While most men get to go on sharing tasty videos and political rants, many women are debating whether or not they should post the words “Me too” onto their profiles.
In the wake of Harvey Weinstein’s allegations, talk of sexual assault and harassment has flared up. Alyssa Milano jumped on this tweeting:
If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet. pic.twitter.com/k2oeCiUf9n
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) October">https://twitter.com/Alyssa_Milano/status/919659438... 15, 2017
Her tweet quickly spread across social media and now women around the globe are posting the words “Me too” into their profiles. The main point of the trending campaign is to show men the vast number of people, mostly women, who have experienced sexual assault and harassment.
A big topic among the trending posts is the idea that women haven’t shared their stories because they believe that nothing will be done about it. Furthermore, women are fearful of the reactions they will receive to admitting that they have been sexually assaulted or harassed.
Like anything on this massive scale, people can be scared to admit they are a part of the narrative. Sexual assault and harassment is a deeply personal and usually hurtful experience that can be hard to admit. Other victims feel empowered by this.
Above all, this trend is to bring attention to the issue while also bringing victims together. When seeing these posts, we must remember that everyone sharing and keeping silent is valid for their decision to share or not share their stories. We must also keep in mind that all experiences are different, but everyone is valid and have people who can relate to them and people who can support them.
Personally, I was too scared to join in when I first heard about the campaign. I was instantly afraid of what people would think of me if I put that status on my Facebook page.
I then took a step back to try to understand why I had that fear in the first place. I quickly realized that the stigma around sexual assault was the cause of my fear, and I knew I couldn’t just let that go unnoticed.
So many women, including myself, have been sexually assaulted and harassed, but few of us talk about it. We’ve been taught to bite our tongues, blame ourselves, and move on.
I didn’t initially think that the “Me Too” trend could be a way to help others to see the problem. I didn’t see that, although many women are doubted for their experiences, this is the opportunity for them and other victims to reclaim their bodies and experiences to say that how sexual assault and harassment is treated in society is wrong and that victims of sexual assault or harassment, are valid, and that they are not alone.
I’ve come to see that the “Me too” trend is vital for the stigma of sexual assault and harassment to go away. Starting the almost nonexistent conversation about sexual assault and harassment was crucial for women’s rights, but this cannot be where it stops. Sexual assault and harassment have hurt too many people for this conversation to end here. Women need to be able to walk down a street, go to a party, eat in a dining hall, go to work or school, and just go about their day without the fear of being violated against their will.
