The Me Too movement is a movement against sexual harassment and assault.
#MeToo spread virally in October 2017 as a hashtag used on social media to
help demonstrate the widespread prevalence of sexual assault and harassment,
especially in the workplace. It followed soon after the public revelations of
sexual misconduct allegations against film producer and US executive Harvey
Weinstein. Some cases are:
Gwyneth Paltrow: she reported being victim of unwanted physical
contact by Weinstein when she was 22.
Angelina Jolie: she didn’t go into detail when she spoke of her
experience, but said that Weinstein had approached her in an unwanted
way in the 90s when she appeared in the movie Playing by Hear
Rosanna Arquette: she went to a hotel presumably to receive a script at
the hands of Weinstein. She arrived and was surprised that they asked
her to go to the producer’s room. She said Weinstein was in a robe and
he grabbed her hand and tried to put it on his crotch.
Ashley Judd: she relates that Weinstein asked her if she would see him
taking a bath and there were several instances on unwanted contact such
as a shoulder massage in the face of her refuses.
Yesterday came the news that Ashley is going to denounce the producer
for damaging her career and include her in "a blacklist" after rejecting the
sexual proposal. The lawsuit specifies that Weinstein influenced Judd not
to be part of the cast of films such as "The Lord of the Rings."
ORIGIN
On October 15, 2017, actress Alyssa Milano encouraged spreading the hashtag
#MeToo, as part of an awareness campaign in order to reveal the ubiquity of
sexual abuse and harassment. Milano tweeted: "If all the women who have
been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote 'Me too.' as a status, we might give
people a sense of the magnitude of the problem."
Milano announced in an interview with Rolling Stone that she and 300 other
women in the film industry are now supporting another movement called Time's
Up, an initiative that aims to help fight sexual violence and harassment in the
workplace through lobbying and providing funding for victims to get legal help if
they cannot afford it. Her goal is to raise awareness to women around the world
on the number of women who have been sexually harassed
On January 7, 2018, at the ceremony of the Golden Globes of 2017, actresses
and actors dressed in black following the slogan launched by the collective
Time's Up as a unanimous cry against sexual harassment.
He especially highlighted the speech of the journalist and actress Oprah
Winfrey, who said:
"I want all the girls who are watching this to know that a new day opens on the
horizon (...) When that day dawns, it will be thanks to many women magnificent,
of which some today are in this room »
PURSPOSE
The original purpose of "Me Too" as used by Tarana Burke in 2006 was to
empower women through empathy, especially young and vulnerable women. In
October 2017, Alyssa Milano encouraged using the phrase as a hashtag to help
reveal the extent of problems with sexual harassment and assault by showing
how many people have experienced these events themselves.
After millions of people started using the phrase, and it spread to dozens of
other languages, the purpose changed and expanded, as a result, it has come to
mean different things to different people. Tarana Burke accepts the title of the
leader and creator of the movement but has stated she considers herself a
worker of something much bigger. Burke has stated that this movement has
grown to include both men and women of all colours and ages, as it continues
to support marginalized people in marginalized communities.
SOCIAL EFFECT
Me Too has had implications on society, legislation and life as it was known
before this movement appeared in 2017. Some of the main changes have been
the greater defence of equality in the performing arts, without hostesses in
motorsports, and legislations not to subsidize media that include advertising
with content for adults.
REVIEW
The hashtag has been criticized for placing responsibility for reporting abuse
and sexual harassment on those who have experienced it, something that could
be rethinking. Some felt that the hashtag inspired fatigue and outrage, rather
than emotionally dense communication. Burke had initially criticized the
movement for ignoring the work of black women by creating a dialogue about
sexual assault. However, she greeted those who participated in the movement
and gave credit to Milano for recognizing Burke's similar movement.
And finally a quote from an American poet and political activist, Muriel Rukeyser
