"During an interview on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live earlier this week, the actor, who claims he was groped by Hollywood agent Adam Venit in the presence of his wife, shared that Black women showed up for him the most. Venit denies the allegation.
“I have to say this: the people that surprised me the most were Black women,” said Crews. “Black men did not want any part of it.”
“All my support came from Black women, straight up. And that’s kind of wild. It shocked me. It shocked my family,” he told the show’s host, Andy Cohen."
Source: https://www.essence.com/celebrity/terry-crews-black-women-supported-him-after-sexual-assault/
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Well, this isn't shocking to me. I suspect this is not shocking to most black feminists either. And it probably shouldn't be shocking to any feminist of any color because...
And America is a Toxic Masculinity soaked culture, and that includes Black American Culture.
Well, this isn't shocking to me. I suspect this is not shocking to most black feminists either. And it probably shouldn't be shocking to any feminist of any color because...
Toxic Masculinity says, "A man is never supposed to be weak. A man is never supposed to be a victim. And a man is especially never supposed to be a victim of a crime that lowly women are victims of -- not when you're a big strong alpha-male."
And America is a Toxic Masculinity soaked culture, and that includes Black American Culture.
When a man has an unchallenged Toxic Masculinity World View, he's going to feel afraid and ashamed of the very thought that their own masculinity might crumble if he is sexually harassed or assaulted like a woman. Men have been trained from birth to be afraid of being female-like, which is why little boys call one another "sissy" and "p*ssy" when they are growing up.
And men who are ashamed and afraid of their masculinity crumbling are not going to help other men who have openly admitted to being sexually harassed or assaulted when to do so is akin to acknowledging that this other man is no longer "a real man."
Toxic masculinity doesn't just hurt women, it hurts men. It hurts men first and deepest. And to be more specific, Toxic Masculinity is why men, especially black men, have unacknowledged problems with emotional stress and suicide. And risks associated with isolation and suicide are further exacerbated when black men cannot have one another's backs if the other man is hurt or crying-- due to Toxic Masculinity.
Toxic masculinity doesn't just hurt women, it hurts men. It hurts men first and deepest. And to be more specific, Toxic Masculinity is why men, especially black men, have unacknowledged problems with emotional stress and suicide. And risks associated with isolation and suicide are further exacerbated when black men cannot have one another's backs if the other man is hurt or crying-- due to Toxic Masculinity.
So no, I'm not shocked at all that black men didn't have Terry Crews back.
Crews has declared himself a feminist, which is probably strike one with the Ashy-s and Hoteps. That's part of the reason he's getting so little support from black men.
But I know deep in bone marrow that the declaration that he is a feminist is simultaneously a declaration that Crews is sure that his masculinity comes from inside him and not circumstances. And Terry Crews being a feminist is one of the major reasons why he is the only(?) high profile black man brave enough to say he'd been sexually assaulted.
Crews' bravery is a service to little black boys everywhere.
But I know deep in bone marrow that the declaration that he is a feminist is simultaneously a declaration that Crews is sure that his masculinity comes from inside him and not circumstances. And Terry Crews being a feminist is one of the major reasons why he is the only(?) high profile black man brave enough to say he'd been sexually assaulted.
Crews' bravery is a service to little black boys everywhere.
Like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's book title says, "We Should All Be Feminists" It's a short read. Go out buy it for the men in your life, today.
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