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#MeToo Movement

The "Me Too" movement, or "#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 Harvey Weinstein. The phrase was first used by Tarana Burke, founder of #MeToo. Alyssa Milano encouraged women to tweet it to "give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem". The responses on Twitter included high-profile posts from several celebrities and many stories of sexual violence were shared, including from Gwyneth Paltrow, Ashley Judd, Jennifer Lawrence, and Uma Thurman. Community can be created as people or groups regularly use and contribute to this hashtag on social media because this hashtag brings people together, it gets people thinking and talking about the issue, and can eventually change the way people feel about sexual harassment and the impact it has on women.

A recent study by the Pew Research Center found that the #MeToo hashtag was used more than 19 million times on Twitter since Milano's initial tweet. That's more than 55,000 uses of the hashtag per day. This study also found that the use of the phrase peaked on Twitter after high profile events such as the Golden Globe Awards and when Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford testified before a Senate committee, as well as after Time magazine named #MeToo activists as persons of the year and the day after International Women's Day. "The hashtag is popular because it's real life," said Jacklin Vollmer, a 28-year-old waitress from Batavia, New York. "It's popular because it's the truth. Women can relate to it and, let's be real; this is the time of the woman." (Brown, 2018). Community can be created as people or groups regularly use and contribute to this hashtag on social media because this hashtag brings people together. It brings women (and men) who have been through the same terrible things together and allows people to relate to one another. When people can relate to others and see other people coming out against their abusers, it gives them a voice and encourages others to do the same thing. Adama Iwu tweeted “1 year ago @time recognized #silencebreakers and #metoo. I’m on the cover but it’s me +147 women who changed CA politics. In 2018 we created @wesaidenough passed bills that protect vulnerable workers and forced culture change in #caleg. One year in and we are just beginning”. This tweet symbolizes what has been changed and how this hashtag has helped thousands of women. Another example is a tweet by Karen Ifb saying, “Just woke up and this is the best thing I’ve seen so far #MeToo” with a picture attached of a girl helping another girl hold up a sign that says “#MeToo. This picture speaks volumes because it exemplifies how the Me Too has helped women come forward and has encouraged women to help others. It shows that we are all in this together.

Another reason why community can be created as people or groups regularly use and contribute to this hashtag on social media is because it gets people thinking and talking about the issue. I’d like to believe that there’s only one narrative of this topic being built across the media, just because of the severity and how important this movement is. I’d like to think that we have come far enough as a society to believe that sexual assault is not good and we should never blame the victims, but unfortunately there are people who see it as looking for attention or thinking “oh they were wearing this, they asked for me”. This is why people come out on social media to talk about what they have been through: to get people thinking and to see how much it affects a person. They use social media as a platform to get their point across to the masses. Misty Griffin tweeted, “I went against Amish customs and reported the bishop of my church for sexual assault. Sexual abuse cover up in ultra-strict Christian churches is something our society is reluctant to address. Victims are intimidated into silence. Will our society ever address this issue? #metoo”. She used twitter as a way to talk about her experiences in the Amish culture and the corruption that can be going on in the church. Someone may not have known that something like that has ever happened if she didn’t tweet about it. It was extremely brave of her to tweet that because in the Amish culture you can get shunned by going against your elders. Another example is when Georgianna Oppenheimer tweeted, “If you are afraid of spending time with women because you don't know where the line is...Congratulations, you have self identified as an individual who does not understand boundaries.Thank you for removing yourself from women. #HannahGadsby #MeToo #Bloomberg #WallStreet”. She brought to light the fact that some people are afraid of being with women because they are afraid that they will accuse them of something. This is the problem. People think these women are falsely accusing men, when 99% of the time they are not. People think just because men have a high power position that they can do no wrong when that is in fact not the case.

One last reason why community can be created as people or groups regularly use and contribute to this hashtag on social media is because it can change the way people think about and see sexual harassment. @courtneyact posted a tweet that said, “Ann describing the #metoo movement as "wimpery" & "snowflakery" & justifying the rape of women by men in power by saying "women have also done some horrible things to men" is disgusting”. Yes, it is disgusting. People like @courtneyact speaking out for what they believe in and for what is right is an amazing thing and a good way to hear people’s opinions and learn from them. Ted Talks also tweeted a quote by Tarana Burke saying, “Every human has the right to walk through this life with their full humanity intact." — @TaranaBurke” with a video of her Ted Talks attached. Tarana uses her platform to talk about and educate thousands about the Me Too movement all over the country and I think that is so amazing. We need more people who are willing to speak out about something they believe in.

http://t.ted.com/NIcGuBm

https://www.ted.com/talks/tarana_burke_me_too_is_a_movement_not_a_moment?utm_campaign=social&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=t.co&utm_content=talk&utm_term=global-social%20issues

Social media has a huge impact on society as a whole in many ways. It affects everything from politics to business, socialization, productivity, and privacy. “Social media websites have played an important role in many elections around the world, including in the U.S., Iran, and India. They have also served to rally people for a cause, and have inspired mass movements and political unrests in many countries.” (Ta, 2014). Without the help of social media, many movements may not have lasted as long as they could have. One of the more obvious reasons why social media has had such a huge impact on society is the social aspect of it all. “Social Media is one of the best ways to find and interact with new people who have the same interests as you, as social media allows you to seek out groups that are focused towards your own interests and hobbies” (Bishop, 2017). Many friendships start online and grow from there. I think it’s amazing that people from complete different corners of the world can be instantly connected through social media. People everywhere have grown up with social media and technology since the day they were born. It’s become almost like a lifestyle or routine to wake up and check your social medias. “The content we expose ourselves to on the media changes the way we think about ourselves and others” (Manago, 2008). The values embraced by today’s media affect the way young people think and feel about themselves, such as it’s interpretations of what is beautiful, unattractive, or appropriate. According to Goffman, “individuals develop a sense of self from creating an impression they wish to give to others” (Manago et al., 2008). Because the concepts of what is appealing or not by the media exist, people try to conform in order to be more liked. People often try to be someone they are not on social media and then have a hard time being that person in real life. They edit their pictures to make them look like someone better or tweet things that they think other people want to read just to conform.

I think a lot of effort is being made to get to the heart of the matter. The #MeToo Movement is an incredibly inspiring movement for women and girls everything, and talking about it is the first step. Being able to have an online community where you can talk about something you are passionate about is incredibly important to these women especially. This hashtag brings people together. It gets people thinking and talking about the incredible issue, and can eventually change the way people feel about sexual harassment and the impact it has on women. I hope they can get as far as they can with this hashtag and reach their goals.

https://twitter.com/Adamanation/status/1070732631162011648

https://twitter.com/courtneyact/status/965358500993011712

https://twitter.com/ExAmish101/status/1070804060217860096

https://twitter.com/TEDTalks/status/1068630781940064256

https://twitter.com/GeorgiannaJ/status/1070861358755852288

https://twitter.com/huntynarry/status/1070719470937755648

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/10/13/metoo-impact-hashtag-made-online/1633570002/

https://www.business2community.com/social-media/impact-social-media-truly-society-0974685

https://umidigital.co.uk/blog/affect-social-media-society/

https://sites.psu.edu/aspsy/2018/03/16/how-the-internet-effects-personal-identity/

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