500
viewsTo Oprah's Brave 200
By MetaxaCunningham, Sunday, November 7, 2010, 4 commentsOn Friday, November 5th The Oprah Winfrey Show moved me. It started with 200 men standing in the audience of the Oprah show, each holding up a photograph of himself at the age he was when he was first sexually abused as a child. Part two of this landmark episode will air next Friday. The following is my letter of gratitude to these men.
To Oprah’s Brave 200:
You moved me to tears; my heart ached for you. The unspeakable abuse you suffered as children will sit with me forever. You are brave and you are survivors, all of you. I hope each one of you feels some sense of liberation in your soul for coming forward to tell your stories.
It was shocking for me to find out that the statistics of the sexual abuse is 1 in 6 for boys and 1 in 4 for girls. Parents are instinctively watchful over their daughters, aware that the risk is high that their little girl will be targeted by a sexual predator. Parents are more inclined to discuss what bad touching and sexual abuse is with their daughters than with their sons. The perception has often been that boys are safer; now more people will be aware that is not the truth.
I want to thank you, Oprah and Tyler Perry for shedding light on the subject of the sexual abuse of boys, and for emphasizing those statistics. My hope is that more parents will be aware that their sons require just as much instruction as to how to detect abusers, to know what inappropriate touch is and learn that it is important to tell someone about the abuse.
The legacy you leave with your bravery is an open door to communication and a public awareness of the reality that boys are targeted as often by predators as are young girls. With your courage, you will give other men the courage to come forward and heal, and by dispelling the myth of shame, you help to break the shackles of silence for other victims of sexual abuse.
Bless you all for sharing your experience on The Oprah Winfrey Show and may you find yourself on the journey to healing. Be proud of yourselves for coming forward, so that others may come forward.
I am so sorry that you had to ever experience the horrors of sexual abuse.
All my love and respect,
Metaxa
Skirt readers please click on the following link to get more information about this episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Bookmark/Search this post with:
4 Comments
This is heartbreaking. I
This is heartbreaking. I didn't see the episode, but I can only imagine. The more people feel comfortable breaking the silence (both men/women, boys/girls) the better chances we have of preventing it in the future. It sure does take a lot of courage to break that silence. I'm sure those 200 men made a difference in someone's life. Great post.
Tune in to Oprah on Friday,
Thanks, Chelsea. Tune in to Oprah on Friday, November 12 for part 2 of this episode. There will be more stories and information from these 200 men, plus the women in their lives will come forward and discuss how the abuse has impacted their relationships.
Such a beautiful post! Your
Such a beautiful post! Your letter moved me.
Have you read Richard Hoffman's memoir Half the House? I think that you would really, really enjoy it. Richard was my memoir instructor at Emerson College, and he has an incredible story--not to mention that his writing is absolutely beautiful and moving. I hope you will get a chance to read it someday. What's also really awesome is that his abuser was brought to justice once Richard's book came out and more people came forward to tell their stories about it. It was a healing book.
Hope you are well these days! I've missed reading your posts! I've been so incredibly busy with school and with my internship and am feeling relieved that we're about to get a long holiday break:-)
I am well, thanks. I will
I am well, thanks. I will look for that book.
I haven't posted much because life is crazy busy and we went on vacation. I do plan to make up for it.
Participate More