The Power of Perspective: #MeToo

            “Women and men often experience the same event differently. Men experience their behavior from the perspective of those who have power, women from the perspective of those upon whom that power is exercised” (Kimmel 150).

            #MeToo is a movement on social media that has been bringing attention to various forms of sexual harassment and sexual assault that are present in everyday American culture. In an effort to unite those who face this kind of violence, and hold accountable those who perpetrate it, #MeToo has established a space for more voices to speak out and created community among them.

            For everyday people and celebrities alike, #MeToo is a springboard that enables almost anyone to share a detailed personal narrative or to show solidarity by writing “#MeToo” on social media, which links one in with the millions of other posts on the subject. It also provides, for those not interested in sharing at all, the opportunity to read and connect with others’ stories and experiences.  

            At the same time that individual voices get recognition, a broader cultural picture is painted of the various pervasive acts of violence that have gone unnamed and unrecognized by society at large until this recent movement. While this movement has brought significant attention to a rape culture that has not yet been contended with, the backlash in response is loud and clear: is #MeToo doing more harm than good, accusing all men of sexual assault?

            Quite simply, no it is not. There have been many men accused of varying levels of sexual harassment and assault, more than 100 in the public eye, as a result of #MeToo, however, the message is not that all men or even most men are guilty. #MeToo gives power to those who have been on the receiving end of sexual violence by giving them a voice and a platform. It sheds light on deep-set cultural attitudes surrounding sexual violence and how everyone is responsible to take part in making a change, which can and should take place in various forms, not just labeling all men as guilty. Dismissing all men as guilty would actually perpetuate the exact problem that #MeToo is bringing attention to: the idea that boys will be boys and there is nothing that can be done about it – violence is inevitable.  

            Violence exists on a continuum. Some acts, such as street harassment, are not always thought of as violence but when a culture largely accepts and doesn’t name seemingly inconsequential acts of violence a pathway that leads to assault and rape being accepted is created. When women’s decision-making and safety is undermined her autonomy is taken away.

            This idea is conveyed by Michael Kimmel in Men, Masculinity and the Rape Culture, “Safety is a precondition for women’s sexual expression. Only when a woman is certain, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that her no means no can she ever say yes to her own sexual desires” (Kimmel 154). #MeToo enables those who have been wronged to state how and why and to band together. Individuals who are found guilty should be held accountable, however this is not just an individual-level problem. It permeates throughout all levels of society, as seen by the volume of interaction that #MeToo has gotten.

            #MeToo is a broadly sweeping social movement over social media that calls attention to daily small acts of sexual violence as well as sexual assault and rape. It creates conversation around a part of culture that has long been concealed and dismissed. #MeToo gives a voice to those who have been forced into silence for too long. Not all men are guilty but all people are responsible in recognizing and rejecting violence.

Kimmel, Michael. “Men, Masculinity and the Rape Culture.” Transforming a Rape Culture, by   Emilie Buchwald, Milkweed Editions, 2005.