking around the college campus. There must be somebody here. It was during afternoon classes. Where were the people?
But no one was there. Ghost town. Complete silence.
He kissed my neck, uncoiled his ruddy and hairy arms from me, and walked away.
What was that?
A “thank you?” A bit of “praise?”
Just a theatre type, being all warm, fuzzy, cuddly, and physically affectionate? You know those weird theatre people.
Was this “grooming?” Grooming me for what though? I’d be graduating within that month and then transferring to another school to complete my bachelor’s degree.
What message did he want to send me?
I knew he was married. I had seen his wife at numerous production performances.
Was I just making a big deal out of nothing?
My dad would probably say “yes” to that. In his mind, this was not a real thing to be bothered with. My mother would also probably say “yes” as well.
And my mother would probably further emphasize me keeping “my eye on the prize.”
Besides, it’s “not that bad.”
I can hear her voice saying something like…
“Don’t fight back. Don’t retaliate…”
(Again, “get along to go along”).
She would continue to encourage/warn me…
“You are almost ready to graduate with your associate in arts degree and move on to another college. You can have a new start there. You’re doing so well. Dean’s list. A great resume. Do not blow it now.
It’s not that big of a deal.”
This was long, long, LONG before the “Me Too” movement.
A different time? A different culture?
Eh, I don’t know. Perhaps. But it was still inappropriate, right?...
“The Problem Picture.”
What’s YOURS?
Whatever it has been that has you relating to this young woman in the painting, The Most High, your FATHER loves you, did not cause that or want that for you… and He wants to heal and help you now.
It doesn’t matter how long it has been.
It doesn’t matter if someone else doesn’t think it weas that big of a deal.
“Violated.”
Another person’s opinion does not dictate your real pain and trauma.
“He who affixed the ear, can He not hear?
He who formed the eye, can He not see?
He who admonishes the nations, does He not discipline?
