Social movement against sexual abuse and harassment

MeToo movement

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MeToo movement

#MeToo<a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;" data-mw-group="lower-alpha">[lower-alpha 1]</a> is a <a href="/en/Social_movement" title="Social movement" class="wl">social movement</a> against <a href="/en/Sexual_abuse" title="Sexual abuse" class="wl">sexual abuse</a>, <a href="/en/Sexual_harassment" title="Sexual harassment" class="wl">sexual harassment</a>, and <a href="/en/Rape_culture" title="Rape culture" class="wl">rape culture</a>, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment.<a href="#cite_note-Frye-2018-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a><a href="#cite_note-time17-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;">[2]</a><a href="#cite_note-Strause-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;">[3]</a> The phrase "Me Too" was initially used in this context on <a href="/en/Social_media" title="Social media" class="wl">social media</a> in 2006, on <a href="/en/Myspace" title="Myspace" class="wl">Myspace</a>, by <a href="/en/Sexual_assault" title="Sexual assault" class="wl">sexual assault</a> survivor and activist <a href="/en/Tarana_Burke" title="Tarana Burke" class="wl">Tarana Burke</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Ohlheiser-2017-5" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;">[4]</a> Harvard University published a <a href="/en/Case_study" title="Case study" class="wl">case study</a> on Burke, called "Leading with Empathy: Tarana Burke and the Making of the Me Too Movement" (2020).<a href="#cite_note-6" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 5;">[5]</a> The <a href="/en/Hashtag" title="Hashtag" class="wl">hashtag</a> #MeToo was used starting in 2017 as a way to draw attention to the magnitude of the problem.

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The purpose of "Me Too", as initially voiced by Burke as well as those who later adopted the tactic, is to empower sexually assaulted people (especially young and vulnerable women of color) through empathy, solidarity, and strength in numbers, by visibly demonstrating how many have experienced sexual assault and harassment, especially in the workplace.<a href="#cite_note-Ohlheiser-2017-5" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;">[4]</a><a href="#cite_note-LA-7" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 6;">[6]</a><a href="#cite_note-WorkplaceForbes-8" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 7;">[7]</a>

Following the exposure of numerous <a href="/en/Harvey_Weinstein_sexual_abuse_allegations" title="Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations" class="mw-redirect wl">sexual-abuse allegations</a> against film producer <a href="/en/Harvey_Weinstein" title="Harvey Weinstein" class="wl">Harvey Weinstein</a> in October 2017,<a href="#cite_note-Chuck-9" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 8;">[8]</a><a href="#cite_note-10" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 9;">[9]</a> the movement began to spread <a href="/en/Viral_phenomenon" title="Viral phenomenon" class="wl">virally</a> as a <a href="/en/Hashtag" title="Hashtag" class="wl">hashtag</a> on social media.<a href="#cite_note-WorkplaceForbes-8" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 7;">[7]</a><a href="#cite_note-11" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 10;">[10]</a><a href="#cite_note-12" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 11;">[11]</a> On October 16, 2017, American actress <a href="/en/Alyssa_Milano" title="Alyssa Milano" class="wl">Alyssa Milano</a> posted on <a href="/en/Twitter" title="Twitter" class="wl">Twitter</a>, "If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote 'Me too' as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem," saying that she got the idea from a friend.<a href="#cite_note-twitter.com-13" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 12;">[12]</a><a href="#cite_note-yahoo.com-14" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 13;">[13]</a><a href="#cite_note-15" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 14;">[14]</a><a href="#cite_note-Guerra-16" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 15;">[15]</a> A number of high-profile posts and responses from American celebrities <a href="/en/Gwyneth_Paltrow" title="Gwyneth Paltrow" class="wl">Gwyneth Paltrow</a>,<a href="#cite_note-17" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 16;">[16]</a> <a href="/en/Ashley_Judd" title="Ashley Judd" class="wl">Ashley Judd</a>,<a href="#cite_note-18" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 17;">[17]</a> <a href="/en/Jennifer_Lawrence" title="Jennifer Lawrence" class="wl">Jennifer Lawrence</a>,<a href="#cite_note-19" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 18;">[18]</a> and <a href="/en/Uma_Thurman" title="Uma Thurman" class="wl">Uma Thurman</a>,<a href="#cite_note-Ahmed-2017-20" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 19;">[19]</a> among others, soon followed.

Widespread media coverage and discussion of sexual harassment, particularly in Hollywood, led to high-profile terminations from positions held, as well as criticism and backlash.<a href="#cite_note-Jeffries-2018a-21" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 20;">[20]</a><a href="#cite_note-Livsey13jan18-22" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 21;">[21]</a><a href="#cite_note-Williams4jan18-23" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 22;">[22]</a>

After millions of people started using the phrase and hashtag in this manner in English, the expression began to spread to dozens of other languages. The scope has become somewhat broader with this expansion, however, and Burke has more recently referred to it as an international movement for justice for marginalized people.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder-2017a-24" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 23;">[23]</a> After the hashtag #MeToo went viral in late 2017, Facebook reported that almost half of its American users were friends with someone who said they had been sexually assaulted or harassed.<a href="#cite_note-25" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 24;">[24]</a>

#MeToo The hashtag #MeToo was used starting in 2017 as a way to draw attention to the magnitude of the problem. The purpose of "Me Too", as initially voiced by Burke as well as those who later adopted the tactic, is to empower sexually assaulted people through empathy, solidarity, and strength in numbers, by visibly demonstrating how many have experienced sexual assault and harassment, especially in the workplace. 