METOO MOVEMENT TRANSFORMS CULTURE
By ALIX LANGONE
The groundbreaking anti-sexual assault and women’s empowerment movements #MeToo and Time’s Up upended the public conversation about women’s issues around the world, and elevated the global consciousness surrounding the obstacles women encounter in their daily lives, both personal and professional.
The #MeToo movement has become a worldwide phenomenon, searched for on Google in 196 countries in the past year. The culture shift has been palpable — for the first time ever, the world has been put on notice that these once-fledgling women’s movements were not to be ignored. And people started to listen.
TIME magazine named The Silence Breakers as the 2017 Person of the Year, honoring not one individual, but all of the women involved – and the cause as a whole. By shining a light on the women whose efforts got the movement off the ground, TIME acknowledged the profound influence of women like Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd on the year’s news, and their unprecedented ability to enact rapid change.
Although they overlap, there are distinct differences between the #MeToo and Time Up’s organizations and the movements fueling their formation.
TIME spoke to #MeToo founder Tarana Burke and Christy Haubegger, a Creative Artists Agency executive who helped start Time’s Up, about what they see as the similarities and differences between their two organizations.
“This is a movement that deals specifically with sexual violence,” Burke said. “And it is a framework for how to do the work of ending sexual violence.”
The #MeToo movement had already been around for years before it started gaining national attention after allegations of sexual assault and harassment by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein began dominating the headlines.
“We are doing it from a framework that’s central to survivors, and to make sure the most that marginalized among survivors have access to resources that will help them cross the human journey.”
Although the #MeToo movement had already been around for years, it finally gained national attention after allegations of sexual assault and harassment by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein started a crusade within the industry to speak out.
By focusing on healing and survivorship, Burke hopes to create a community of survivors who move forward together. Right now, they are working on scaling up their organization and resources to meet the outpouring of demand they are experiencing. Their goal is to continue adding more resources for survivors by “providing leadership training and development, and guidance for the community around community action.”
And Burke wants people to understand that the MeToo movement is more than just a hashtag. It is, she says, “the start of a larger conversation” and a space for “community healing” for all.
May, 04, 2018
Marching bands, a deejay and a slew of celebs joined Michelle Obama at College Signing Day, an annual event the former First Lady launched while in the White House to celebrate young people and their pursuit of higher education.
Upwards of 8,000 Philadelphia students, educators, parents, elected officials, corporate and community supporters took part in Wednesday’s program at Temple University, held inside The Liacouras Center, a 10,200-seat arena.
Most of the audience was comprised of high school seniors who plan to pursue higher education at a four-year college or university, community college, professional training program, or in the military. Dr. Parthenia Moore, principal at the Philadelphia High School for Girls, brought along a group of 80 students, many of them young women of color.