#MeToo vs. #TimesUp
- Apr 18, 2018
- 3 min read
This post isn't to serve as a commentary on either movement above but rather to offer a brief introduction/definition to both, as I have heard both confused far too often. They are NOT interchangeable and after reading this (if you didn't already know the difference) you will realize that they are actually quite different even if they GENERALLY serve the same end cause of women empowerment.
Tarana Burke founded the movement in 2006 and she founded it: "to help survivors survivors of sexual violence, particularly young women of color from low wealth communities, find pathways to healing. Using the idea of 'empowerment through empathy,' the me too. movement was ultimately created to ensure survivors know they're not alone in their journey." The initial grassroots movement went viral with the use of the hashtag #metoo. I am sure many of you have seen it on Twitter and Facebook and has become a huge part of the national conversation. Per the website, "Our goal is also to reframe and expand the global conversations around sexual violence to speak to the needs of a broader spectrum of survivors." Here is a video explaining a little more.
The movement has become an extremely well known one and is championed by many. There are critics out there even though I am not going to go into that here because like I said this is more for the purposes of defining. This movement is about awareness of survivors and changing the conversations and has been centered around social media.
Remember the Time's Person of the Year 2017 Article? I get chills just thinking about it. The Times named the person of the year the a group they called, "The Silence Breakers." In other words, "These silence breakers have started a revolution of refusal, gathering strength by the day, and in the past two months alone, their collective anger has spurred immediate and shocking results: nearly every day, CEOs have been fired, moguls toppled, icons disgraced. In some cases, criminal charges have been brought." Now, one of the other things you learn in this article is that it isn't just the movie stars and high profiled women we see all the time. There are groups of women, like maids, that deal with harassment everyday but can't report or they might get fired and they can't afford to lose their job or they do report it and lose their job. This is just en example. Suing someone is expensive. I have plenty of friends who have experienced wrongful termination in an agency setting, for example, and they don't have the means to litigate the case. Time's Up looks at combatting just this.
"The clock has run out on sexual assault, harassment in the work place. It's time to do something about it." Time's Up wrote a letter of solidarity seen below that you can sign:
So, Time's Up is more centered around taking action, especially through legal routes, rather than awareness and conversation. It is a different mission per say than Me Too. Per its website: "Powered by women, TIME’S UP addresses the systemic inequality and injustice in the workplace that have kept underrepresented groups from reaching their full potential. We partner with leading advocates for equality and safety to improve laws, employment agreements, and corporate policies; help change the face of corporate boardrooms and the C-suite; and enable more women and men to access our legal system to hold wrongdoers accountable."
A huge aspect of Time's Up is that they have a LEGAL DEFENSE FUND that, "will help defray legal and public relations costs in select cases for those who have experienced sexual harassment or related retaliation in the workplace." The fund is run by the National Women's Law Center. You can join the legal network as an attorney and request legal assistance on the site. That means that the underrepresented people I discussed above are getting help. This organization is seen as a plan of action as their mission. There has been a ton of support and I am sure you all remember the Golden Globes.
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I hope that this explained a little bit of the difference between the two so that if they are brought up again you can make sure you are more aware!
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