#MeToo seems like a regular hashtag initially or even a mushy one to few, but it has stormed the internet lately. Media feeds are awash with the swarming numbers while some people confessed that their walls had a sheer cascade of #MeToo status by as high as 95% of their female contacts on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter). So what is that made people use this hashtag? Is it just another viral trend or a collective catharsis?
Actor Alyssa Milano’s online call after Harvey Weinstein revelations led to this uprising of a sort. She tweeted on 15th October “If all women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote ‘Me too’ as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem”.
From a sixty-year-old teacher to a millennial born with a silver spoon chose to write #MeToo on my social media feeds. It was no more related to a high profile exposé in Hollywood, the conversation became about social dynamics and power equations.
It became about you and me, from LA to Bengaluru, Jodhpur to Lagos. More than 4 tweets per second and, within 24 hours, 4.7 million people around the world engaged in the #MeToo conversation with over 12 million posts, comments and reactions according to Facebook. The hashtag is now being used in several languages across borders. Originally used by Tarana Burke, ‘MeToo’ campaign was a grass-roots movement to reach survivors of sexual assault in times before social media was rampant. I am sure Burke’s heart swells with pride today seeing the immensity of a movement she started.
The non-binary responses show that some men too have chosen to disclose the harassment and abuse they have faced. Celebrities and commoners alike felt empowered to share their ordeal. It was harrowing reading the stories, these were for real! #MeToo represented the ubiquitous perversion in our societies. From dirty glances to unwelcome groping, eve-teasing to name calling, innuendos to forceful violations, yes, MeToo covered all. Social media provided a galvanizing platform to those suppressed voices. It’s dreading to know that it’s happened to practically all women we know and the lines are crossed by not monsters but relatives, seemingly good guys who care for the environment, friends, and colleagues.
It has been consistently observed that when a problem is acute in nature, it begets attention of the world, however, a chronic problem gets unnoticed or sadly is accepted as ‘a given’. A child dying of hunger grabs headlines while ’44 percent children being malnourished’ doesn’t seem to stir consciences. Similarly, Nirbhaya made us cringe and cry, but the fact that almost all women we know have experienced one sort of violation doesn’t seem to be important. Isn’t it time we introspect?
So does a two-worded hashtag have the potential to resolve this imperative problem? No it doesn’t. The fact that one broke the solitary confines and opened up to be heard, the realization that we are not alone is a tread towards healing. Many men acknowledging that it happens by coming out of their reverie is the first step towards realization and eventual change. Speaking up is empowering, let’s encourage it.
We need to together work towards tangible measures like devising practical steps to avert possible violations, facilitate reporting and finally ensure that offenders face appropriate punitive actions not only legally but socially too. The fact, that we have all met more honorable, wonderful men than bad show that all is not so sullen and somber. The bad is an exception, not the rule. And maybe, just maybe, I will never have to see a post from one of the young girls in my family with the words #MeToo.
It’s a campaign that opened the eye of the world that how many women are sexually assaulted to achieve their career. We must understand that women must not be used in this way and hope women also not used their physical appearance to grow in their career.
