‘Think of Your Sons’: What Parents Can Do About Sexual Assault in the #MeToo Era

Debate over the allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh have some parents worried about their sons’ future

“For younger children, it can be helpful to begin a conversation about consent when it comes to physical contact like touching or hugging,” says Alison Cashin, director of the Making Caring Common project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Photo: kieferpix/iStock/Getty Images Plus

By Emily Wax-Thibodeaux

Amid the acrimony over allegations that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a female peer during his high school years, some parents have expressed concern that their sons might be held accountable as adults for their teenage behavior.

During a campaign rally in Mississippi, President Donald Trump said the #MeToo movement was unfairly hurting men.

“Think of your sons,” Trump told a cheering crowd. “It’s a damn sad situation.”

On the “Today Show,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that she’s often asked about being a parent of a daughter.

“I also have two sons, and I wouldn’t want a false accusation to be what determined the rest of their life,” she said.

The outpouring of fear is what some academics are calling “himpathy,” a term first coined by Cornell philosophy professor Kate Manne in her 2017 book, “Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny.” She defines it as the “excessive sympathy sometimes…