In a special report on the #MeToo movement, in which women have been stepping forward en masse with allegations of sexual misconduct, NBC News reached out to 265 people ages 20 to 81 in the work force to better understand how the movement has reshaped their lives.
This is one of the responses:
I minimize my interaction with women now and under no circumstances will I be in a room alone with a woman again. . . . We have all been told by our corporate office to not have a man and a woman alone in any room, whether it is an office or a conference room. If a man and a woman have to have a conversation behind closed doors, we are now required to have a third person present, with a fourth being preferred.
— Male / Manufacturing / Keene, N.H. / Age 43
THINK, “#ChangedByMeToo”, 30 May 2018, NBC News, 31 May 2018 <https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/changed-by-me-too#slide-3>
Compare that to this verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, 9.19.17 (Also, Manu-Smṛti 2.215):
mātrā svasrā duhitrā vā
nāviviktāsano bhavet
balavān indriya-grāmo
vidvāṁsam api karṣati“One should not allow oneself to sit on the same seat even with one’s own mother, sister or daughter, for the senses are so strong that even though one is very advanced in knowledge, he may be attracted by sex.”
So, we shouldn’t be afraid of openly promoting our social philosophy.
Indeed, this is the perfect opportunity to openly challenge the status quo of feminism in mainstream society. We should explain to people in general how to not be victimized by association with women. People like the above quoted man are coming to the same conclusions that are in our śāstras but doing so the “hard way.” They will be grateful to be shown a better, easier way.