the internet awareness campaign #MeToo

The Internet Awareness Campaign #MeToo
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Abstract
The rise of gender-related violence in the modern society has been prevalent despite the notable social, political, and economic achievements. In this case, women have been the major victims of various violence and abuse from men or fellow women. This essay elaborates the context and development of #MeToo movement in the social media platforms. Fortunately, the hashtag is not a podium for naming the victimizers but a show of hands of the survivors. Therefore, as the hashtag spreads and evolves, men have begun contributing by confessing to their misdeeds. It is a motivating trend as it eradicates some of the women’s burdens who are under pressure to speak out. In addition, it aimed to benefit those who were not ready to participate in the movement. To this end, many women are on the fence about the “Me Too Movement” that was believed to bring a complete change in the culture of sexual assault. Therefore, this paper breaks down this movement using three major themes; networks and networking, identity and community, and participatory culture.

The Internet Awareness Campaign #MeToo
Introduction
The “Me Too” hashtag commences with the allegations of Harvey Weinstein, a movie producer who faces cases of harassment, abuse, rape, and intimidation that stormed the media. It has been traveling across the universe since October 2017, which motivated and encouraged other women facing similar issues to speak up (Bohrer, 2017).

Therefore, the hashtag “Me Too” implies that women from across the globe have united to confess on previous sexual harassments. They have used the social media as their platform to reveal the scale of the sexual assault. Astonishingly, more than a million women have tweeted the hashtag “#MeToo.” It is quite problematic for many people to accept that the world is far from settling gender violence and discriminatory practices. Consequently, the modern studies on socialism, capitalism, philosophy, and political science have outlined the major policies, effects, and diversities are the underlying forces behind the increased number of gender indifferences. In this case, the global community has established ethics and values that define women violence as inappropriate.
Surprisingly, men have also been using it to show support to their female counterparts and reveal their issues too. Some of the stars who have shown their support include Alyssa Milano, Lady Gaga, Gillian Anderson, and Debra Messing among others (Bohrer, 2017). Sexual abuse and harassment have drawn unprecedented attention after the allegations of Harvey Weinstein and many other harassed women. Nonetheless, women have collaborated to combat messages that appear as anti-tolerant, anti-progressive, and anti-feminist (Bohrer, 2017). In addition, the movement has energized the women to talk about issues affecting them such as equivalent pay, generative rights, and freedom from gender violence. To this end, it has established several themes such as networks and networking, participatory culture, and identity and community, which will form the basis of this reading.
Identity and Community
It is almost impossible to surf the internet today without seeing a #MeToo post. It has filled Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, accompanied by personal stories on their sexual abuse experiences. Alyssa Milano, an actor, and singer started the hashtag idea by asking people with a prevalence of sexual harassment and assault in America to respond “me too” to her tweet (Baym and Danah, 2012). Although Milano may have commenced the hashtag campaign, Tarana Burke, a community organizer and a black activist in Harlem, founded the Me Too Movement in 2006 (Rettberg, 2014). She aimed to create awareness and comprehension on sexual assault in the disadvantaged communities of color. Currently, women such as Heather Lowe can tell their story and hope the unified voices will mold a prolonged impact. Lowe, as a college student, was walking in Hyde Park in the mid-90s when she saw young men chatting nearby. They started following her, mocking her as she fled, and tried to block her from entering her car. Her story has encouraged many men who have faced sexual violence and harassment as women have experienced. One male, Keith Paolino, wrote on Facebook that at age 19, he was dating a woman who was not ready to sleep with him. During a sleepover, he tried to seduce her, but she batted him away. The recurring question from the movement was whether the hashtag could transform into a lasting solution to minimize sexual abuse and create societal change
Many experts imply that it will take a combined effort of Hollywood, antiviolence, the media community, and all of us to take concrete action on sexual assault and harassment. Advantageously, many gender equity advocates have confirmed that social change is happening (Baym and Danah, 2012). In Chicago, women have come together to create the “Not in Our House” advocacy organization that raises awareness on problems Muslim women experience and encourage working immigrant women who receive low wages (Rettberg, 2014). The fast response is a vivid demonstration of the interest of the public to work on ways women are treated. In addition, the “Me Too Movement” has put a focus on the men. Many men have come forward to take responsibility, irrespective of whether they are guilty or not. Evidently, all men will be guilty if they do not condemn sexual assault and harassment on the women. In November 2017, Joyful Heart Foundation, established by Mariska Hargitay, developed a campaign that featured male celebrities such as Peter Hermann, Danny Pino, Anthony Edwards, and Blair Underwood (Baym and Danah, 2012). The campaign encourages men to advocate better behavior towards their female counterparts under the hashtags #SupportSurvivors and #IWillSpeakUp.
Networks and Networking
After many women addressed sexual harassment and assault accusations against Harvey Weinstein, the online platform, in the last couple of days, provided a cleansing release: sharing. To show their solidarity, the survivors and victims of sexual harassment and abuse posted their experiences with the hashtag #MeToo. It may be satisfying for the participating survivors to expose that they have been subjected to catcalls, abuse, harassment, and violations from people who are under armor from consequences. The thinking disappears when the survivors speak out, and they can develop more networks of support for each other to get justice.
A black activist, Tarana Burke, is responsible for the initial incarnation of a similar online support network with the hashtag #MeToo. Alyssa Milano takes credit for amplifying the phrase. When offering a statement to the Ebony Magazine, Burke stated “#MeToo is not developed to be a hashtag or a viral campaign that is here today and forgotten tomorrow. It was a tag to be used from survivor to survivor to enlighten the folks that they are not alone and that a movement for radical healing was happening and possible” (Castells and Gustavo, 2005). She continued, “What is happening now is powerful, and I salute it and the women who have disclosed. However, the power of using ‘me too’ has always been in the fact that it can be a conversation starter or the entire conversation – but it was us talking to us” (Ellison, 2007). To this end, although the hashtag #MeToo is an ancient procedure used in the new media, the viral restatement across the social media, particularly Twitter, looks familiar for numerous reasons.
Excel spreadsheets, whisper networks, and hashtags of abusers are developed when the essential channels for revealing and condemning fail. Sadly, people who feel that social media is the only recourse are facing a huge injustice and the “Me Too Movement” is requesting more than it is giving. The survivors are being asked to reveal the entire private ordeals for public utilization (Ellison, 2007). With little regards to the differences in their experiences that are enquired to provide a united façade with institutionally lop-sided backing at their mercy. Additionally, they are forced to see the suffering of their fellow victims and survivors. The consequences of the demands are that if adequate persons share their issues, then abuse is undeniable (as if the number of faultfinders against Bill Cosby and Weinstein did not provide sufficient evidence) (Castells and Gustavo, 2005). To this end, although the #MeToo stories expose the criminal, the survivors are left to bear the pain, share it as a sign of courage, but no solutions are provided. Thus, the movement is treating sexual violence as a lasting issue for women, and the abusers will never be asked to develop a solution.
Participatory Culture
The “Me Too” campaign is a permanent reminder that is feeling unsafe and uncomfortable because of the male counterparts are connected to the life of every woman. The numerous responses to Milano’s tweets provide sufficient evidence on the magnitude of the negative experiences of women at men’s hands (Bird, 2011). The contributors commiserated, mourned, and raged. Despite the numerous contributions from regular and celebrity women, the “Me Too” posts on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are a spectacular experience, both dispiriting and liberating at the same time (Bloom & Johnston, 2010). However, other posts are uncomfortable. The sexually assaulted or harassed women in Milano’s post were meant to display the variety of harm caused by men, from criminality to creepiness. However, ‘harassment depicts a wide spectrum of misbehavior in which is far excluded from the assault the #MeToo piled it in with.
Similar to all women on this planet, some women have experienced come-ons and gross grabs that are sufficient to join the #MeToo movement (Bloom & Johnston, 2010). A man could press on a woman while sleeping in a bus or a train. Conversely, a person could yell when denied a second date. Street harassment, menacing or jovial, occurs every day. Arguably, all the moments count but not sufficient to make a noteworthy impact. They are not grounds for hurting anyone’s body, mental health, or career. To this end, publicly announcing kinship to victims of harassment, rape, or assault does not feel right. A similar issue arises with the “Shitty Media Men” spreadsheet that female journalists circulated amongst one another (Bird, 2011). It was a Google document used by women to warn each other about certain men. Anyone with the link could update it unanimously, updating the names of men accused of everything. However, the spreadsheet succeeded in providing a disparity between the acts. In the end, all the vile conducts became extraneous, and only the names could be remembered.
Conclusion
Nonetheless, it has not been easy writing this essay, as I do not want to be a victim of the hashtag or overshadow my life’s work. I have witnessed and read the horrors many have endured, which have been heartbreaking. Most of us are late to the most depressing section of the modern society and are yet to find their public voice. We are still learning by naming the horrors: sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse. Evidently, people are fed up, and they are ready to speak out. However, it is heartbreaking to realize that some men are taking the chance to reassess their actions as to either abuse, harassment, or assault. Although it is a difficult conversation, some have admitted to their actions. The lesson learned from this campaign is that no one is special. To this end, I believe that speaking out is the initial step to transforming society.
References
BIBLIOGRAPHY Baym, N. K., & Danah Boyd. (2012). Socially Mediated Publicness: An Introduction. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 56(3), 320-329.
Bird, E. S. (2011). Are We All Produsers Now? Cultural Studies. 25(4-5), 502-516.
Bloom, K., & Kelly Marie Johnston. (2010). Digging into YouTube Videos: Using Media Literacy and Participatory Culture to Promote Cross-Cultural Understanding. Journal of Media Literacy Education(2), 113-123.
Bohrer, S. (2017, October 28). Sexual harassment and the #MeToo movement: Catalyst for change or fleeting moment? Retrieved from chicagotribune.com: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-sexual-harassment-tipping-point-20171027-story.html
Castells, M., & Gustavo Cardoso. (2005). The Network Society: From Knowledge to Policy. Massachusetts: Center for Transatlantic Relations.
Ellison, N. B. (2007). The Benefits of Facebook “Friends”: Social Capital and College Students’ Use of Online Social Network Sites. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 12(4), 1143-1168.
Rettberg, J. W. (2014). Serial Selfies. In: Seeing Ourselves Through Technology: How We Use Selfies, Blogs and Wearable Devices to See and Shape Ourselves. London: Palgrave Macmillan.