Me Too movement was an online hashtag that spread on social networks in October 2017 and was shared hundreds thousands times. The hashtag is used to discuss and condemn the widespread prevalence of sexual assault, especially in the workplace. It began with accusations of sex crime against American director Harvey Weinstein.
The hashtag was developed by social activist Tarana Burke. After Elissa Milano asked all women to share their experiences through this hashtag. Milano encouraged victims of sexual assault to write about their experiences on Twitter to raise awareness of the prevalence and systematic nature of sexual assault. The hashtag was used nearly 500,000 times by various people, including many famous one. The Me Too movement and the collective justification on accused person have helped the judicial system to prove crimes. An activist Tarana Burke used the phrase “Me too” on MySpace. The action was part of a mass campaign to promote women’s empowerment through solidarity among black women who had experienced of being sexual assault, especially in marginalized and poor areas.
Burke says she worked for a youth organization in Alabama. One day a 13-year-old girl wanted to talk to her alone and tell her about her experience of violence and sexual assault. “I was so busy and I refused and offered her over to someone else,” Burke says. She never returned to the organization, and Burke wished she could tell her, “Me Too.” She added they are not alone and are being supported and she works on women’s empowerment on the topic of abuse and harassment.
After Burke, as mentioned, Alyssa Milano was an actress who embodied Burke’s call and put it more than ever. Milano’s work was in response to many Hollywood women who shared their experiences of sexual harassment. Most of these experiences were about the sexual abuse of Hollywood director Harvey Weinstein.
On October 15, 2017, Milano encouraged victims to use the term as part of an awareness campaign about the widespread dimensions of sexual assault. “If all those who have experienced sexual assault tweeted #me, we could attractively show the extent of this issue,” she tweeted.
So the Me Too movement, which focuses on the experiences of people who have experienced sexual violence, has attracted a lot of attention because sexual harassment affects individuals on a daily basis around the world. Supporters of the movement explain their experiences of the high levels of sexual harassment. Henceforth, the Me Too movement is an attempt to influence the process of social revolution that is essentially organized through social networks, a place often expressed in the form of the hashtag “Me Too”.
