Why #MeToo Is Not For Me — Samantha Rose Hill

The #metoo hashtag is not good for women or men.

The emergence of the hashtag in the break of the Harvey Weinstein scandal has created a continuous, digital outpouring. Too many to count have felt spurred to make a confession, giving voice to the everyday experiences of sexual harassment women endure.

There is undoubtedly a sense of power and release in feeling freed to say: “I too have been assaulted”, as Margaret Renkl, so eloquently detailed in the NY Times. From Silicon Valley, to Hollywood, to academia, sexual harassment in the work place is an enduring plight that often goes unspoken. Which is why it’s not surprising that so many women are posting #MeToo, and why every day brings new allegations against another man.

“Me too” is an affirmative, confessional statement. And while I understand the desire to share one’s story and be recognized, I worry that this hashtag is doing more harm than good for a few reasons.

First, the act of confessing isn’t an act of political liberation. From the confessional, to the therapist’s couch, we are a deeply confessional society. The moment of release, however, comes at a price. As French philosopher Michel Foucault lays out in the History of Sexuality, the confessional has long been a space where power is exercised over individuals by compelling them to name their experiences, to reveal some hidden truth. #MeToo is the technological equivalent of the confessional. Instead of a couch, though, we have social media platforms, and the confessor is the audience that we post for and the platforms that collect the information we post. Not only do we hand over our power when we confess, but we subject ourselves to surveillance.

The second reason is that #MeToo is emblematic of a new form of commodified, media driven protest. Reducing a diverse and complex conversation to a hashtag, levels the possibility of discussion to a fad that is easily expendable. Soon there will be an industry of t-shirts and goods available, so that we can literally buy into #MeToo. Because there is no organized, collective platform behind the outpouring of stories, simply affirming that one has been cat-called, harassed, assaulted, or raped does nothing to change the internal structure of industries like Hollywood that promote the sexual objectification of women. It isn’t going to lead to real policy changes or restructure the way men and women interact with one another. At the same time it does flatten the difference between being cat-called and raped. A conversation this important should not be reduced to a hashtag and slogan.

This new form of protest carried out over social media, is another example of the near complete collapse between entertainment, private, and public life. Which is my third fear. Reality television and platforms like Facebook have made an ongoing spectacle out of our most intimate experiences. This collapse between private and public life has changed the way that we think about what it means to be and act in the world. Real political and social change takes time. This form of protest, enabled by technology, provides a temporary moment of catharsis. It is of the moment, and allows for immediate recognition through likes as individuals share in the media driven celebrity culture. We continuously share our private lives with the world around us at the expense of taking refuge in private and acting together collectively in public.

And finally, this hashtag says no to an honest conversation about the relationships men and women have, and paints all males as predators who intentionally or not assault and/or offend women. So now, men are compelled to confess too. Some have even urged men posting to say, “I am complicit”. This bifurcation between predators and victims reinforces traditional stereotypes about men and women.

For many women, like myself, this hashtag is remarkably frustrating, because it diminishes the possibility of a real conversation by providing a temporary fix of affective participation in the politics of the day. If we are going to have a real conversation about sexual assault, we have to begin with the language that we’re using. Hashtags, memes, and social media platforms reduce the diversity of experiences individuals have into marketable catchphrases. We need more than a slogan. One way we can start is by talking about what it is the words #MeToo actually do.