Story of Maisie

In the recent wake of “#MeToo”, women are stepping up all over social media platforms to unite due to a very common experience – inappropriate sexual advances… It is sad to say, the phenomenon is so common, and for so long, societies and cultures have accepted it as part of “civilization”,  “Human Nature”, as many have called it for centuries.

Especially in the “Chinese” culture in which I grew up, you can read in classic novels, hear in small talks, even by my late grandmother, that it is “normal” male behavior to have “wandering eyes” and it is better to keep “one eye open and one eye shut” for inappropriate sexual behaviors of one’s husband, and that’s the “secret” to a successful long-lasting marriage.

Well, there are at least a million things wrong with this marriage “insider tip”. For one, what kind of value system are we teaching our next generation, whether boys or girls? That men can mistreat and harass women because it is “human nature”? Most devastatingly, by accepting inappropriate behavior and advances from men as “human nature” and “normal behavior”, we are teaching our girls to devalue themselves and ignore their feelings of insecurity and lack of safety. We fail to teach them to be in-tune to feelings of fear and shame as an instinct God gives us to know that we need to flee danger and seek protection, thus girls end up being subjected to molestation and inappropriate advances, many are even silenced and invalidated by their own parents when they somehow have the courage to speak up.

This society needs to change! Our value system needs to be reflected upon. It is never late to right the wrong! It is TIME for us to address the issue of sexual harassments and inappropriate advances head on!

Below is a radio interviewed I conducted last year – the story of Maisie – she is a survivor and overcomer of childhood sexual abuse

https://dpmradio.bandcamp.com/ track/06292017-story-of-maisie