Me Too

This bears repeating:

The actualisation of the sexual self can happen at the same time that degrees of fear, repulsion and uncertainty – as well as excitement and intrigue – are present on both sides.
— Heidi Matthews
https://aeon.co/ideas/how-do-we-understand-sexual-pleasure-in-this-age-of-consent

If the titillating, paparazzi side of #Metoo was a bit too intense at first, it’s largely off the grid by now. As for the puritans, of course they will keep trying but then, they will keep failing...

Burke surfed the hashtag wave and can now work in better, more effective ways. The obscene level of offense was put on light for all to see, at least in some sectors. Weinstein is in jail. Some good is coming out of all this, when the dust settles.

I have respect for Tarana Burke (the founder of MeToo). She seems quite reasonable.

Her heart is in the right place, and she does the work.

It is sad how little respect Tarana Burke gets from outraged White liberals.

They stole her movement and turned it into a hashtag. Here they downthumb any mention of her on a thread entitled "Me Too".

I will say it again. I respect Tarana Burke.

:-) She’s engaged, by the way.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B8ke957F5os/

Edit: Don’t mind the thumb monkeys. They’re just bored, stuck at home. It’s like angry birds or gem swap for them... They don’t understand what they thumb down.

Don't mind the thumb monkeys??? I love the thumb monkeys. They amuse me. It is hypocrisy on display on a humorous level.

And they make my point perfectly. This thread is about White liberal political rage. The original point of the #MeToo tag has been lost.

Monkey see monkey do. There’s no actual intent, they just imitate the next monkey... Also note that monkeys cannot express their ‘thoughts’ verbally, evidently. All they can do is thumb thumb thumb... Have some mercy.

Beware the #MeToo Backlash—It Masks Ugly Lies About Women
By: Liesl Gerntholtz | January 28, 2018

The backlash against #MeToo is gathering steam, with a chorus of voices raising concerns about “overreactions” to “minor” transgressions and citing threats to sexual freedom.

The #MeToo movement has launched a tsunami of discussion and awareness on systemic workplace sexual abuse and harassment, building upon decades of activism by the feminist and labor movements.

The backlash rests on two claims: First, good men may be undeservedly punished for their behavior as fairness and due process are discarded in the rush to appear on the “right side” of sexual harassment. Second, this is removing all the “fun” from male-female interaction.

I find these claims infuriatingly wrong.

The specter of many innocent men being accused of minor sexual harassment, losing their jobs, and being branded as sexual predators is extraordinarily unlikely. And it masks an underlying message that women should in fact put up with having their butts pinched, enduring offensive comments, and even having unwanted sex, all to avoid hurting otherwise all-around good guys. This idea relies on a pernicious stereotype: that women lie about consensual sex so often that society has to invent ways to ensure that innocent men are properly protected.

For example, many countries, including my native South Africa, until very recently had versions of the cautionary rule. This required judges to adopt a cautious approach to the evidence of certain witnesses on the basis that they are inherently unreliable and should not be believed without corroboration. The rule was most often used against victims of rape, a crime that disproportionately affects women, is disproportionately perpetrated by men, and mostly happens without witnesses. Undermining women’s credibility contributes to the low rate of prosecution and conviction in rape cases throughout the world.

While it is hard to quantify the rate of false reporting of any crime, research in the US, UK, New Zealand, and Canada put false reporting of rape at approximately eight percent. Human Rights Watch research has found that stigma around sexual violence creates a strong disincentive to complain, confirming other research that shows rape is a vastly under-reported crime. Our research in numerous countries shows how discrediting victims of sexual violence, including workplace sexual harassment, has led to their complaints being ignored, dismissed, or not investigated.

The #MeToo moment is a direct response to a system that has punished victims, rather than the perpetrators, for coming forward. The answer to concerns about fairness and proportionality about penalties, however, is not to discredit victims or undermine their complaints about offensive speech, inappropriate touching, and harassment; instead, it is to ensure that we have fair processes to assess allegations and responses. This means that workplaces must put in place fair and transparent procedures to receive, investigate, and respond to allegations of sexual harassment.

The second argument is particularly infuriating since, yet again, it relies on stereotypes of women (especially feminists) as unable to take a joke or distinguish between a man making a clumsy misjudgment and a predator/serial offender—that we don’t like casual, no-strings-attached sex, harmless flirtations, or a little “fun” by the photocopy machine.

But the #MeToo movement is not about sex. It’s about the implicit system of power in the workplace: who has it, who exercises it, and who suffers due to lack of power. It’s about showing how this power imbalance pushes women out of the workplace, undermines their career progression, and prevents them from competing on an equal basis for jobs, promotions and training. Men have no inherent right to flirt with, kiss, or touch their co-workers. Women (and I assume, many men) generally do not go to work to engage in sexual foreplay, and they certainly don’t go to be harassed, threatened, or victimized.

Fortunately, the #MeToo movement and social media have shone a harsh spotlight on pervasive and depressingly similar sexual harassment in many sectors, and they are also helping to create the space for women to determine how and when sexual encounters happen.

The #MeToo moment is a direct response to a system that has punished victims, rather than the perpetrators,

Great post

thank you for saying this

Of course. This is a political bubble. It is true believers talking to true believers... and it is restricted to anyone who isn't in the political left.

It has become a bunch of White liberals talking about how no one understands them.

Tarana Burke even feels left out. If you listen to her TED talk, she talks (diplomatically) about how her movement moved in directions she didn't intend. She says she often "doesn't recognize it".

Tarana Burke, founder of 'Me Too' movement, comments on Harvey Weinstein's conviction
February 25, 2020 11:57 AM in NewsSource: VarietyBy: WBRZ Staff

After disgraced entertainment mogul Harvey Weinstein was convicted on Monday, the civil rights activist who founded the 'Me Too' movement had a lot to say about the court's decision.

Tarana Burke, the 46-year-old creator of Just Be Inc., began using the phrase 'Me Too' on social media in 2006 as a way to increase awareness of the pervasiveness of sexual abuse and assault.

In 2017, survivors of abuse followed in Burke's footsteps and #MeToo went viral as a hashtag. At this point, it gained international attention as well-known women began using it to tweet about the sexual abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein.

Tarana
✔
@TaranaBurke
This isn’t my personal victory. My thoughts on the Weinstein verdict. #metoomvmt #silencebreakers https://metoomvmt.org/2020/02/24/me-too-releases-statement-in-the-wake-of-weinstein-verdict/ …

'me too.' Releases Statement in the Wake of Weinstein Verdict - Me Too Movement

According to Variety, Burke issued a statement following Harvey Weinstein's conviction on Monday. Burke began by saying, “Today, a jury confirmed what we all know: Harvey Weinstein committed sexual assault.”

She then criticized the “incredibly narrow and unjust set of laws governing sexual assault,” blaming these laws for the fact that Weinstein was not convicted on all the charges he faced.

Burke then asked, "How many careers were derailed? How many entry-level assistants were fired or silenced? How many jobs were lost? How many news stories, that could have exposed Harvey sooner, were censored?”

The remainder of Burke's statement is as follows:

"How many people could have spoken up, but didn’t? All in the name of protecting a violent sexual predator.

This case reminds us that sexual violence thrives on unchecked power and privilege. The implications reverberate far beyond Hollywood and into the daily lives of all of us in the rest of the world.

Whether you are an office worker, a nanny, an assistant, a cook, a factory worker— we all have to deal with the spectre of sexual violence derailing our lives.

And, though today a man has been found guilty, we have to wonder whether anyone will care about the rest of us tomorrow. This is why we say MeToo.”

As a survivor of sexual assault, Burke continues to advocate for individuals who've experienced abuse.

After her 'me too' movement gained traction and became a hashtag, a Pew Research Center revealed that in only one year the hashtag was used over 19 million times on Twitter alone.

In 2017, Time magazine named Burke Person of the Year for her work with survivors.

That's a good article Neptune. I agree with it.

In Harper's Bazard, nice interview with actress Léa Seydoux on #MeToo, Weinstein and James Bond's sexual objectification:

Her words are her Bond: Léa Seydoux

Throughout her career, Léa Seydoux has captivated audiences in thoughtful independent films and adrenalin-pumping blockbusters alike. Ahead of reprising her role as an atypically complex female foil to 007 in the long-anticipated No Time to Die, she speaks candidly to Sophie Elmhirst about political incorrectness and the provocative discourse around the Me Too movement.

BY SOPHIE ELMHIRST, APR 1, 2020

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/fashion/fashion-news/a31987746/lea-seydoux-interview/

I haven't verified this, but she is not MeToo, the people are. If it's true, she likely has been paid off to give Biden a pass for his sexual misconduct.

june
@shoe0nhead
·
6h
the creator of #MeToo took #MeToo out of her twitter bio this week

Thank you Edgar for mansplaining why this woman is wrong about MeToo.

(Deep down I think Edgar is one of us.)

Who the **** is he talking about?

Mansplaing is a term used by women for when men are being condescending. It's not a term for sad little drama queens who don't feel they're being taken seriously enough.

Once again you lose your struggle with basic English.

Edgar is being condescending to Léa Seydoux. He is dismissing her opinion because she doesn't agree with his superior wisdom.

Edgar is giving us a textbook example of mansplaning.