#MeToo May Be the Worst Thing to Ever Happen to Working Women

According to a new survey by LeanIn.org, 60% of male managers now feel uncomfortable socializing and mentoring women one-on-one in the workplace. That’s a huge increase from last year’s survey, where only 46% of male managers said the same thing. And even that number is much, much higher than it was before the whole #MeToo phenomenon got rolling.

The HuffPost article in which this backlash is reported is, of course, not blaming the hysteria of the movement for the new trouble is has caused women in the workplace. No, in another example of how women are never to blame for anything, it is the men themselves who are at fault. As if male managers could come to any other sane conclusion after seeing some of the insane downfalls that transpired after this movement went off the rails.

“It might seem like men avoiding women at the office is a fine solution to the problem of sexual harassment, but men still overwhelmingly hold positions of power at work,” writes HuffPost. “For better or worse, women need their support to get ahead. Notably, women are rarely asked if they’re afraid to interact with men ― even though they’re mainly the ones who’ve reported harassment and assault.”

They spoke to Rachel Thomas of LeanIn, who said, “If men want to be part of the solution, then pulling away from women is the wrong thing to do.”

Being part of the solution is all well and good, but no man is going to prioritize “ending sexual harassment in America” over “keeping my job.”

Perhaps the #MeToo movement started off as a positive development for change. We do not doubt or question the fact that bringing down abject predators like Harvey Weinstein is a step in the right direction for the country, if not humanity in general. Nor do we feel that women should have to endure endless amounts of sexual harassment and pressure just to get a promotion or, in some cases, just to keep their jobs.

Unfortunately, as so often happens when these social movements get rolling, a desire for justice began to overtake common sense. Before you knew it, men were being stripped of their careers for making off-color jokes on an elevator at some point. Forced into early retirement because they happened to pat a woman on the shoulder. Seeing their reputations go up in smoke because they asked about a half-visible tattoo on a woman’s back.

“My real message is: Get over it,” Thomas told HuffPost. “You know what respectful behavior is. If for some reason you’re still reticent, don’t use that as an excuse. There are easy ways to give women equal access and support.”

Sorry, but “get over it” is no kind of answer at all when men are being persecuted for normal, friendly social interactions. And like we said before, there’s not an executive on the planet who is going to prioritize giving “women equal access and support” over protecting his own career.

Once again, feminists thought they could just snap their fingers and remake humanity. Now they’re finding out that things aren’t quite that simple.