Open Letter

Dear Meg Bitton,

You don't know me personally.  I am not a fan of yours, well, I was at one point, but I am a photographer in the photography community and that is how I know of you. Meg, I beg you to please read this letter and understand where I stand.  I need to tell you a story. It's a painful story that has taken a lot of courage to open up about to write this letter.

I am a victim of childhood sexual abuse, it happened for 5 years.  I could not escape it.  I wished someone would save me, protect me, but no one did.  It went unnoticed, I was threatened to keep quiet and now, I suffer from C-PTSD because of it.  Here's the thing, my abuser was another child "experimenting" and at age 5, I had no idea what was happening or that it was wrong.  This child was 10 when it started.  For 5 years, I was threatened to never tell, that they would say it was my fault.  I was forced to do things a little girl of 5 years old until 10 years old should NEVER do.

This letter isn't exactly about your images, but your message through them.  Your justification of these images.  Meg, you don't understand the depth of hurt you have caused for myself as well as every victim of childhood sexual abuse, exploitation and sex trafficking.  Your images, the harsh words you so quickly type out and the mothers of the children you photographed justifying things for you. All of it has ripped open old wounds.  I've had trouble sleeping, my chest feels like theres a hand crushing it.  I can only imagine the suffering those who had it worse than I did are going through because of all of this.

Let me tell you this, Meg, most 10 year old children do not know the meaning of things like masturbation, sex or experimenting unless it has been shown to them, or FORCED onto them.  How can you sit there and say children experiment all the time?  If they are experimenting on other children, IT IS ABUSE.  It causes lifelong psychological problems.  It destroys their trust.  Children need to be taught what is acceptable and what is NOT acceptable.  Children do not need to be told that experimenting is okay at a young age, because it is NOT okay.  A child who hasn't even hit puberty doesn't need to know these things.  They need help with managing their hormones, how to cope with their changing bodies.

I'm all for women expressing themselves, dressing how they want to dress, being with whoever they want to be with.  But a CHILD?  Why can we not protect their innocence a little longer?  You're a mother, do you really want your children to grow up faster than they already are?

As a mother, I am over protective of my children.  I am terrified of the world my daughter is growing up in. I want her to be happy, young and carefree as long as possible.  As a mother, it's our job to know when our daughters are beginning to experience puberty and to help guide them.  It's our job to discuss bad people, it's our job to discuss what is right and wrong.  It's our job to discuss sex and how to be careful and how to not allow others to pressure them into things they don't want to do.

Your images are teaching children that its okay to look sexy at a young age.  You're giving material for predators.  The mothers of these children should be ashamed of themselves for allowing their daughters to be photographed this way.

Don't you see, Meg?  Don't you see that there are those of us out there who have been victimized and your images, your words and justification have essentially slapped all victims in the face.

Meg, I know you don't care about my story.  You deflect and become nasty to anyone who disagrees with you.  But  I am not just a person who disagrees with you, I am a woman who is a victim of sexual abuse.  I AM A SURVIVOR.

Obviously, this isn't my real name.
I do that because I've watched how you have made threats to people, gone as far as to report others, threaten to sue, cussed out people.  I won't allow you to attempt to destroy me.  I think my favorite part is how you make these nasty, vile comments to people then delete the comments so no one can see how disgusting you truly are.  You're a dark spirited person.  YOU ARE A BULLY.
You posted an article on your personal facebook page (it's a public post) about the 9 year old boy who committed suicide due to bullying.
HOW ARE YOU ANY BETTER THAN HIS BULLIES?  You are not.  How dare you try to be a voice for that child when you yourself are a mean, spiteful BULLY.  You tell people they're nothing, you swear at them, you name call them, you attack their work, their looks, you search profiles to exploit their own struggles to make fun of them.  As I'm sure you would do the same thing to me.

I've known for years how dark your heart is, the past few days have really shown how black it has become.

So thank you, Meg.  Thank you for opening wounds and showing the world how nasty you are.
I would wish you the best, but my heart is so burned by you that I cannot.

Meg, I hope you read this.  I hope you seek true psychological help.  I truly believe you are a Narcissistic predator.

May God have mercy on your black soul.