"As a viral campaign, part of the success of #MeToo was to do with how deeply personal it felt. Within days our social media feeds were flooded with friends and family members adding their stories. “Of course, me too,” a friend added simply on Facebook, neatly summarising the depressing inevitability that she too had experienced sexual harassment. The women mostly exchanged familiar stories and knowing looks. Surprise was the domain of men: “I knew it happened, but I had no idea it was this bad” was a common sentiment."
- personal heartfelt campaigns can be achieved through social media? It gives people a platform to get their message and truth across without having to go through legal proceedings which can be traumatic. The only problem is that by the same logic, there could be elements of mistruth in these statements.
"In Japan, journalist Shiori Ito did “the unthinkable” when she appeared before television cameras in May 2017 to publicly accuse a prominent correspondent of rape. At the time she only used her first name, but in late October, amid the explosion of #MeToo confessions, she revealed her full identity and published a book about her experience. In an article for Politico she wrote that it is taboo to even use the word “rape” in Japan and it is often changed to “violated” or “tricked”. “My coming forward made national news and shocked the public,” she wrote. “The backlash hit me hard. I was vilified on social media and received hate messages and emails and calls from unknown numbers. I was called a “slut” and “prostitute” and told I should ‘be dead’.” But Ito believed she had no other choice. She said #MeToo has provided an opening in the Japanese media to discuss sexual harassment and assault."
- social media spans the globe and transcends most other outlets like local TV and radio, meaning that protests tackling a subject in the USA also have the potential to be seen in China. This gives the opportunity of discussion and an outlet of support and solidarity that wouldn't usually be offered locally.
- Also evidenced in the article is instances where "triage services" have been put in place to support the influx of people giving online testimonies about their alleged sexual abuse. Pointing them towards counselling and other services
“Globalisation, connectivity and the women's rights movement have created the perfect storm,” Spicer told the Telegraph. “Women are able to share their experiences, from Sydney to Suffolk. “Suddenly, we realise we're not alone. And our experiences are being believed. For the first time, men are understanding what women have suffered for centuries.”
- Referencing the idea of globalisation and networks
“Our personal devices are such an intimate part of our lives, these women feel comfortable using social mediums - at any time of the day or night - to share details about these experiences. And it's easy to connect with other alleged victims. For example, in the Don Burke case, the first whistleblower was able to easily connect me with two women in the US.”
- Interesting idea that the appeal of activism through social media comes not only from being able to connect with a wider range of people who've experienced the same or similar things, but also in the way that we use and connect with our mobile devices. They can seem maybe less invasive that a trip to a therapist or the daunting idea of reporting to the authorities?
"A similar style of crowd-sourced document was used by University of California graduate student Raya Sarkar to gather accusations against more than 50 academics in India and the US. In both instances, feminists have been split over the methods used. Some argue that such extreme methods risk damaging the credibility of women’s legitimate demands to be heard. Others argue that they are excusable when the existing systems have acted to protect predators, rather than victims."
- Clearly theres some debate as to the viability of the online testimonies. Its difficult as of course theres no telling whether they're truthful or not without launching full investigations or having some sort of tangible evidence. However the case is also made in the article that the pattern of these online protests seems to be that allegations against certain figures in the public eye are made online until these mount and turn into a type of coordinated campaign such as the one regarding Harvey Weinstein which sparked the #MeToo movement. When these campaigns begin and the testimonies are too much to ignore, hopefully an investigation is launched by officials.
- Aziz Ansari's case is also briefly discussed which brings up an interesting point as to whether its fair to bring up every point of contention online. Considering this case has since been recognised more widely as a confusion around the topic of consent, but can also be lumped in with the discussion of the sustained claims of sexual abuse in Hollywood.
"There is a recurring image in The Power which helps us understand all this. Alderman uses the spreading, forking, tree-like shape of lightning - and which lightning strikes lave on skin or wood - as a metaphor to describe social change. It starts at the bottom, with millions of individual people suddenly realising that the rules have shifted, that they can do something. Their behaviour filters up and up until the whole of society turns upside down."
- Read "The Power"
Link to article: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/world/metoo-shockwave/
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