Background Information

While most Americans familiar with the #MeToo Movement believe the movement began in October 2017, the movement started in 2006 when Tarana Burke, an anti-sexual assault activist, created the phrase to help women of color who experienced sexual harassment or assault. Burke created the “Me Too” movement through her non-profit organization, Just Be, Inc. in the hopes of giving minority female sexual assault survivors an opportunity to express their experiences and a network to aid in their recovery. The #MeToo Movement confronts sexism and the issue of sexual assault today through empowering women from all industries to unite in solidarity to end the tradition of female exploitation in workplaces.

Background Causes Timeline:

 

 

  • Between the 1980s and ‘90s: The EEOC defined sexual harassment as including “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal and physical harassment of a sexual nature, as well as rape and attempted rape. Under [U.S.] law, workplace harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment, or when it results in an adverse employment decision. The harasser need not be the victim’s supervisor, but may also be a co-worker or customer” (Human Rights Watch, 2012).

 

  • 1986: The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a sexual harassment plaintiff in its first hearing of a sexual harassment case, setting a judicial precedent to defend the rights of victims of sexual assault.

 

  • 1993: The Supreme Court ruled that a victim of sexual harassment “does not have to suffer psychological damage for a workplace to be considered hostile.”

A Timeline of Corporate Male Downfalls Since October 2017:

  • October 5, 2017: Ashley Judd, a renowned Hollywood actress, accused filmmaker Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault. He was later fired from his company (The Weinstein Company) and ousted from the Academy of Motion Pictures. Over 25 women have accused Weinstein of assault.

 

 

  • October 15, 2017: Actress Alyssa Milano resurrected the “Me Too” phrase when she tweeted “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet” which caused an explosion across all forms of social media of women admitting they had experienced sexual assault or harassment.

 

 

 

 

  • November 9 and 10, 2017: Louis C.K. was accused of sexual misconduct (Nov. 9) and he admitted the women who came forward were true in their accusations (Nov. 10). His media ties were cut and a movie release and his comedy show were cancelled.

 

 

 

  • November 30, 2017: Garrison Keillor, creator of “A Prairie Home Companion,” was fired from Minnesota Public Radio after sexual assault allegations.

 

 

  • December 6, 2017: TIME Magazine published its “Silence Breakers” article about Tarana Burke and the many actresses who spearheaded the #MeToo Movement.

 

 

  • December 11, 2017: Mario Batali, renowned chef and restaurateur, takes a leave of absence from his cooking show after sexual harassment allegations.

 

 

  • January 1, 2018: The Times Up Movement is born — 300 Hollywood actresses wrote and signed a doctrine to stand in solidarity with all victims of sexual assault in the workplace and to hold perpetrators accountable for their actions.

 

  • January 7, 2018: Actresses wore all black to show support for the Times Up Movement. Oprah also gave a speech about the changing of the tides between men and women in the workplace due to movements such as #MeToo and Times Up.

 

 

  • January 20, 2018: The second annual Women’s March took place in Washington, D.C.

 

Counterpoints to the Validity of the #MeToo Movement:

  • New York Post author Kyle Smith believes “as is characteristic of movements led by the left in general, #MeToo faces the prospect of being seen to push too far, too fast… the #MeToo movement [is] a frenzied extrajudicial warlock hunt that does not pause to parse the difference between rape and stupidity’ and a classic moral panic, one that is ultimately as dangerous to women as to men.” Smith’s article notes the unintended consequences of the #MeToo Movement and states women have too much power to destroy a male co-worker’s career for a simple slip up. The article poses that men oppose the #MeToo Movement because it makes men uncomfortable performing workplace tasks in the company of women.

 

  • Catherine Deneuve and other French actresses came out against the #MeToo Movement in an open letter explaining “women and men have used social media as a forum to describe sexual misconduct, [and] have gone too far by publicly prosecuting private experiences and have created a totalitarian climate.” The letter also states “this expedited justice already has its victims, men prevented from practicing their profession as punishment, forced to resign, etc., while the only thing they did wrong was touching a knee, trying to steal a kiss, or speaking about ‘intimate’ things at a work dinner, or sending messages with sexual connotations to a woman whose feelings were not mutual.” Deneuve believes the #MeToo Movement goes too far in exposing men who do not deserve the shame they recieve after being exposed for instances of sexual assault. She does, however, believe a reckoning with Harvey Weinstein’s past help check the occasional abuse of male workplace power.

However…

Regardless of whether an instance of sexual assault occurred while someone was sober, intoxicated, not thinking straight, angry or seeking to exert dominance, assault is assault. The assailant’s mindset makes no difference in the impact to his victim and under the law rape, the most serious form of sexual assault, is illegal. Smith’s article notes the unintended consequences of the #MeToo Movement in terms of men losing power but ignores that creating a workplace that prides itself on equality and inclusion benefits all workers and allows both men and women to collaborate effectively since women are seen as competent individuals instead of sex objects. The article poses that men oppose the #MeToo Movement because it makes men uncomfortable performing workplace tasks in the company of women, but instead of running from a fear of women, men should make room for them in the workplace and embrace their contributions.

While Deneuve’s points about innocent male mistakes unjustly resulting in sexual assault cases that seem like women exaggerating their experiences, the high profile cases such as those against Weinstein come from 51 women who detail how their interaction with Weinstein was forced and fit the EEOC’s definition of sexual harassment. With so many women testifying against Weinstein in explicit detail, it is unlikely their accounts are a falsified plea for attention. Deneuve defends men’s inappropriate behavior and fails to see that men should not be able to take advantage of women in the workplace by objectifying their bodies and using them for sexual favors instead of seeing them as capable, intelligent human beings hired to do a job.