When Did We Know That the #MeToo Moment Was Truly Over?
At its peak, #MeToo aimed to alter a culture that concealed and enabled illegal abuse of women and imposed hypocritical double standards, holding women to one standard while elevating unscrupulous men. However, events in 2024 have clearly indicated that the moment has passed.
The trouble began when the #MeToo movement focused on the Christian community, known as #ChurchToo. The revelations of abuse within the Southern Baptist Convention, Liberty University, and other Christian institutions exposed the problem as being not limited to Hollywood or liberal media, but a widespread issue affecting the Christian community as well.
As the focus shifted from Hollywood to the Christian community, the narrative changed, and the story was no longer just about “them,” but about “us.” The moral high ground eroded, and the response to #ChurchToo was lukewarm at best.
American society, including the American church, remains rife with misogyny, and while progress has been made in respecting the legal rights of women, there is still much work to be done to achieve true cultural equality and respect.
But misogyny was never the complete explanation. The reason why #MeToo faded is that most people value vulnerable people in the abstract but are not willing to sacrifice anything they truly value to correct an injustice that does not involve them directly. This lack of willingness to take risks and face consequences is a deep moral flaw.
The author shares his own wife’s experience of being abused as a child and the lack of accountability from the church. The abuser was never held accountable, and his father, a powerful figure in the church, helped to cover up the abuse. The author concludes that most people do not want to bear the cost of confronting abusers and therefore fail to act.
The #MeToo movement faced excessive responses and criticisms, and while these criticisms had some merit, they do not excuse the lack of progress in combating sexual abuse. The nation is now poised to be led by a man found liable for sexual abuse, and key members of his team are also embroiled in scandals. The author suggests that the lack of progress is due to the refusal of many people to confront their own moral flaws and make sacrifices to correct injustice.