The problem with #metoo plainly and simply is that it doesn’t work. The whole point is for it to be a way for people to talk about their experiences publicly, specifically those who are normally too afraid to do so. Yet the kinds of people who wouldn’t speak up before aren’t gonna suddenly speak up now there’s a hashtag for it.
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Edited by Flee: 1/10/2018 1:36:31 AMI don't think that's really true for two reasons. One, there have been people who've spoken up now when they were too afraid or uncomfortable to do so before. Safety in numbers, so to say. It's like the kid in class who has a question but doesn't want to be the only one raising his hand out of fear of looking dumb or standing out, but feels more comfortable doing that when there's several other people asking questions and standing up as well. I have personally seen posts on social media of people speaking up for the first time because they felt the campaign made them feel safer and more emboldened to come out with it. It also provided an opportunity to discuss it and make it public. "Hey guys just so you know, I was sexually assaulted" isn't exactly something people feel inclined to just throw out there out of the blue. The campaign made it a topic everywhere and started a discussion people could chime in on rather than just mentioning it out of nowhere. To say that those kinds of people would never speak up now is just incorrect. Of course, many still won't. But I can guarantee you that thousands of women did take the opportunity to bring it up. Two, I don't think that's the whole point of it. To my knowledge, the campaign existed just as much to raise awareness about troublesome behavior and sexual harassment as it did to help people speak up. #MeToo has already been a success merely because of how much talk and attention it generated. The point was also to put a face and a number on sexual assault. It's one thing for someone to read through the newspaper and see a random number of "X percent of all women will face sexual harassment in their life". That's easy. It's abstract, theoretical and doesn't resonate with anyone. But actually seeing a face put on it? That's something else entirely. Now it's no longer some random survey where nameless women checked a box on a questionnaire that was then turned into a statistic in a study, but it's real. It's someone opening their facebook, instagram or twitter and seeing numerous people they follow or know in person go "that statistic? that victim? that's me". I think that just as much as it served to create a better climate for people to speak up in, the campaign was also there to show the magnitude of the problem and get people to realize that.
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You’re right, of course. My best friend said she felt ‘guilty’ for not feeling able to participate, so I’m kinda biased against the whole thing.
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Edited by Flee: 1/10/2018 2:05:38 AMWhy did she feel guilty? Was she not comfortable speaking up (yet) and felt she was letting victims down by not doing so and not participating in the movement?