#MeToo

Movement
Meghan Cotant and
Aminta Perka
What is #MeToo?
“Empowerment through empathy”
50% of British women and ⅕ of British men have been sexually
harassed at work or a place of study (BBC News, 2017)

17.7 million American Women and 2.78 million American men

have been raped as of 1998 (RAINN, 2018)
What sparked #MeToo Movement?
● 2006 - Tarana Burke: activist and founder of #MeToo
● October 5, 2017 -- Ashley Judd’s story of sexual assault by Harvey Weinstein
was reported in the New York Times
● October 15, 2017 -- Alyssa Milano tweeted asking survivors to reply me too to
her tweet
● October 18, 2017 -- Olympic Gymnast McKayla Maroney tweets accusations
against team doctor Larry Nassar
#MeToo as a Global Movement
● Power of Hollywood and Social Media
● Hashtag has been used by women in over 85 countries
● Last few years have been setting the stage
● Rising expectations around the world
● “A roadmap exists, but it demands that we create change community by
community, from the bottom up”
#MeToo in Medicine
● Some view being a victim as “career suicide”
● ⅓ of practicing physicians are women
● “Old Boys Club” of medicine
Should Prostitutes be included in #MeToo?
● Sexual harassment is what prostitution is

● ”What other women see as rape, we see as normal”

● “Work” for those that have no other survival opportunities

● ”Prostitution is the definition of a hostile work environment”

Hashtag Activism
● More than a hashtag it is “the start of a larger conversation” and space for
“community healing” for all
● Social media and the accessibility of information
● Helps to make the news stories international and seen by more people
● Make it impossible to ignore the issues occurring outside of your direct circle
● Stems to other related hashtags and issues
#MeToo Movement vs. #TimesUp Movement
● Framework how to do the work to end sexual
violence
● Survivors knowing they aren’t alone is a core
goal
● Ultimate goal: “disrupting all systems that allow
sexual violence to flourish”
● Focused on workplace equality and creating
equal economic opportunities for women and
people of color
● Combating sexual assault comes into the
picture as a way that the movement is working to
end widespread employment disparities
● Can be thought of as an action-oriented “next
step” in the #MeToo Movement
Positive Response to #MeToo
● Survivors Healing
● Advocating for changes to laws and policies
○ Potentially make it illegal for new employees to sign non-disclosure agreements as conditions of
employment
● Goals such as
○ Processing untested rape kits
○ Re-examining local school policies
○ Improving the examination of teachers
■ All professionals who work with children should be fingerprinted and subjected to a
background check
○ Updating sexual harassment policies
● Instituting protocols that give sufferers the ability to file complaints without
retaliation
#MeToo in the Spotlight
● Golden Globes 2018
● Celebrities wore black to show support of
movement
● Ava DuVernay tweeted: “I am wearing
black today because balance and inclusion
and diversity is not some kind of allowance
to be made to accommodate people. No, sir.
It is a correction of an error. It is a righting
of a wrong. And it is going to be done. Now.”
Oprah’s Golden Globes Speech
“I want all the girls watching here, now, to know that
a new day is on the horizon! And when that new day
finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of
magnificent women, many of whom are right here in
this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men,
fighting hard to make sure that they become the
leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever
has to say "Me too" again.”
#MeToo Oscars
● Harvey Weinstein Accusuers Ashley Judd,
Annabella Scorria and Salma Hayek on
stage together
● Commemorated the revolutionary
movement of #MeToo
● “We salute the unstoppable spirits who
kicked ass and broke through the biased
perceptions against their gender, their race,
their ethnicity to tell their stories” - Hayek
● Presented a video montage that reminded
viewers that sexual assault and inequality is
in every walk of life
Why #MeToo in the Award Spotlight?
● Hollywood award shows have been known to be reported about all over the
world, year after year
● Takes the conversation worldwide
● More exposure for the movement leads to more women feeling comfortable
sharing their stories
● TIME Person of the Year 2017 - “The Silence Breakers” (Ashley Judd, Alyssa
Milano, Tarana Burke, Selma Blair… etc.)
How Big Has it Become?
● After Alyssa Milano’s initial tweet, there were more than 12 million #MeToo
posts, comments and reactions posted on Facebook alone.
○ This means 45% of all Facebook users used #MeToo
● #MeToo has reached 85 countries
● Almost 2 million tweets
● Comparable in gross to #MAGA and #BLM
Thank You!