Yesterday, Brie Larson was one of the thousands of women on Twitter answering the heartbreaking question “When did you meet YOUR Harvey Weinstein?”
The tweet, written by journalist Anne T. Donahue, garnered thousands of responses from women sharing their stories of workplace harassment from a boss, often at a young age.
Brie joined the conversation, tweeting,
I merely smiled at a TSA agent and he asked for my phone number. To live life as a woman is to live life on the defense.
— Brie Larson (@brielarson) October 5, 2017
But of course, her tweet was met with replies like “Defense? Just say no and keep walking” and “And asking for a number is harassment?? Imagine living as a man trying not to upset feminists…”
I just sighed for six whole minutes.
Brie fought back, though, and tweeted,
My recent tweets were an invitation to hear my experience as a woman. Are you up to learning something that may challenge your current view?
— Brie Larson (@brielarson) October 5, 2017
Yep. I am. A lot of people aren’t, though. But continue.
First step: listen. I don’t need you explain why my experience is invalid. I need you to listen because I am not a liar and I have a soul.
— Brie Larson (@brielarson) October 5, 2017
Second: ask questions. If you don’t understand, believe in us enough to learn more. This can be challenging if our perspectives differ.
— Brie Larson (@brielarson) October 5, 2017
Third: speak from a place of love. Remember that we are (hopefully) just trying to make the world a safer place for all.
— Brie Larson (@brielarson) October 5, 2017
Fourth: social media can broaden your world view. It can bring us together to learn. Don’t miss this opportunity to grow in unexpected ways
— Brie Larson (@brielarson) October 5, 2017
That she even has to break this down is devastating. That the tweet asking for women to share their harassment experiences accumulated thousands of replies is devastating.
Brie wrote,
“As always, I stand with the brave survivors of sexual assault and harassment. It’s not your fault. I believe you.”
Thank you, Brie, for remaining one of those voices, and for perfectly articulating to social media abusers why the small act of empathy is so important.
