Christian actress Candace Cameron Bure has weighed in on the controversy surrounding Hollywood film exec Harvey Weinstein as the list of women accusing him of sexual harassment continues to grow.
On Tuesday, the "Fuller House" actress took to social media to re-post an article for groknation.com written by actress and author Mayim Bialik.
"Well written @missmayim ! I'm in full agreement," Bure wrote.
In her op-ed, Bialik said she's "not surprised" by the allegations that Weinstein repeatedly used his influence in the film industry to pressure women to engage in inappropriate sexual acts.
"I am not surprised because men in power seek to maintain it and reap what they see as the acceptable cultural benefits of that power," she explained. "Women should never be subjected to abuse of the kind Harvey doled out. Women should never be punished for rejecting the advances of a lecherous man. Women should not be required to satisfy a man's sexual desires in order to get ahead."
It's important to "raise a future generation of girls who understand that the kind of attention men in power seem to promise is not something to aspire to, and that sexual attention does not equal validation," Bialik asserted.
While a number of women -- including Gwyneth Paltrow, Rose McGowan, and Angelina Jolie -- have spoken up against harassment, there are just as many who "just accept it as the way to get to the top," Bialik said.
"I have friends who believe 'If this is the way to get ahead, why not do it? Why not flirt more than you should? Why not sleep with someone?'"
Bialik suggested that the women who "participate in threesomes at the request of men or go to strip clubs when they really don't want to in the name of sexual liberation" often fall into situations of abuse more often than women who do not engage in such behavior.
"There is no excuse for abuse by men already in power, or men seeking to gain power by sexually conquering women," she said. "Women need to protect themselves, and we all need to speak up when we see or hear about injustice being done to women, especially in this industry."
Bialik said she sees this kind of "horrendous behavior all of the time by men" in all walks of life, whether it's the entertainment industry, academia, or the medical field.
"I see it on the streets of the city I live in; and I see it in every TV show, movie, and video that uses naked women as wallpaper," she concluded. "The Patriarchy is alive and well. Harvey Weinstein is just the most recent and public figure to remind us of this. I am fed up. But then again, I've been fed up my whole life."
As a result of the allegations, Weinstein was fired on Sunday from his own film studio, The Weinstein Company.
Bure, whose 19-year-old daughter Natasha is also in the entertainment industry, has previously discussed the importance of raising strong young women who find their identity in Christ.
"In Ephesians 6:4, the Bible says to 'bring [children] up in the training and instruction of the Lord,'" she wrote in a 2014 op-ed. "And in Deuteronomy 6:6-7 we read, 'These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.' This is my goal - to teach my kids God's laws and biblical principles at all times so they will know how to live godly, balanced lives."
She continued, "If you aren't sure what to teach your kids or what kinds of rules and boundaries to set, I encourage you to dig into God's Word. I've found that I can't go wrong when I look to the Bible for advice on any topic, including parenting. I believe boundaries are the foundation for balance, and you really can't do any better than God's boundaries - for yourself or for your kids."
She later told the Huffington Post: "My Christian faith is the foundation of how I parent. Our source for how we parent is biblically based," she told the Huffington Post. "The values I want to pass on to my children are to love the Lord with all their heart first and foremost, to be kind, loving, respectful, to have a servant's heart and put others before themselves."
