A Summary of the Open Forum’s #MeToo Piece
ARTICLE SUMMARY
Introduction
The original intention of the #MeToo campaign was to advocate against the mistreatment of Black women. Later on, it became worldwide advocacy against the mistreatment of women and a push for solidarity with those who opened up on mistreatment. Jeff Hearn comments on the distinctive aspects of the #MeToo campaign (Hearn, 2018). First, the campaign is recognized as one of the contemporary virtual online politics on gender-related violence that has created collective awareness and subsequent policy change. Secondly, #MeToo can be regarded as an offshoot of media and prevalent attention on celeb culture. Within no time, the campaign had gone as far as to other workplaces, in particular, the economic sectors dominated by men like politics, high-profile professions, and other industries covering gender power and sexual harassment imbalances. #MeToo’s advocacy will lead to a change in the harassment and abuse in corporations and workplaces.
Thirdly, the growth of the campaign can be described as two-fold; individualistic as well as collective. The campaign stems from the knowledge that if a single woman is abused, there probably were others before her and after her hence the need for collective solidarity. Fourthly, Hearn contends that the sexual abuse and harassment that the campaign advocates against women are not a new phenomenon and hence the recent increase in the advocacy underlines the low memory and forgetfulness that people show. The surprise that people show is uncalled for and he argues that the campaign should seek to change the narrative once and for all otherwise there will be other advocacies once this is forgotten and people will also be surprised (Hearn, 2018).
Conclusion
Fifthly, Hearth contends that while the campaign has been centred on only sexual harassment, there is a need for a wide perspective on sexual violence, assault, rape, domination, abuse, and oppression (Hearn, 2018). He contends that there is a need for global societal change on all the above issues and incorporating them into other societal domains such as economy, policy and civil life. Sixthly as the article culminates, he underscores why the campaign should include men so that they are changed and to ensure that does not only change and stop but that they must never get away with it.
