The patriarchy is apparently in a tizzy as the Me Too movement takes hold.
“When you really break down how far we’ve come in the last year, I think the patriarchy is freaking out, and they’re shifting this narrative to the men being victims,” actor Alyssa Milano told Elle magazine in an interview published Wednesday.
Milano, an activist who helped spark the anti-sexual violence movement in the fall of 2017, told the magazine that the U.S. has since made important progress. But, as a mother of two, Milano said she still hears one problematic comment way too often.
“People are like, ‘Yeah, it really is a hard time for men right now. Shouldn’t you be thinking about your son?’” Milano said.
“I’m like, ‘I’m not worried about my son,’” she continued. ”‘It’s not a hard time for men right now. It’s a hard time for abusers and predators. It’s a hard time for men who abuse and prey on women. They should be freaking out. They should have been freaking out a long time ago.’”
She discussed how she provides small teaching moments while parenting her two children, Elizabella and Milo, and told the story of Milo asking why Elizabella got to choose their bedtime book one night.
“He said, ‘Why? I’m the one who can read.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I understand that, but Bella is going to pick the book tonight because what she wants matters just as much as what you want,’” the actor said. “It’s such a blessing to be able to teach them both by saying that out loud in those little moments. I hope it sticks with them.”
Milano has often spoken out about the importance of believing sexual assault survivors. In October, she criticized President Donald Trump after he said it’s a “scary time” for young men in America while he defended then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh against accusations of sexual assault.
“Men are having a hard time right now? I mean, c’mon. Women, young people, have had it difficult for generations and generations and generations,” Milano said then.
“We will not be silenced any longer,” she added. “And if that means men have a hard time right now, then I’m sorry, this is the way the pendulum has to shift for us to have the equality and security in our country.”
Head over to Elle to read Milano’s full interview.