by Alena Zhang ’18, Commentary Editor 

Bill Cosby. Roger Ailes. Bill O’Reilly. Donald Trump. R. Kelly. Jimmy Savile. Woody Allen. Harvey Weinstein. Hundreds of women have come forward to tell their stories. However, for every celebrity, politician, or businessman who is accused of sexual harassment, there is the everyday person whose actions are not visible to the public — and the everyday person who does not speak out.

On October 15, a tweet by Alyssa Milano went viral: “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.” Milano referenced another tweet saying that “we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.” These issues have long plagued our society, but many women (and men) are scared to talk about their experiences. They face the possible backlash or pity of their friends, along with an unreliable institutional justice system. However, this simple phrase was a symbol of empowerment for many victims of sexual harassment. Carolyn Schachtel ’18, a leader of Human Rights Club, said that #MeToo has “given a voice to many women and men who have been silenced in the past. Hopefully, it will lead to more initiative to prevent sexual harassment in the future.” Tess Ostroff ‘ 18, a leader of POWER, added, “It speaks to the magnitude of the issues of sexual assault… But if society doesn’t begin to see the reality of this issue, the hashtag will fade away and won’t reappear until the next celebrity is accused of sexual assault.”

As part of a mission called “empowerment through empathy,” Harlem activist Tarana Burke began using the “me too” phrase in 2007. She wanted to aid sexual assault survivors in underprivileged communities, where rape crisis centers and sexual assault workers weren’t going. People weren’t going to seek out support: someone needed to bring it to them. Adebisi Adetoye ‘18 remarked, “I think the movement’s awesome, but I don’t see a lot of POC representation. It feels like a white feminist movement more than anything else, but it’s a necessary movement. So I can’t fault them for that, and I’ll take what I can get.” Considering that most American celebrities are white, there are few minorities who have an active voice in the campaign. Ultimately, intersectionality is difficult to address in a grassroots, popular-culture movement spearheaded by everyday citizens.

The unfortunate reality of our society is that women are shamed for speaking out. And when controversy spills over about a big name, we talk about the stories for a few days, until other news catches our attention. But more and more influential women are speaking out. McKayla Maroney, American gymnast and Olympic gold medalist, shared the shattering news that she had been abused by the team doctor since age 13. Prior, he already faced criminal charges from countless other women. Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Alyssa Milano have all spoken out. Reese Witherspoon, America Ferrera, Cara Delevingne, Jennifer Lawrence, Lady Gaga, Viola Davis, too. More than 140 Californian politicians — including legislators, senior executive aides, and lobbyists — joined forces to denounce pervasive sexual misconduct in their state’s legislature. Their actions show precisely why we need women in the professional world. Every celebrity or politician to speak out inspires at least one of us to do so too. They help chip away at the shame and stigma associated with speaking up.

Men have played an active role in the movement too, including Javier Muñoz, who plays Alexander Hamilton in Hamilton, and football-player-turned-actor Terry Crews. As men of color, they exemplify the fact that sexual harassment reaches all corners of society. Andrew Wyshner ‘18 commented, “The movement has an opportunity to grow to include men. While it’s a larger issue for women, sexual harassment affects everyone. As is, it’s “a very brave movement. I imagine that it’s a large weight off their shoulders to discuss this and have people they know involved too.”

The mass reach of social media is what makes #MeToo powerful. Humanities teacher Ms. Lifson says “This gives society an opportunity to understand the magnitude of the problem. And for individual women, it lets them understand they’re not alone. Even if you knew it had happened to others, when you open up Facebook and see that it’s practically every one of your friends [posting #MeToo], that’s a whole different level of understanding the problem.” Yet technology may be changing the way we experience and express dissatisfaction, limiting the extent to which we can actually change social realities. Neuroscientist Molly Crockett believes that “Just as a habitual snack eater eats without being hungry, a habitual online shamer might express outrage without actually being outraged.”

For the movement to reach its fullest potential, discussions need to move off-screen and into our daily conversations. It takes something that women have long stayed silent about and transforms it into a movement. The #MeToo hashtag isn’t a call to action or a campaign: it’s an attempt to show people the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault; to get women, and men, to take ownership of their experiences and actions. There is still much to be done about harassment, but demonstrating its magnitude is a crucial first step.