ME TOO MOVEMENT
Me too is a social movement against sexual abuse, sexual harassment and rape culture, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or harassment . The “me too” movement , which is focuses on the experiences of sexual violence survivor , has earned a large response in part because sexual abuse ,harassment and assault impact people every day.
WHAT IS ME TOO MOVEMENT?
The “ME TOO MOVEMENT” is an effort to effect social change , organized primarily through social media, where it’s often expressed as “me too”. Originally founded in 2006, it become prominent both online and in the main stream in late 2017, when several high profile actresses opened up about their experiences with sexual harassment in the film industry.
Since then, the movement has provide a source of solidarity for women from all background who have experience sexual harassment , most often though not always , perpetrated by a male colleague.
WHAT STARTED THE ME TOO MOVEMENT ?
Tarana Burke, an advocate for women in New York, coined # Me too phrase in 2006. She aimed to empower women who had endured sexual violence by letting them know that they were not alone – that other women had suffered the same experience.
In 2017, the New York Times published an Article, accusing Harvey Weinstein of Sexual harassment. Actresses, Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan were fearlessly vocal about Weinstein’s action, which empowered many others to share their stories.
In the meantime, actress Alyssa Milano embraced the ME TOO MOVEMENT across her social media. She’d been unaware of the phrase’s origins and how quickly it would catch on, thinking of it as a simple way to create awareness , find support, and build a community of survivors.
WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THE ME TOO MOVEMENT ?
The Me Too Movement is a movement of empowerment to help females stand out bravely and heal themselves. It is voluntary , and its aim is encouraging people against sexual harassment or assault and defend themselves.
It is obvious that the issue of sexual harassment , violence, or assault is very important and common . In society, the issue is often downplayed due to the bias in the culture or a gap of power. Therefore, the Me Too Movement plays a significant role in raising awareness of the issues and healing survivors and defending their rights.
According to the Equal Employment opportunity Commission , sexual harassment consist of
“unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature”.
Legally, sexual harassment in the work place is covered under the CIVIL RIGHT ACT 1964. However, the behaviors characteristic of sexual harassment are inappropriate and wrong, no matter where they are being exhibited.
Example of sexual harassment in the workplace include scenarios such as:
- One coworker making repeated unwanted sexual advances towards another, whether they were told to stop or not
- A Superior asking for sexual favors from an employee in exchange for some benefit in the workplace, such as a promotion or a raise
- One employee touching another inappropriately
- A superior threatening an employee based on their unwillingness to engage in sexual or romantic activity.
- Non physical and non verbal actions, such as leering, staring, winking, blowing kisses, eating or holding food provocatively
Because sexual assault is a form of sexual harassment , all instances of sexual assault are also instance of sexual harassment . However , not all instances of sexual harassment are severe enough to qualify as sexual assault.
WHEN DID # ME TOO MOVEMENT GO VIRAL ?
Although the social movement of the same name existed beforehand, the # was popularized on OCT. 15 , 2017. When actress Alyssa Milano urged victims of sexual abuse to share their stories on twitter in the wake of accusations of misconduct against Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein.
- The Me Too Movement has been used more than 19 millions times on Twitter from the date of Milano’s initial tweet through September.
- Personal stories and prominent celebrities have been key topics in ME TOO MOVEMENT tweets.
- A majority of ME TOO MOVEMENT tweets in high volume periods have been in English, but interest spanned multiple languages.
- It’s common for social media users in the U.S. to see content about sexual harassment or assault.
- Female legislators in both parties more likely to discuss sexual misconduct in their facebook posts than men in 2017.