#MeToo Gains Steam as France Considers Catcall Ban

In the wake of the many abuse allegations coming to light involving Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, an online conversation has been sparked under #MeToo. Started by activist Tarana Burke nearly 10 years ago, the hashtag began to trend over the weekend after actress Alyssa Milano tweeted a screen shot of Burke’s idea.

In an era when even the leader of the United States has been accused by several women of sexual assault, the conversation around the issue seems to have taken on a new urgency. Reminiscent of the #YesAllWomen movement that formed online in 2014, #MeToo highlights the prevalence of sexual violence and attempts to create solidarity in order to help survivors in their healing process.

There has been some criticism of the trend, such as the following Vice piece by Megan Nolan titled “The Problem with the #MeToo Campaign.”

The problem, really, with all of it is how violently present the victim is forced to be in the narrative, and how utterly passive the perpetrator. The problem is not that women have trouble considering themselves victims of sexual violence, but that men have trouble considering themselves the aggressor. Indeed, it is difficult for all of us to accept how many of the men we know that may have committed acts of sexual aggression. This is why the words “witch hunt” get bandied around at times like this because it does seem crazy when you start pointing it all out; it seems beyond belief really, that so many men are implicated. Because people conflate sexual violence with evil, they don’t identify themselves, or their friends, as part of the problem. Because these acts are specific and contextual, and not always as cinematic as we expect them to be. And there are reasons why they happen, little justifications and excuses to be fed to ourselves. There are always reasons.

Awareness of the scale of abuse does not address these problems. The simple fact is, I have no idea how to address them. They are unimaginably ingrained in the foundations of our society. The condition of being sexually oppressed is the condition of womanhood itself. I don’t spend my day-to-day existence considering my sexual trauma or being afraid. But nonetheless, the climate of sexual oppression shaped the basic building blocks of who I came to be, and what happened to me. There is no person unaffected by patriarchal sexual oppression because the culture itself is built upon it.

In the real world, where we live, it is, of course, necessary to take practical steps to prevent attacks and to enable reporting to ensure abusers face appropriate punitive measures both legal and social. These things make a tangible difference to the lives of women.

In France, #MeToo prompted not only another trending hashtag, #BalanceTonPorc, meaning “Expose Your Pig,” but also legal ramifications as the nation considers fining the act of catcalling, following in the footsteps of other European countries, such as Portugal and Belgium, that already have penalties in place for verbal sexual harassment.