In 2017, a lot of women have spoken out against men for sexually assaulting them and taking advantage of their aspirations. However, it’s not just women who are victims. Some boys and men are victims of sexual harassment as well; most news media outlets have only covered popular actresses speaking out against their abusers. In the music industry, Melanie Martinez, a well-known music artist, was accused of taking advantage of her best friend, Timothy Heller. Martinez’s response to the accusation was a simple apology, along with denial. Martinez and Heller did not make any big headlines because there was no male sexual predator involved.
Now, a popular male make-up artist, Lou Flores, has been accused of taking advantage of his clients. Lou Flores is a Los Angeles based Latino make-up artist who has over one million followers online. Sadly enough, this hasn’t reached mainstream media yet because he’s a male make-up artist sexually assaulting other men, not women. Thanks to pop culture, it’s alright if a male gets sexually assaulted because he’s “landing a girl without trying”, which is an iconic thing according to some people. If a woman is sexually assaulted, she’s either “asking for it” or she’s a “tragic victim”.
https://twitter.com/Jesse_Arreola/status/947214941181960193
This was tweeted a few hours ago to supply evidence of the accusations made against Lou Flores. Roger Jacobs, an influencer, posted about Flores on his Instagram story, stating that Char Elaine and Elias Medrano have also been assaulted by him.
Now, it all comes down to one thing; male or female, we are all humans and we must respect one another. Where has that respect gone for people pursuing popular careers, and why do men get overlooked when it comes to sexual harassment? There are male victims, but we hear about female ones most of the time.
It’s almost 2018, and most people should try to grasp the fact that male victims and female victims of sexual abuse are both still victims. There are many steps that we have to take to end this, but we can only do so together. The suffering of women victims are publicized, and now it’s time that we do the same for male ones.
