The #metoo movement has taken social media and mainline news by storm. Fired up by a string of sexual assault accusations against comedian and actor Harvey Weinstein, women everywhere took the victims’ sides and emerged as survivors of abuse. They too, they announced on twitter and on the streets, had endured mistreatment by men, particularly in the workplace. The movement gained traction through celebrity endorsements, and even reached the attention of the U.S. President himself. The feminists of the #metoo movement unified behind a group of women to create solidarity for victims and to protest sexual harassment.
The poster held by the protester argues that there shouldn’t be stigma behind sexual assault because so many women experience it, and that men should not downplay that experience or try to excuse themselves from it when they are the culprits.
The #metoo movement is particularly suited for in-depth analysis because it reflects the state of our modern society, and will likely make it on the pages of future history textbooks. I am fascinated by how contradictory modern day is. On the one hand, #metoo shows how much progress still needs to be made, and it polarizes audiences on controversial issues. But on the other hand, it shows how far modern movements (Black Lives Matter, gun safety, etc…) have come in expressing their ideas and in mobilizing masses of people to join their causes, particularly by incorporating social media. The juxtaposition of stagnation and progress, and that of unity and division, are at the cornerstone of the age we live in, and, in my opinion, nothing represents them quite as well as the #metoo protests.
“No means no,” and “Me too!” have become persuasive tropes that shape the movement’s message and people’s response to it. They are a call for unity, demanding that women come together over their victimhood and take on the shared enterprise of protest. Another appeal of the feminist protests lies in their timing: right after a string of high-profile sexual abuse accusations and in the midst of a myriad of other movements. These accusations are the external proofs for the message of the Me Too movement; The witness statements are direct evidence from legal proceedings that convinces the receivers of the message that time and tolerance for sexual assault is, indeed, up.
The ideology shared by the protesters is one that the feminist movement has been fighting for decades: women are equal to men and deserve to have their bodies respected. Their language, attitude, and the power they share when they band together as a movement is an intrinsic proof that their message is worth propagating for a better world.
I think that this artifact is so important and interesting to analyze, and leads way to many arguments and appeals, especially with the widespread coverage of it in the media. I liked how you mentioned the tropes of “no means no” and “me too”. On the surface, the words hold little meaning, but to those familiar with the movement and what it stands for, these tropes summarize everything that women are fighting for. I also think its interesting to see how the arguments of feminism have changed over time- in the past, much of the argument has centered around civic rights, such as being able to vote. Now the struggle seems to center around the right for ones’ own body, and the call for the respect of it.