As 2017 comes to a close and society moves forward in a “Post Weinstein Era”, the hashtag #MeToo continues to gain popularity. This movement is seen as a medium to share stories of sexual abuse. #MeToo actually serves as a vehicle to give people the sense of the magnitude of the sexual abuse epidemic.
Most tweets praised the movement with the hopes that one day society will fully understand how prevalent sexual abuse is. As shown in the second tweet, some users tried to stay positive with the attitude that there is so much hope in the movement and we have the opportunity to educate everyone on this matter.
as someone who was sexually assaulted and raped at a very young age, seeing all these women and men telling their story makes me so damn happy and i’m so proud of them. they deserve justice. #MeToo
— ✨ eliza ✨ (@iamelxza) November 27, 2017
after reading articles about the celebrities that have come forward about sexual harassment/assault and the campaign #MeToo, you realize that the reason why this goes on is because men aren't aware of what harassment consists of, so to solve this issue, I am here to educate
— Mitzi M. (@LalalaMitzi) November 26, 2017
Instead of being angry at the women who took ‘time’ to speak of their abuse. Be angry that we live in a world that silenced them for so many years. Be angry that we as a society allowed them to suffer in silence. #MeToo
— Sunny Mangat (@mangat_sunny) November 22, 2017
However, some users still disapproved of the movement saying that it just gives women and men the opportunity to victimize themselves. As shown in the second tweet below, the hashtag also invited the integration of politics to the movement. The hashtag was also abused. The last tweet is an example of the hashtag abuse as one particular user decided to make a joke out of a serious movement at the expense of other victims.
I truly was a supporter of #metoo, cause abuse, intimidation, harassment & rape of both women AND men is unacceptable!
However it has grown into a mean of power & control, misused and disgraced by some with an immediate victim title.
Public opinion doesn’t have a law degree!
— Birgit (@BirgitDG83) November 23, 2017
tfw when you realize #MeToo women think they’re doing something heroic when in reality they’re tearing down the establishment that props them up
— Vile Snot McFeels (@JMcfeels) November 21, 2017
A guy looked at me on the subway #metoo
— Amanda Prestigiacomo (@AmandaPresto) November 19, 2017
No matter the opinion on the subject, the hashtag created substantial conversation on a topic that deserves coverage.