Women’s claims of sexual harassment have been ignored for far too long, but times are changing. Women’s voices are becoming more apparent and are beginning to be heard after years of being silenced. The #metoo campaign is providing a place for women’s stories about their sexual harassment and abuse experiences to be shared.
This #metoo campaign started when an activist Tarana Burke met a young girl who told Ms. Burke about her sexual abuse experience, which led to Ms. Burke to create a nonprofit organization called Just be Inc. This nonprofit organization promotes health and the wellness of young females.
Ms. Burke was left speechless that she didn’t have a response to the young girl’s story. According to The New York Times’ article The Woman Who Created #MeToo Long Before Hashtags. “I didn’t have a response or a way to help her in that moment, and I couldn’t even say ‘me too’,” said Ms.Burke.
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After numerous women came forward with their sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein, actress Alyssa Milano encouraged others to spread the #MeToo phrase to provide a voice to victims of sexual harassment and abuse.
In a tweet, Ms. Milano stated: “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.” After her tweet, social media was flooded with numerous stories of sexual harassment and assault. Her tweet had reached tens of thousands of people across the world and encouraged celebrities to voice their harassment or assault experiences on social media. This movement was not only limited to women it also included men who voiced their harassment and assault
Alexander Grass, the author of "#MeToo on the March: The Groupthink and Hysteria Begin" starts off his article by calling #MeToo, the movement to allow sexual assault victims to speak up and feel supported, a meme. Grass continues to write his article with a quote from Alyssa Milano stating, "If you've been sexually harassed or assaulted write 'me too' as a reply to this tweet," (Grass). Where he proceeds to state that women will be posting their stories, hoping for "fifteen minutes of fame," (Grass).
Along with Tarana Burke, incidents of sexual harassment in the workplace also influenced the Me Too movement. Sexual assault and harassment is an embodiment of male-female powerplay. More than a third of female workers (35%) report being sexually harassed at work, explaining why the #MeToo movement is so influential. Women who are traumatized may suffer serious effects from anxiety and on careers.
The main notion a feminist has is that women are equal to men. Heather Milkiewicz, who writes about her concerns on gender issues, states that, “A widespread feminist movement aimed at achieving equality could be the key to achieving mutual respect within and amongst the sexes” (80). By Milkiewicz saying that she implies that women should get the equal rights and equal respect that men receive, which is ultimately common sense, and a feminist movement could be a great way of doing so. If men and society as a whole can see women for what they are, equals, it could ultimately lessen the sexual assault of women, and in the long run end it. Feminism is a great thing, that has been and will continue to be a very progressive and positive part of society. However, feminism is not making the progress that needs to be made against sexual assault.
Have you ever heard about the #MeToo Movement? According to the Metoomvmt, the #MeToo Movement is founded in 2006 by Tarana Burke to help people who survived from sexual violence, particularly young women of color from low wealth communities, find pathways to healing. Using the idea of “empowerment through empathy,” the me too. movement was ultimately created to ensure survivors know they’re not alone in their journey. This movement was a big issue for people in the United States in 2017. TIME Magazine named the “Silence Breakers,” those who spoke out against sexual violence and harassment as part of the viral #MeToo Movement, as its Person of the Year (Metoomvmt). This issue is very important and delicate problem for society in the United
Emma Watson uses ethos to convince the audience that she is a credible source. Towards the beginning of her speech, Watson explained that her, “girlfriends [dropped]... out of sports…”(1) because appearing muscly would not fit their gender stereotype. Watson mentions her personal experience to make her credible. By mentioning this, people will know why she is familiar with feminism. Since she has experienced gender inequality firsthand, she knows why feminism is necessary and more people will find her as a reliable source. Later in her speech, she mentions a speech made by Hillary Clinton in 1997.
Sexual violence is a common occurrence amongst women around the world. One in three women, ages 18-34, say they have been sexually harassed at work. One out of every six woman in the United States is a victim of an attempted or completed rape- and about 72% of victims report either short or long-term effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The #MeToo movement originated in 2006, and was first used by Tarana Burke to promote “empowerment through empathy” in women of color who had suffered and were victims of sexual abuse and assault. The movement grew in popularity in October of 2017, when Alyssa Milano used the hashtag to reveal the full extent of sexual assault among women. In January of 2018, the Time’s Up movement, in response
1. The #MeToo and Time’s Up social movements organize around the issues of sexual violence, harassment and abuse, with an emphasis on women in the workplace. For decades, incidents like these have always occurred, yet they were not spoken about. The main reason being, the harassment is incited by a person of power and authority in the majority of the cases, and them taking advantage of these qualities. These issues coincide with themes such as democracy, inequality, social justice, and decent work, as they violate the foundation of human rights that these themes were built upon. In the theme of democracy and inequality, 123 out of 192 countries revolve around the idea of a democratic society to make its citizens feel inclusive and supports
Jessica Bennett wrote an article titled "Ellen Pao Is Not Done Fighting" in the New York Times on September 8, 2017. This article is about gender discrimination and how one woman named Ellen Pao, is paving the way for women to come forward. Every single day of Pao's life she receives written messages of support to acknowledge her and for putting Silicon Valley on notice, one of the places where gender discrimination is high. One of the reasons Pao is fighting is because women are not facing the truth when being discriminated as stated when she says "sometimes people just want you to tell them they'll get through it" Pao is stressing that people are asking for advice instead of saying that they are being discriminated because they are afraid
Celebrity Lena Dunham, however, is protesting this aspect of society. She has decided to make use of the word “no” more often in 2016, and encourages women in the working world to do the same.
Unlike the majority of men, women are often over sexualized by their male coworkers and end up being treated in ways that are degrading and disrespectful. The sad truth is that if these women were in fact male they would have to put up with next no harassment, proving the unequal treatment of women in their places of work. Sexual harassment in work place first gained national attention in 19191 when President Bush nominated Clarence Thomas to US Supreme court. Thomas’s former assistant testified that he had sexually harassed her by making a series or sexually inappropriate comments, overtures and solicitations while acting as her supervisor. (Issues and Controversies) This is not the only sighted case of sexual harassment in the work place. It is reported that 81 percent of women are verbally harassed and 44 percent have encountered unwanted toughing and sexual advances (__) This form of harassment is degrading to women, putting them in a place that men perceive to be below them and shows the inequality that is present in the life of an everyday working
As our nation explodes in political hypocrisy and human rights are being questioned, "women" are standing-up and fighting for the rights of all "humans". On January 21, 2017, a day after Donald trump's inauguration, women from all over the world and from all backgrounds (doctors, artist and religious leaders) put on a theatrical performance in the form of marches and rallies. “Tamika Mallory, one of the four national co-chairs of the march, stated she was involved in the women march on Washington because sometimes we forget this power, we doubt ourselves, and separate ourselves by race, religion or sexual orientation, we forget about the power of numbers . . .”; She also stated we must stand against men who, “assault us and brag about grabbing it without necessary repercussions
The mainstream feminist organizations and the more radical feminist protests were both equally important to the changing gender expectations. The mainstream feminist organizations like the National Organization for Women helped fight gender discrimination through the courts, and legislatures. The NOW lobbied congress for pro-equality laws and assisted women who were battling workplace discrimination. The more radical feminist protests fought for a change in gender expectations than the mainstream feminist organizations. They protested many things. For example protesting sexism that was shown in the media. They would use stickers on offensive advertisements; sit-in on local media outlets, and the radical feminist would also turn aggressive
Today, the feminist movement has grown and is still growing as women around the globe have joined hands in the fight against inequality. Even though a lot has changed, all feminists, despite
Feminism, what is it? And how does it affect our society today? Feminist Emma Watson’s moving speech ‘Gender equality is your issue to’ tells us feminism isn't just a thought, it’s a true problem. Feminism is a topic known to many, but rejected by most of society. Watson shows her audience true emotion (Pathos), dedication, and love throughout her speech. She gives a clear aspect of feminism, making her listeners engaged into the topic, wanting to know more (Logos). She invites others into her ideas to ensure that she does not stand alone in this feminist movement (Ethos). Emma Watson is a true feminist trying to make a difference, persuading the audience, pouring her heart out, and believing in the world to join her in her free community.
Anthony and Disney I placed Anthony as an active feminist and Disney as a passive feminist. When I look at America today, I would place a majority of men and woman under the passive feminist category. I feel a majority of people fall into those ideals because there are small arguments regarding feminist issues, but no action is taken on a broader scale to promote change. When I think of a feminist I think of someone such as Susan B. Anthony, who did something regarding women’s rights and made a positive change within society. In today’s society, technology regulates much of our daily life and technology is where people go to voice their opinions about feminist ideals. Often times, celebrities will tweet about how woman can stand alone from men and how woman should not be sent home for what they wear because it could distract a male classmate. Those tweets circulate for a while but are soon forgotten. Those celebrities who type those messages are not an active feminist, they are simply an American utilizing their right of freedom of press under the First Amendment. Anyone can be a feminist, but to be a feminist he or she needs to do more than tweet to create change. Circulating the idea is a minimal step, one needs to advocate the issue on a more public level to create change for woman and therefore be considered an active feminist. Some celebrities often argue for woman having more equality with men and their ideals follow feminist’s ideals, but they deny ever associating themselves with the word. These people feel that if they say they are a feminist than, they are saying that woman are better and more superior then men. These celebrities are acting as passive feminist who are voicing their opinions about subjects related to the matter but doing nothing more to create change. In another sense some celebrities are active feminist and want to promote change but will still deny associating themselves with the name. People feel that if they