Unless you've been living under a rock, then I'm sure you've seen the #MeToo trend going around on social media. Essentially, it's a hashtag that has been circulating to bring awareness to the national government (and the general public) about how common sexual harassment and sexual assault is. The trend originated on Twitter but has since spread to Instagram, Facebook, and many other platforms.
According to the Washington Post, over half a million tweets were published with "#MeToo" incorporated in them. That is over half a million women, men, celebrities, public figures, and normal, everyday people who are publicly admitting to being sexually harassed or assaulted at some point in their lives.
And that is just on Twitter. One million posts were published on Facebook and 500,000 on Instagram with the hashtag as part of the caption. This trend has become one of the most quickly-spread social media trends our generation has seen.
The hashtag caught so much attention that NBC News published a video featuring women of the Senate, each of them speaking on their #MeToo stories. Sexual harassment and assault are seen by many people as "normal" or "dramatic," and these women came forward to show the nation exactly how wrong sexual assault is.
Ever since Alyssa Milano sparked the #MeToo trend, urging women who had been sexually harassed or assaulted to tell their stories, the number of women who have come forward and admitted Harvey Weinstein raped them has climbed from a few to surpassing 50 women in just a few weeks.
It speaks volumes, to realize that millions of men and women alike have been targeted, demeaned, and silenced until these past couple of weeks.
Behind every hashtag is a story and many celebrities have been coming forward with theirs in an effort to aid those who feel silenced by their abuser or by the intimidation placed upon them by the public.
Reese Witherspoon talks about the abuse she faced when she was 16. Jennifer Lawrence shared the explicit and inappropriate comments a casting director made about her. Molly Ringwald was slammed against a wall by a 50-year-old man when she was only 13. Lady Gaga and Kesha were both sexually abused by their producers.
#MeToo is such a crucial part of today's society. It shows us that we have so much progress to make and so many stories still need to be told. Something must be done to make sure our children -- boys and girls alike -- never have to face the fear of being targeted and harassed.
No one will have to be silent anymore. #MeToo is the support some people needed to come forward with their stories and it is the beginning of a revolution we will pursue until the problem is fixed. Sexual assault and harassment are never okay, and #MeToo is here to make sure the world knows that.
#MeToo is a movement that cannot and will not be ignored.
