Me Too / #MeToo
Last updatedWhat to know
Me Too/#MeToo is a term used to refer to the social movement against sexual harassment and sexual abuse, where victims/survivors speak publicly about their experiences and/or abusers. Activist and harassment survivor Tarana Burke was the first to use the term on MySpace in 2006. The movement — and the associated hashtag — gained momentum in 2017, when a series of sexual abuse allegations against then-film producer Harvey Weinstein emerged. Weinstein was later convicted of rape and sexual assault. In 2017, Time magazine named “The Silence Breakers,” the people who spoke out against their abusers, its Person of the Year.
Using the hashtag often refers to movement-related stories that directly involve social media. Use the term without the hashtag to refer more generally to the movement. While it can be commonplace in everyday conversation for people to use the term as a verb or in passive voice (e.g., “Person X was MeToo’ed,” “Person Y MeToo’ed Mr./Ms. Person X”), this kind of phrasing leaves out context and specifics. The passive construction also positions the abuser as the victim.
Additional resources
- #MeToo founder Tarana Burke: ‘You have to use your privilege to serve other people’ (The Guardian)
- 7 positive changes that have come from the #MeToo movement (Vox)
- The Silence Breakers (Time)
Summary
Me Too/#MeToo is used to describe the social movement against sexual violence. The term is generally used with the hashtag when referring to relevant social media activities and without it when referring to the larger movement or specific allegations. While it can be commonplace in everyday conversation for people to use the term as a verb or in passive voice (e.g. “Person X was MeToo’ed,” “Person Y Shelly MeToo’ed Mr./Mrs. Person X”), this kind of phrasing leaves out context and specifics. The passive construction can also be read as positioning the abuser as the victim.