The most recent things that have been viral lately are the #MeToo posts, which I, along with many others, are feeling conflicted about.
First, let me explain the hashtag in case you're reading and don't understand what I'm talking about. There's a viral post going around, and it began on Twitter, followed by Facebook, and then Instagram.
This is the initial post:
"Me too.
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."
At a first glance, it seems to be an effective use of your status, right? Raising awareness about sexual assault? Sign me the heck up.
As you begin to question this movement, however, it becomes clear that there are many people missing from the conversation with this viral post.
Men are sexually assaulted, LGBTQ+ are sexually assaulted, POC are sexually assaulted. If It's On Us has taught me anything, it's that sexual assault/violence/harassment does not discriminate. Anybody can be sexually assaulted, and all groups of people are. Some more than others, sure, but this post makes it seem like the problem is that only women are sexually harassed, and that is untrue. It's dangerous to make it seem that only women are sexually assaulted or harassed, and it silences other survivors.
My second issue with the post, is that people shouldn't need to "out" themselves as a sexual assault/harassment survivor just to make a point. If someone was sexually assaulted, they shouldn't have to post it for everybody to see in order to make them believe that sexual assault is a problem.
Look at statistics, go to events that people plan, sign up for mailing lists of sexual assault prevention websites. If you need a friend to "out" themselves as a survivor in order for you to believe it's a problem, you are part of the problem.
Lastly, it's important to recognize that a lot of people on social media have been assaulted or harassed and seeing these posts over and over again could be very triggering. Content warnings are important, and I believe that this viral post deserves one.
All of that said, I'm not trying to debase those that have posted "Me too" in order to raise awareness. (I did it, too.) To those people that have, I believe you, I support you, and I'm proud of you for raising awareness of the magnitude of sexual assault. Your story is valid, and you are not alone.
To those that have been sexually harassed or assaulted but didn't/can't/won't post about your assault, that's alright. You're valid. Your discrimination/assault/harassment is valid and so are your emotions. You are not alone. You don't have to post about it.
If you're thinking of posting something about your assault with a "Me too" hashtag, by all means, do it. For the sake of bettering the community, however, please take my (and others') criticisms into consideration. Instead of writing:
"Me too.
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."
Maybe rewrite it as:
"Content warning: sexual assault/harassment
Me too.
If all individuals 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."
As this blog post winds down, I think it's important to state that we wouldn't get anywhere in this world if we did not critique ourselves. So while this post does a great job of raising awareness and conversation about sexual assault, it's important to critique others and become aware of what might be problematic with what you're seeing/posting.
Above all else, practice self care as much as possible, even if it means turning off your social media for a while, until this hashtag dies down.
First, let me explain the hashtag in case you're reading and don't understand what I'm talking about. There's a viral post going around, and it began on Twitter, followed by Facebook, and then Instagram.
This is the initial post:
"Me too.
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."
At a first glance, it seems to be an effective use of your status, right? Raising awareness about sexual assault? Sign me the heck up.
As you begin to question this movement, however, it becomes clear that there are many people missing from the conversation with this viral post.
Men are sexually assaulted, LGBTQ+ are sexually assaulted, POC are sexually assaulted. If It's On Us has taught me anything, it's that sexual assault/violence/harassment does not discriminate. Anybody can be sexually assaulted, and all groups of people are. Some more than others, sure, but this post makes it seem like the problem is that only women are sexually harassed, and that is untrue. It's dangerous to make it seem that only women are sexually assaulted or harassed, and it silences other survivors.
My second issue with the post, is that people shouldn't need to "out" themselves as a sexual assault/harassment survivor just to make a point. If someone was sexually assaulted, they shouldn't have to post it for everybody to see in order to make them believe that sexual assault is a problem.
Look at statistics, go to events that people plan, sign up for mailing lists of sexual assault prevention websites. If you need a friend to "out" themselves as a survivor in order for you to believe it's a problem, you are part of the problem.
Lastly, it's important to recognize that a lot of people on social media have been assaulted or harassed and seeing these posts over and over again could be very triggering. Content warnings are important, and I believe that this viral post deserves one.
All of that said, I'm not trying to debase those that have posted "Me too" in order to raise awareness. (I did it, too.) To those people that have, I believe you, I support you, and I'm proud of you for raising awareness of the magnitude of sexual assault. Your story is valid, and you are not alone.
To those that have been sexually harassed or assaulted but didn't/can't/won't post about your assault, that's alright. You're valid. Your discrimination/assault/harassment is valid and so are your emotions. You are not alone. You don't have to post about it.
If you're thinking of posting something about your assault with a "Me too" hashtag, by all means, do it. For the sake of bettering the community, however, please take my (and others') criticisms into consideration. Instead of writing:
"Me too.
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."
Maybe rewrite it as:
"Content warning: sexual assault/harassment
Me too.
If all individuals 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."
As this blog post winds down, I think it's important to state that we wouldn't get anywhere in this world if we did not critique ourselves. So while this post does a great job of raising awareness and conversation about sexual assault, it's important to critique others and become aware of what might be problematic with what you're seeing/posting.
Above all else, practice self care as much as possible, even if it means turning off your social media for a while, until this hashtag dies down.
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