Backlash against the “Me Too” movement? It would be a jest to say there is a person, within the field of the internet, who has not recognized the existence of the “Me Too” movement. Although the credit of publicising was given to the actress Alyssa Milano, after her reaction tweet earlier last October: "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," it was founded a decade ago by Tarana Burke, an American civil right activist. The motive of the phrase was to empower women who suffered from different sexual harassment and assault especially the young, colored and those from a low wealth community. Within three month of its activation it …show more content…
“The #MeToo movement is accomplishing what sexual harassment law to date has not”(Nytimes: #MeToo Has Done What The Law Could Not). Especial thus power related cases; in the near past, the idea of helding powerful men accountable for such shameful act was unthinkable. As victims were turned around due to unfulfilling evidence, and other accusation were thought to be linked to financial gain. The movement moved an agenda that all shall be held accountable regardless of their position in the power hierarchy: “Companies are also rethinking their approach. A zero-tolerance attitude towards perpetrators is apparent, with high-profile figures being fired or resigning following accusations of sexual misconduct”(The Guardian: How American women's growing power finally turned #metoo into a cultural moment ). While it is serving as a stage for women victims it is opening gates for men victims as well. The culprit for both sex assault still weighed heavily against men: “For survivors of rape who are female, a man was the perpetrator 98 percent of the time, according to a 2011 study. For survivors of rape who are male, a man was the perpetrator 93 percent of the time”. Which gave rise to #Him Though, indicating the burden lies on men to take responsibility. Some showed their support by retweeting affirmations such as #IHearYou and #HowIWillChange (The Sacramento Bee: After #MeToo, new social movements put the burden on men). Who knew a hashtag could bring such a
Hashtag MeToo. Does that sound familiar? The MeToo movement is one of the most influential movements of our time. According to cbsnews.com a movement that reached over 12 million posts on Facebook in just 24 hours. Most of you know the power of Me Too and some participants in it, such as Ashley Judd, Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cara Delevingne, Lupita Nyong’o, Lindsay Lohan, and many more according to CNN. However, you probably do not know who began this powerful movement. Her name is Tarana Burke. Tarana Burke is a sexual assault survivor herself and began the Me Too Movement in 2006 when she was having trouble with comforting a young girl, who had confided in Burke about her sexual assault experience according to brown.edu.
In today’s society, there is evidence that gender roles hold high standards in forming an identity, whether that gender is male or female. These standards put pressure on either gender to uphold them and commit to specific behaviors/actions that validate their very being. For men, this includes being considered masculine, or portraying the sense that they are authoritative over others, in which this includes displaying attitudes that contribute to female subordination. According to Pascoe (2016) in his article “Good Guys Don’t Rape” men are given the opportunity to challenge rape yet reinforce rape attitudes at the same time that are contained within rape culture and masculinity considered “norms.” Pascoe, illustrates that rape can be seen
As a leading special interest group, Feminists, who are politically active concerning gender roles in society, have been at the forefront of the Paula Jones case and the Lewinksy-Clinton scandal. What comes at odds with the Feminist stance in politics is a womanizing Democratic President that they support and his opportunizing and provocative young mistress. It was something the Feminists were neither prepared for nor easily responded to when given the option of a liberal President with sexual issues or the conservative, Republican moralists taking charge.
"...the most chilling aspect of this sexual harassment movement is the indoctrination of our young into the culture of victim hood" (Garvis). Call it whatever you want but what we are teaching our young ones is to stand up for themselves. There is no indoctrination going on. Is it so horrible for our kids to learn that if someone is acting inappropriately towards you, then you should say something about it? She even goes on to compare the actions of young kids whose minds are not fully developed to the behavior of middle aged men. "Do we really want an aggressive girl who bothers the hell out of a teenage crush...to be a criminal? Because that is the direction we 're headed" (Garvis). Very bad analogy to try to compare the actions of a teenager to the behavior of an adult who holds a very respectable career and should already know what is acceptable and what is
Grinberg, E. (2014, May 27). Why #YesAllWomen took off on Twitter. CNN. Retrieved May 29, 2014, http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/27/living/california-killer-hashtag-yesallwomen/
In what is sure to be a very solemn matter for all American students and their families across the country , in January 2013 , President Obama, the office of the Vice President and the White House Council on Women and Girls converged and issued a renewed call to action against rape and sexual assault report which analyzes the most recent reliable data about this issue and identifies who are the most in peril victims of this malefaction, investigates the costs of this violence both for victims and communities , and describes the replication very often inadequate of the US malefactor equity system.
One theory of feminism that exists is the world is “Second Wave feminism” (Mandle, 2014). This is the most known form of it. These were the successors to the First-Wave feminists who primarily focused on suffrage and legal rights in the 19th and 20th century (Burkett, 2013). The fundamental goals of Second Wave feminism are different from the first, since they primarily center themselves on abolishing workplace inequality, such as the proverbial glass ceiling and salary difference, through anti-discrimination laws.” (Tavaana, 2014). The ideals proposed by this kind, were adopted by the government in the form of bills and laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2014). This again, is what one would consider the mainstream feminism.
As it is in the case of the majority of violent crimes, (Davies and Rogers, 2006) perpetrators of violent crimes, and especially sexual assault related crimes exert additional force by threatening the victim or their families. Male victims also must contend with an additional sense of shame and embarrassment in being identified with a crime that has been typically portrayed in the media as happening to women. This places men at a disadvantage in the reporting process, because their safety and the safety of others is compromised further if the crime is not reported. (Messerschmitt, 2009)
Holding back tears takes a lot out of any persons’ emotions. University of Manchester’s Billie Andrews reveals that the constant force for a boy to be emotionally repressed, hiding any emotions that negatively impact the boy, eventually leads to boys keeping events of sexual abuse to themselves (“Boys Don’t Cry”). After being consistently told to be “tough”, boys tend to ignore the magnitude of how much danger they are in for the sake of “being a man”. For example, the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center of the University of Michigan provides statistics on male sexual assault encounters; roughly 16% of males have reported sexual assault according to the US Centers for Disease control in 2005 however, there are estimations that declare males report sexual assault even less than females (. A contributing factor to males not reporting sexual assault is because it is hard for society to believe males can be victim to assault because males are always “tough”. Masculinity implies that a male should repress any negative emotions and being a victim is a negative emotion. The fact that the idea of masculinity is so powerful it can force a boy to hide events of sexual assault spells that the male gender role is in need of attention; regardless of gender, sexual assault victimizes
In this source it elaborates on how men are being rape just as much as women are. Even though it seems more common for only women to be rape both genders are affected. This source supports my claim that rape needs to be taken more seriously. I used this source to support my claims.
The statistics clearly show a group of people who’re affected by the heinous acts of sexual assault. Everyone knows that sexual assault isn’t a topic that’s on the top of the list to talk about; people usually even try to go as far as to hide it or to cover it up. Though, it’s clear for certain; covering something up doesn’t make it alright – It won’t make it go away and the problem is still there. For that exact fact, it is the very reason that sexual assault is something that needs to be brought to the
This backlash pressed the pause button on the feminism movement, but not for long. The
The Me-Too movement has shaped society in some brighter notes. It began when women started posting messages on social media such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using the hashtag me-too to show how ordinary sexual assaults and harassment are. For a long period, of time, most women would define being sexually harassed and assaulted as something private, something to be ashamed of acknowledging. Absolutely quiet, although it is understandable, it shouldn't have been the case. Years ago, many victims or should I say survivors were being intimidated by their predators, it would be surprised for someone of not being afraid of their attackers.
To begin, the modernized feminist movement has altered the way gender roles are viewed in society. Women are pushing for complete control in nearly every aspect of life. Many feminists believe women could do just as well, if not better, than men have been doing in leadership positions. Many women fail to realize that ingrained in men is a desire to protect and lead. By taking over men’s roles, they leave men not knowing exactly what should be done.
Not sure about the proper use and creation of hashtags, check out this post. Remember, when it comes to #hashtags the point is to get a conversation started. Through planned expectations and a catchy #hashtag have influencers ask their followers to join in the