Columns, Opinion

After the Curtain Call: Mobilization and #MeToo among celebrities

Over the last couple of days you’ve probably noticed the #MeToo campaign crowding your social media feeds. Tens of thousands of women took to the internet to share their past experiences with sexual harassment, accompanied by countless others who are gay, transgender, nonbinary or otherwise. These brave people aspired to declare unity against their malicious harassers and aggressors in hopes of displaying the scope of the issue.

It all started in lieu of the Harvey Weinstein situation which sparked action when over three dozen actresses came forward and spoke out against the movie mogul with strong allegations of sexual assault and harassment, including Hollywood A-listers Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow. The actresses were discovered to have been paid off by Weinstein, keeping them bonded to silence for decades. Since then, the assailant has been expelled from the largest and most powerful society within the entertainment business, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Sunday night, in order to elevate the conversation regarding Weinstein, actress Alyssa Milano took to Twitter. She inspired fellow women to tweet #MeToo in response to her own post to show how expansive the issue of sexual assault and harassment truly is. Since then, millions of women have come forward.

Whether you feel saddened, shocked, inspired or proud as a result of these posts coming from your fellow female counterparts, it is clear that this campaign made quite the impact. Alyssa Milano has single handedly managed to get a rise out of countless observers and participants, extenuating the conversation and effectively showing how problematic being a woman can be.

Celebrities stepping up to advocate for some sort of cause is no new story. Using their immense following, our beloved A-listers have transformed into advocates to speak out against the myriad of injustices that have been spewing out during this fabulous Trump era specifically.  Among these advocates are Beyonce, Macklemore, Lady Gaga, Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson … the list goes on. Breaking away from the entertainment industry to take the moment to support a good cause, these celebrities are achieving so much for us.

They have a massive audience at all times — people are always listening. They are expanding the breadth of knowledge consumed by their followers. We as humans have this horrible trait where we oftentimes don’t want to expand our views. Because of this, we tend to only pursue information that reaffirms our existing beliefs. This is absolutely detrimental to us, inhibiting the stretching of knowledge and understanding among us — the two most important aspects of any kind populous and functional country. Believe it or not, as odd as this sounds, many of us are more likely to listen to our favorite celebrated Hollywood figures than trusted new sources.

While this is considerably problematic, it is a whole separate conversation. We are playing the cards we are dealt, and tackling one issue at a time. In our current state, I am very thankful for these vocal celebrities. While most of these outspoken stars haven’t experienced too much of a backlash, they do risk losing a portion of their following by making these statements. It is important to keep this in mind when we write them off as participating just because it is “the thing to do,” when political involvement is more “trendy” than ever. These stars are risking their livelihood and potentially pissing off their trusty devotees, but they’re doing it because they care.

Now back to the topic at hand: #MeToo. This movement, like many others, would not be possible without social media and the keen role it plays in our current society. First off, this movement rides on the personal factor that social media provides. These are your friends and family coming forward, not just statistics or stories of people you don’t know. With such a sense of personal affiliation, the issue hits so much harder.

Not only that, but Facebook and Twitter have a combined sum of users totaling to an astounding one billion people, and is growing by the minute. Not only are these platforms taking a central role in the everyday lives of an innumerable amount of people across the globe, but it takes such an incredibly small amount of effort to get involved. In all honestly, the #MeToo campaign is a fantastic example of how truly lazy we are.

By all means, it is great people are getting involved in some way or another and spreading awareness. That being said, sitting behind your computer screen, pressing a few keys and hitting a button isn’t always enough. While this provides a means of realistic mobilization that takes minimal time and effort, I highly encourage you to take off the mask of your social media account, get out there and take action. Don’t be afraid to protest in person — physically advocate and make a difference. Show your the length your support truly reaches, beyond the five letters of #MeToo.

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