Women Empowerment in the Age of the #MeToo Movement
When the #MeToo Movement arrived following accusations made against Hollywood Mogul Harvey Weinstein, an avalanche of accusations fell down upon the heads of male celebrities, CEOs, and executives who occupied positions of power and used those positions to either ask for sexual favors from women subordinates or pushed themselves onto unsuspecting or unwilling participants for sexual favor. Women across the Internet began to hashtag their Twitter responses with #MeToo to show their solidarity with other women who had been made the victims of sexual assault. It was widely viewed as a movement towards the empowerment of women, as they were using their voices to be heard and to challenge a system in which men used their power to subordinate women in a demeaning and non-consensual manner (Ralph). However, as the Movement has picked up steam, many voices have criticized it. Roseanne Barr, for instance, recently called a woman who exchanged sexual favors to advance her career a “ho” and fixed the label to women like the politician and presidential candidate Kamala Harris (Henderson). When Christine Blasey Ford and Democrats mounted an unverifiable attack on the character of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, many saw it is the left using the movement or rather exploiting the movement for purely political purposes. Thus, the impact of the movement has been two-pronged: on the one hand it has brought more attention to women’s predicament in society and in the workplace and provided them with a platform to voice their concerns. On the other hand, it has provided a culture of accusation in which people’s lives and careers can be derailed even though there is no evidence that what the person is accused of actually transpired. On the one hand, many people were of the opinion that all women should be heard and believed—and then when those same people received the ire of women who felt abused, they changed their tunes and went into hiding (James Franco was one). This paper will look at both sides of the #MeToo Movement and show how it has had both good and bad effects so far.

The good effects of the #MeToo Movement have been that it has given women more empowerment to use their voices to draw attention to law-breakers like Weinstein who use their power to rape, manipulate and assault. Women are now shown more respect in the workplace across all industries as virtually everyone in authority has been put on notice: unless...…blowback for so many accusations being hurled without sufficient evidence to back them up. The blowback, as Barr has shown, was that now instead of empowering women #MeToo would become the means of undoing them. Instead of helping them to get better positions in the workplace, managers would now be less willing to work with them period out of fear of being accused of sexual assault later down the road whenever the women felt it was time to get revenge for some slight or perceived injustice.

In conclusion, the #MeToo Movement has been both good and bad for women. It has empowered them to stand up for themselves against real perpetrators of violence and abuse. It has given them the power to challenge men who have used their positions to exploit others. This is the very definition of empowerment and it is real. On the other hand, some women have attempted to exploit the movement itself for political purposes, for social purposes and for economic purposes: they have leveled accusations that have not been supported by facts, and they in turn have been called out by others who are tired of the charade of victimization and victimhood status. What empowers some does not empower all.

Works Cited

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