#MeToo
While scrolling through social media over the past couple of days, you might have seen many tweets with the hashtag #MeToo. Women and men worldwide are going online to share their stories of sexual assault. There has been over 12 million posts, comments, and reactions to the trending topic on Facebook alone.
Started by actress/singer Alyssa Milano, she did it to start more conversations about Harvey Weinstein, and many other situations where women are told to be quiet. Thanks to the growing movement, we no longer have to be silent. We no longer have to be ashamed. We no longer have to feel alone because there are millions of other people out there saying #MeToo. For people who have been a victim of sexual harassment or assault, it is an unexplainable feeling to see how many people have walked in the same shoes, and felt the same. While scrolling through my Twitter and Facebook today, I was overwhelmed with the amount of celebrities that we look up to who have no shame in posting #MeToo. Women like Viola Davis, Mia Farrow, Reese Witherspoon and more have opened up about their experiences. And it is not just the numbers that are incredibly overwhelming, but looking at posts from close friends and family members really hits hard.
It has always been so taboo for people to talk about sexual assault or harassment experiences because of backlash of others for blame, and trying to find reasoning or setting the victim at fault for anything they were doing or what they were wearing. Before #MeToo, it would be uncomfortable and a bit embarrassing to open up about sexual assault, but it shouldn’t be. Now that so many are raising each other up, and coming out and saying “you are not the only one,” it’s creating a safe environment where we can feel more comfortable coming out with our friends and family to say #MeToo. Not only are we drawing attention to this huge problem where women feel like they do not have the power to come out and say they have been harassed or assaulted, but this movement is so powerful that it is working to get rid of the stigma around being open of our experiences.
It is such a heartbreaking thing to realize what so many people have gone through together, and how so many women have been shut down for so many years. While I am angered to see that it took so much to even get people talking about this, I am overwhelmed with the support I have seen in the comments and replies of not just friends of victims, but strangers. For so many people out there that have been told to “forget about it” or “don’t talk about it,” they can now feel free. We can now talk about it, because the more we talk, the more commonplace it is, and the less scared we are to mention it. Thanks to this movement, now many men, or anyone who has not exactly endured any sexual assault, are speaking out for those who have. Standing tall with those who have been through harassment/assault, these people are tweeting #WithYou to let you know they are here with you. Floods of tweets from fathers saying they will raise their sons better than this, or those that are generally inspired are out here with us.
The more we talk about something, the less power we give to those who have abused, assaulted, and harassed. So much is happening everyday, but now so many are talking about it. All these words give me hope and inspiration. And to those who still do not feel the comfort of coming out and saying #MeToo, know that we are #WithYou.