This past year, 2017, was one in which women have been speaking up about their realities in hopes of bringing about change. Towards the end of last year, there was the social movement of #MeToo in which women share their experiences about sexual assault and harassment on social media. But what is surprising about this is that the #MeToo movement was started back in 2006 by a woman named Tarana Burke. The start of the #MeToo movement was something extremely personal for Tarana Burke as a youth camp leader. The heartbreaking experience of having a 13-year-old girl tell her the story of how her own father sexually abused her was what broke Burke’s heart. The shame and guilt of the 13-year-old girl, the instant change on her face went through as Burke suggested letting someone in a higher position know about it. It was clear to Burke that there was something very wrong with the victim, having felt ashamed and in a way, defend her abuser.
It seems like 2017 was the groundbreaking year for women to put an end to their oppression. The Women’s March was about women’s rights and their voices being heard. After the Women’s March, women began feeling empowered to become stronger individuals and fight for their rights as human beings. Last year, there was a rise of actresses coming forward about sexual assault and harassment. It all started with the outburst of sexual assault allegations that came out in the later half of 2017 on film producer Harvey Weinstein. Due to the rise of sexual harassment accusations, there have been several HBO shows and movies that have been canceled.
Earlier this month, at the Golden Globes, people came out to demonstrate their support to putting an end to sexual assault and harassment. The idea was to wear all black. Some of the actresses totally nailed it by wearing gorgeous black gowns. The highlight of the Golden Globes was Oprah Winfrey’s speech after winning the Cecil B. de Mille award. This was a pretty big deal considering that Oprah Winfrey is the first African American woman to win such a prestigious award. Winfrey’s speech was not short of being a moving, relevant, powerful, and bold statement. Unlike most Hollywood or entertainment speakers, Oprah goes straight to the heart of the Hollywood’s movement against sexual assault and harassment. Oprah tells us her stories of her dream coming true and the power of having control over your own destiny. Oprah tells us about watching her idol Sidney Poitier as he became the first African American man to ever win a Golden Globe. It is a very profound and personal experience to witness another person of color beat the odds and demonstrate that there is raw talent in the Black community as well. Wanting to achieve those dreams herself was one thing, but to literally watch another person of color win that award just made her dream more attainable and realistic. Oprah emphasizes that her wish and purpose is to uncover the truth and to remove the veil that has been put around our eyes through lies.
As Oprah says, the most powerful tool we all have as human beings is “speaking your truth.” For victims of sexual harassment and assault, there is a lot of confusion and doubt about whether or not their stories will be believed or not. What the rise of sexual harassment in Hollywood and the #MeToo movement does is put upon us a new responsibility. As citizens and human beings, it should be put upon us to love one another, support, and get along with each other. But, America is an incredibly individualistic society one in which we only watch after ourselves, and it should not be that way. Why is it that we fear coming together or being misguided? Yes, there are a lot of evil, deceptive, and cruel people but that should not stop us from reaching out to those in need.