Break the Silence- #MeToo Movement by Gabriella Lozano

2017-Alyssa Milanos Impact

reznicek1693 — 2024-05-15 14:50:42 UTC

Milano is a successful producer as a well as actress. When filming for a TV Series “Who’s the Boss” where she was sexually abused on set. This happened when they were filming an explicit scene for the show and a man 17 years older then her took advantage of the situation. After the widespread publicity of the sexual assault case against Harvey Weinstein, Alyssa Milano posted a tweet stating “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write “me too” as a reply to this tweet”. Thousands of women immediately responded, sharing this tweet and their stories. The attention continued when Lady Gaga and Viola Davis also shared this tweet. And after just nine days of Alyssa Milano using the hashtag, it had gained 1.7 million retweets across every continent. Her story helped the spread of a powerful movement by partnering up with Tarana Burke in the MeToo Movement.

Social Impact: Due to the huge following and support that Alyssa Milanos has she was able to touch many fans and others showing them that they have nothing to be ashamed of. This helped provide people with confidence to speak up and feel less alone in a terrible situation.

1991: Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas

lozano5404 — 2024-05-15 14:57:12 UTC

In 1991, Anita Hill came out and accused Clarence Thomas, a then Supreme Court Nominee of sexual assault. When she publicly testified on live TV in front of both the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senator Joe Biden, she stated that he had sexually harassed her when he was the chair of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and she was his advisor. Unfortunately, during her testimony the committee consisted of 14 white men. She recounted inappropriate sexual comments that were made by Thomas, but were often minimized by the committee.

Political Impact:
Clarence Thomas was confirmed despite her testimony and still remains in power of the highest court. His positioning in the law prevent the fullest protection of people who have faced gender violence or misconduct. Since appointed, Thomas has argued for the Supreme Court to reconsider rights to same-sex marriage/relationships, contraception access, and revoke the constitutional right to abortion, limiting the rights of women and others in America. Thomas’ confirmation enables this systematic issue in the federal workforces as three of the last five U.S. presidents and two current Supreme Court justices have been accused of abuse.

2015-Larry Nassar is accused of sexually assaulting hundreds of gymnasts

wolf1242 — 2024-05-15 14:57:29 UTC

In 2015, Larry Nassar, the doctor at the time of the U.S.A Women’s gymnastics team was accused of sexually assaulting a multitude of gymnasts, some of them being Gabby Douglas, Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Megan Moroney, and many others. Throughhis time working for the U.S.A women’s gymnastics team, Nassar had about two decades of sexuak assault under his belt, and had also admitted to having child pornography. Nassar would assault the athletes during their checkups, but they never really knew what he was doing should not have been going on at a checkup. However, despite many allegations against Nassar, the case was not taken as seriously as it should have been right from the beginning. Many of the young victims had told an adult what Nassar had done to them, but many of the incidents did not get reported, and within the 14 months that it took the FBI to press charges on Nassar, an additional 40 girls and women were assaulted by him. That's where Simone Biles furiously stepped in, demanding $1 billion dollars because the FBI had failed to immediately stop Nassar, even though they had been aware of the allegations for a full year. Nassar was finally arrested in 2016.

Social Impact: The fact that it took the FBI so long to do something about the case sparked anger and feelings that topics like sexual assault weren’t taken seriously enough. The Gymnasts, Simone Biles especially, were upset that the FBI didn’t teat the case with upmost importance, making it seem like it wasn’t something worth inspecting, when in reality, the longer the FBI waited, the more girls and women were assaulted. Not only did Simone want $1 billion dollars for the FBI’s failure to act sooner, but she also wanted a sense of security that if this were to occur in the future, the case would be handled with seriousness and a sense of urgency, in order to limit the amount of girls harmed by it. She wanted social reform as to where sexual assault would not go overlooked anymore, where victims’ cries for help would not be ignored or belittled.

2014-President Obama launches “It’s On Us” campaign to fight sexual assault on college campuses

wolf1242 — 2024-05-16 13:03:04 UTC

President Obama decided that he had to do something about the growing issue of sexual assault on college campuses, so he started to “It’s On Us” campiagn, and put it into effect on September 19th, in 2014. It provides a message to citizens to stand up and advocate for victims of sexual assault, and to do their part in ensuring safe places on college campuses. The government began doing their part by collaborating with universities to create the best solution possible to prevent and respond to sexual assault cases, and sent guidance to every school. The philosophy of “It’s On Us” is that if everyone works together, than maybe we can achieve the social justice we deserve regarding sexual assault, and if everyone does their part, than the world can be a safer place.

Political Impact: The government's involvement in this movement has added strength and power to it. The president has a lot of influence over the country, and in this case is able to use it to enhance the movement. If the president is supporting an issue, it sends a message to the rest of the country that supporting it is the right thing to do. Furthermore, having the law on their side makes the movement much more influential because they are allied with someone who has the power change anything.

Event that took place after 2017-Currently: #MeToo Movement spreads to other countries

lozano5404 — 2024-05-16 14:32:11 UTC

This took place after the initial #MeToo Movement in America. Due to the movements sudden popularity on social media, its ideas became viral in over 85 nations. Countries all over the world continued to spread this movement and “MeToo” was translated in a number of languages. Women shared their stories under the hashtags #WoYeShi, #AnaKaman, and #YoTambien to name a few. These hashtags had over a million uses in two days.

Social Impact: This widespread awareness allows women to have a platform that helps their voices be heard and supported all around the world no matter their culture or beliefs. It allows marginalized communities get attention that they normally wouldn’t have and created a strong front against sexual assault. The extreme globalization forces attitudes against both cultural and gender norms (consent and power) to be changed and no longer ignored. For example, in Japan many women face both sexual discrimination and it often goes unnoticed. Specifically, women in Japan have the cultural expectation to wear high heels. The complaint of these dress codes through #KuToo raises awareness of the countless other struggles women go through. With the spread of this movement around the globe, it can continue to change society and it’s cultural norms.

Primary Source 2017: TIME Magazine names Person of the Year the “Silent Breakers”

lozano5404 — 2024-05-16 14:44:25 UTC

Pictured above is magazine where the #MeToo movement was named Person of the Year 2017. On its cover they call women who have bravely spoken out about their sexual assault "The Silent Breakers". It even has Tarana Burke who started the movement on it. While the magazine cover features popular celebrities like Taylor Swift who was sexually assaulted during a meet and greet before one of her concerts and later sued, it also has lobbyist Adam Iwo, former Uber Engineer Susan Fowler, and Isabel Pascual who's an immigrant from Mexico and strawberry picker. Publicly putting this image of women who come from different backgrounds and social status regardless of their profile demonstrates that anybody can come forward about their sexual assault or abuse.

2009- April is proclaimed as Sexual Assault Awareness Month by President Obama

lozano5404 — 2024-05-16 14:57:39 UTC

In 2009, President Obama declared that April would officially be Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAAM). He was the first ever president to do so. This federal proclamation sent the message that the government sees those affected and will take part in preventing sexual assault. This month is dedicated towards taking the time to raise awareness, educate others on consent, and support victims of sexual assault.

Social Impact: By dedicating a specific time and entire month to sexual assault awareness, it allows more attention to be put on the topic. It opens up more conversations about helping victims feel supported and ways to put an end to sexual assault. Simple acts such as wearing teal as a survivor can help other women feel less alone and possibly even speak up. Wearing teal even if one is not a survivor is another way to stand in solidarity with survivors. Not only that, but the public attention that SAAM brings can allow campaigns to create resources that help victims feel supported. It continually helps educate others on consent and permanently ensures that sexual assault does not go unnoticed.

2018-Brett Kavanaugh is sworn into the supreme court, despite being credibly accused of sexual assault by many women

wolf1242 — 2024-05-16 16:13:12 UTC

Brett Kavanough was sworn into the Supreme court on October 6th, 2018, and the decision caused controversy and uneasy feelings across America. This is because at the time of the decision, Kavanough had been accused of sexually assaulting two different women. Females were infuriated that these allegations had been overlooked when he was chosen, and weren’t properly investigated, and didn’t receive the attention that they deserved. One of the women who testified against him was in danger of threats from politicians, saying that she only spoke out to ruin Kavanaugh’s career. Upon hearing the accusations, the FBI claimed that they would set up a tip line to investigate the case, but they never followed through. Since this event happened pretty close to Simone Biles testifying against Larry Nassar, women were pretty upset about the FBI’s lack of responsibility when handling sexual assault cases.

Political Impact: Women were becoming increasingly angry with the FBI and government for not using their power to stop sexual assault. It was frustrating to see the government overlooking such upsetting events, or acted like they didn’t care by not performing proper investigations.

Historical Synthesis-the Cult of Domesticity in the 1800’s and 1900’s

wolf1242 — 2024-05-16 17:29:16 UTC

The Cult of Domesticity provided a set of social norms that women were expected to follow during the 19th and 20th century, and preached the idea of the “ideal women” and how she should look and behave. It said that women were only fitted for the role of being the ideal wife and mother, and should follow the principals of piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity. Women were not able to leave the house often, and were expected to serve their husbands and families at all times.
This relates to the #metoo movement because during the time period of the movement and the time period of the cult of domesticity, women’s rights were not taken seriously. Female voices were silenced during these times. When women have spoken out about cases of sexual assault, they were often ridiculed or ignored, just as women had to be submissive to their husbands, and do whatever they told them to do. During the cult of domesticity in the 1800’s, women did not have the vote, therefore not being able to use their opinion and voice during elections, just as when Bret Kavanaugh was elected for the supreme court despite the two women’s allegations that he has sexually assaulted them. Since the case was not really investigated, their voices were ignored, just like the voices of the women who wanted to vote during the cult of domesticity.

Primary Source 2017-President Obama’s speech on the “It’s On Us” campaign

wolf1242 — 2024-05-17 00:58:30 UTC

Watch from 17:20 to 20:15
This is the speech that President Obama gives before beginning the “It’s On Us” campaign. It addresses the issues of sexual assault that have been plaguing college campuses, and what the government is going to do to fix it.

2016- Donald Trumps Sexual Assault Allegations

lozano5404 — 2024-05-17 04:01:49 UTC

A month before the 2016 election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, a tape was leaked of him bragging about touching a woman inappropriately. Following, many more women came out about experiencing similar things. Donald Trump publicly denied these allegations calling these women "horrible liars". Dating back from the 70's, over two dozen women have spoken up about being sexually assaulted by Trump and he has even been found liable in court for sexual abuse. One example is when Trump was reported to have went into the Miss Teen USA contests dressing rooms while they were changing. A large number of these allegations contain harassment, groping, and rape. He has continued to deny these accusations and states that they were used to hurt his election.

Political Impact: This situation shows how ignorant the government is about sexual assault. Even though the president was accused of sexual assault, the laws clearly don’t apply to him, and he can manipulate them in a way that suits him because he has the power to do so. This is unfair to the victims because even though there are laws that are supposed to protect them, they still don’t get the protection and compensation they deserve.

2018- Harvey Weinstein accused of assaulting over 80 women in the film industry

reznicek1693 — 2024-05-17 12:35:13 UTC

Harvey Weinstein has had multiply allegations starting from 2017 after Actresses Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd came forward about what has happened to them. After that many other well known actresses came up to tell their stories. As a response to this Weinstein issued an apology acknowledging that he has caused pain to the women that he has harassed. In October of 2017 allegations from 13 more women were published by the New Yorker which Weinstein denied. Weinstein was one of the most powerful men in Hollywood which is why he was able to get away with all of this for so long.

Political Impact: The women that have been assaulted by Weinstein received some justice when he was sentenced to serve 23 years in prison in 2020, however, the New York State Court of Appeal is overturning Weinstin’s rape convictions because the jury was prejudice against the defendant. Many of the women that were allowed to testify about the allegations were not even apart of the case. Lots of women like this case, are not taken seriously and do not recieve the proper justice regardless of the amount of proof there is

Historical Synthesis- Roe V Wade

reznicek1693 — 2024-05-17 13:10:36 UTC

Roe V Wade was a court case that happened in January of 1973 recognizing the decision of weather it should be up to the women to be able to get an abortion or if it should be up to the government to decide. Seven out of the nine supreme justices agreed that based on the U.S Constitution’s 14th amendment it protects the right of individuals that choose to end their pregnancy prior to viability. This was one of the most controversial cases because of the debate over the ethical, legal, and moral implications of abortions. Many women protested the court case trying to fight to save their rights and their bodies and this relates to the #metoo movement because it’s also women fighting to have control over and protecting their bodies and not letting them get taken advantage of. The #metoo movement was to fight for more awareness about sexual assault and to bring more of these cases into the public in order to protect themselves and others. However, many of the predators have gone untouched or have gotten out of higher sentencing. Just like the Harvey Weinstein case, it has gotten appealed and was getting overturned. This is very similar to what happened when the Roe V Wade Case was getting overturned and many people protested. It demonstrates unconstitutional freedom against women. The #metoo movement and Roe V Wade are very similar events because they have both shown how women had to fight to get their points across and still having to face disappointment when realizing that although their efforts were high, the courts ruled against them.

Sources

lozano5404 — 2024-05-17 13:15:52 UTC

Brett Kavanaugh:
-https://nwlc.org/three-years-after-brett-kavanaughs-confirmation-were-still-searching-for-truth-and-justice/
Larry Nassar:
https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/2023/07/11/larry-nassar-ex-gymnastics-doctor-convicted-sexual-abuse-stabbed-in-prison-what-we-know/70400955007/#
Its On Us Campaign:
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/09/19/president-obama-launches-its-us-campaign-end-sexual-assault-campus
Roe V Wade:
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/26/photos-abortion-protests-texas/

https://reproductiverights.org/roe-v-wade/

Cult of Domesticity:
-https://americainclass.org/the-cult-of-domesticity/#:~:text=The%20period%20of%201820%20to,with%20newly%20acquired%20wealth%20and
TIME Magazine:
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/12/06/568773208/-metoo-movement-is-person-of-the-year-time-says
https://time.com/5052362/time-person-of-the-year-2017-arm-cover/
Sexual Assault Awareness Month:
https://www.nsvrc.org/blogs/how-we-got-here-history-sexual-assault-awareness-month
https://www.emich.edu/title-nine/resources/sexual-assault-awareness-month.php
Spread to other countries:
https://www.cfr.org/blog/metoo-goes-global-and-crosses-multiple-boundaries
Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas:
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/24/thomas-constitutional-rights-00042256
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/10/01/30-years-after-her-testimony-anita-hill-still-wants-something-from-joe-biden-514884
Alyssa Milano:
https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/alyssa-milano-sharing-alleged-sexual-assault-story-25/story?id=66317784#:~:text=During%20this%20time%2C%20she%20claimed,%5Band%5D%20literal%20exposure.%22
Harvey Weinstein:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/25/us/harvey-weinstein-conviction-overturned-appeal/index.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-41594672

Background

wolf1242 — 2024-05-18 03:22:26 UTC

The #MeToo movement was an awareness campaign created to combat sexual abuse, harassment, and get rid of rape culture. The movement was founded by Tarana Burke, who was sexually assaulted at a young age, and wanted to let other victims know that they are not alone. Tarana started the movement in 2006, but has recently gained popularity as of 2017, where the hashtag was used 19 million times from October 2016 to September 2018. #MeToo is a way to create a community within the victims who often feel isolated because of what happened to them, and it encourages them to speak up about the issue.