By Mosis Wangsa
Lately, whenever digging into your social media accounts, you may have seen this strange hashtag ‘#MeToo’ popping out on every platform. Ever wondered what is it and why it is trending?
The #MeToo movement spread virally in October 2017 as a hashtag used on social media to expose the widespread prevalence of sexual harassment and exploitation, especially in the workplace. It followed soon after allegations of sexual misconduct exploded on social media against top Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
The phrase was previously used in this context by African-American civil rights activist Tarana Burke and was popularized by American actress and activist Alyssa Milano when she encouraged women to tweet it “to give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem”. Since then, the phrase has been posted online millions of times, often with an accompanying personal story of sexual victimisation. The response on Twitter included high-profile posts from several celebrities, and many stories of sexual violence were shared, including that of actor/singer Anthony Deane Rapp against legendary actor Kevin Spacey.
If we trace this evil carefully we can see it operating everywhere around us. Be it at the workplace, office, classroom or even within the four walls of our own home, it has unfortunately become a brutal reality. When asked about it, a young lady scholar from the Department of Political Science, GU, remarked, “I totally stand with the movement. I am glad that through social media, people are finally coming out. Sexual harassment or exploitation was always there, it is just now that more people are speaking about it and exposing it. It is not to be taken lightly. Be it in any form, it is an out and out crime”. Another lady scholar from the Department of Philosophy added, “I encourage every girl out there to come forward if they had ever experienced it. At the end of the day, there is always a helping hand”.
A male scholar from the Department of Law however pointed out: “Right now when the entire world is so taken up with feminist issues, which is great by the way, we often tend to forget the males. There are reports of men too being victimized by sexual predators.”
One significant fact that needs be noted is that with each passing day, the social media phenomenon is growing stronger. The #MeToo movement is a recent instance that shows social media surpassing even mainstream media, with the latter desperately trying to catch up. It may be a double-edged sword, but social media whenever used properly is already giving a voice to the hitherto voiceless.
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