Sarah Hyland just shared the most incredible needlepoint message, and we need it on our wall like yesterday
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for women. Lately, it seems almost impossible to read the news without discovering that a new woman has publicly spoken out about their experiences with sexual harassment. But Sarah Hyland is speaking out in a different way. She posted the most perfect Instagram responding to the outpouring of assault allegations and tales ignited by the New York Times report revealing that Harvey Weinstein has been accused of assaulting over 20 women.
The picture, which Hyland didn’t specifically connect to the outpouring of celebrities’ assault allegations, shows a needlepoint with a feminist message. It’s one that everyone should take to heart at a time like this.
"Boys will be
boysheld accountable for their f*cking actions," the message reads.
Really, that should be a given. But at a time when a president has dismissed his own misogynistic remarks as “locker room talk” and his alleged victims as too unattractive to sexually assault, it is clear that Hyland’s photo is one that needs to be seen. In fact, it deserves to be printed out and taped to every light post, classroom (maybe without the expletive), and locker room door in the country.
Sarah Hyland’s caption simply says, “Need I say more? Cause I could say whole lot…”
Clearly, the Modern Family star finds the needlepoint sufficient in explaining her opinion about the need for changing our expectations of men. But of course, there’s a lot that she — and likely any woman — could add. Like, “DUH,” maybe as a start.
Sadly, our culture has a history of dismissing men’s abhorrent action as something that shouldn’t necessarily be taken seriously.
Even in Harvey Weinsten’s apology, he used a different version of the “boys will be boys” narrative. He excused his behavior by saying that he “came of age in the 60s and 70s, when all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different.”
By saying that, Weinstein essentially acknowledges that maybe boys of todayshould be held accountable for their actions. But men who grew up in a different time don’t deserve a harsh treatment.
Sorry, not sorry, Harvey, because that’s not going to fly anymore.
The artist of the cross stitch that’s now making the rounds on social media has a whole collection of equally awesome intersectional-feminist art. Her name is Shannon Downey, and you can find her on Instagram at @badasscrossstitch.
Even though many things about the Harvey Weinstein scandal are discouraging for women, it’s at least reassuring that tons of women in the public eye, like Sarah Hyland, are working together to make the world a better place. And holding men f*cking accountable.