Tarana Burke (1973- ), a US activist, is the founder of the Me Too movement. She founded it back before hashtags were even a thing, back in 2006, in the days of MySpace.
On October 15th 2017, in the days of Twitter, in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault scandal, actress Alyssa Milano tweeted:
“If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.”
In the week that followed #MeToo was tweeted 48 million times. A wave of heartbreaking stories came down on Twitter. It became clear to anyone who was paying attention that sexual assault was not just rich and famous men taking advantage of women. It was not just a few bad apples. It went much deeper than that.
Burke, unlike Milano, was not nationally known. She was an unsung hero working to help Black and Brown girls and others recover from sexual assault. But Black Twitter was quick to point out – and Milano herself acknowledged – that Burke came up with “Me Too”.
Time magazine, despite all that, did not put Burke on the cover when they made Silence Breakers their Person of the Year for 2017. Taylor Swift, a White pop singer, was there on the cover as one of “the voices that launched a movement” – but not Burke. There is a word for that: erasure.
The phrase “Me Too” is based on the two words Burke wished she had said to a 13-year-girl called Heaven. When Burke was working at a youth camp, Heaven told her about the sexual violence she had survived. Burke could have – should have – said “Me too.” Burke herself had survived sexual violence three times, starting at age six.
It is just two words, but a big thing that keeps sexual violence going while women suffer alone in silence is the shame that keeps women silent. And that shame is not even felt by the right people: the men who practise sexual violence.
Pandemic: Even Burke herself had no idea how widespread it was. In 2006 when she put up a Me Too page on MySpace she was surprised at the number of women and girls who answered it.
Burke:
“This is an epidemic, pandemic even, right? If you applied the numbers around sexual violence to any communicable disease, the World Health Organization would shut it down. There would be all kind of, you know, experiment and research around it.”
Social justice: While there is no vaccine to prevent sexual violence, no medicine to cure it, Burke thinks it can be dealt with as a social justice issue:
“We have to talk to survivors for what they need. We are the ones who have to define what justice looks like.
“And so the other part of it is around community action. We firmly believe that you can organize around ending sexual violence. People do every day. There are organizations and groups that do that, and I feel like we need to elevate this conversation to a social justice issue.”
– Abagond, 2017.
Source: mainly Democracy Now! (2017), Washington Post (2017).
See also:
- accused of sexual assault:
- Bill Cosby
- Bill O’Reilly
- Harvey Weinstein
- Donald Trump
- Roy Moore
- erasure
- sexual assault
525
Look at how photogenic the women chosen for the cover are.
Even when drawing attention to a problem as serious as sexual assault, we do not seem to be able to escape the commodification of women’s faces and bodies for the male gaze.
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“Burke, unlike Milano, was not nationally known. She was an unsung hero working to help Black and Brown girls and others recover from sexual assault. But Black Twitter was quick to point out – and Milano herself acknowledged – that Burke came up with “Me Too”.
Time magazine, despite all that, did not put Burke on the cover when they made Silence Breakers their Person of the Year for 2017. Taylor Swift, a White pop singer, was there on the cover as one of “the voices that launched a movement” – but not Burke. There is a word for that: erasure.
Perfect example of why white “feminists” are no allies of mine. Sure, she credited Burke with coming up with “Me To” (probably knew it’d come out if she tried to take credit). But where was she and Taylor Swift when Burke was ACTUALLY working to help Black and Brown girls and others recover from sexual assault? No need for an answer, the question was rhetorical.
Time wasn’t interested in telling the truth about THE voice that launched a movement” — which would have been a much more interesting and inclusive story. They wanted to sell magazines — and the dark-skinned sister with the broad nose wasn’t gonna pull in them dollar bills like they wanted. SMMFH
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The Time magazine issue of the #MeToo was problematic for me i felt Tarana Burke should have been featured on the front cover instead they have Taylor Swift on the front cover. I feel having Taylor Swift on the cover was a slap in the face to Tarana Burke and other women who have no voice not privileged white Hollywood celebrities. Tarana invented the hashtag and Melissa Milano and Rose McGowen just hogged the spotlight. I was annoyed with how Tarana was just an after thought. Yes, Harvey Weinstein is a disgusting pig and it’s good all the rest of the swines have been exposed along with him.
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@Mary Burrell…and the beat goes on my young, Sister. Not a damned thing has changed for us in this supposedly, “post-racial” Obama era.
P.S. “Yes, Harvey Weinstein is a disgusting pig and it’s good all the rest of the swines have been exposed along with him.
He ain’t all there is Darlin’ — trust me…
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Reblogged this on re-presentation.
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Listen. I have GOT to meet you before I die. I surely hope it’s in the cards. I know you’re anonymous but, I’m believing the fates will align. I’m 41 I have time! Thanks for all that you do because it is real work.
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Well, I’m just interested in how soon the comments are to change from common talks into accusations on races and sexes–
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“Well, I’m just interested in how soon the comments are to change from common talks into accusations on races and sexes–“ – A Russian Nagpo
You appear to be quite uninformed on race relations or social conditions between the races in Amerika. This country has always been; it’s currently about race and always will be about race. In fact, it’s embedded or interwoven within the psyche of the citizenry and no one can escape because there are no escape hatches to do so.
The principal foundation upon which this country was built was free slave labour by black people with white people for the most part occupying the role of domination. These positional statuses have not changed.
In most instances in Amerika, race is dealt with in the abstract and not in a concrete manner. This explains why nothing gets done on this particular subject. I surmise this is intentionally done so by corporate media and other so-called elitarians in an attempt avoid appearing as being racist to outsiders or the world at large.
Moreover, the answer to your question is thrown right into your face without you being able to discern the difference. Tarana is obviously a black woman. By Amerikan standard, Alyssa is white. When Tarana complained back in 2006, she was overwhelmingly ignored. Fast forward eleven years later, when Alyssa complained about nasty Harvey, cyberspace shuttered and responded swiftly to the “MeToo” hashtag.
In a microcosm, this is how Amerika. You can touch a black or brown woman in any inappropriate manner in which you personally deem appropriate with a high probability of getting away with it. However, if you put your hands on a white woman in Amerika (even if it isn’t true), you better believe that social hammer will come down upon you prior to being able to say: I didn’t do anything. (too late)
It is of my personal opinion that so-called African Americans have always lived in a dystopian Amerika. Sorry ‘bout that, it’s not going to change simply due to some Russian Nagpo is of the quixotic belief that simple or personal social issues in this country too often bleed into issues of race, if given enough time. Therefore, if this blog topic eventually blurs the lines of sexes and race, so be it!
FYI: Everything in Amerika must be either viewed or considered through the lens of a historical context in order to get the full and unadulterated picture.
By the way, how are things going for black folk in Russia??
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@Russian Nagpo: Stupse
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@Deb: Hey Sis, I agree great comments as always i agree and I wondered the same thing, Where were these white feminists and allies when Latina women working on jobs picking fruit and vegetables and doing back breaking common labor to feed their families while being sexually harassed and sexually assaulted and being threatened because they are undocumented? Sister Tarana Burke was putting the work in for black and brown women who have no voice. Only up until now do we have knowledge of her. As far as i am concerned these white feminists can kick rocks. White feminism means nothing if they are not standing and fighting and using their white privilege to aid women of color.
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@Mary Burrell…Hey Darlin’! — “As far as i am concerned these white feminists can kick rocks.”
Ditto!
“White feminism means nothing if they are not standing and fighting and using their white privilege to aid women of color.”
After a little over 61 years of watching them work (at first believing, as the Civil Rights movement helped US kick some doors open, they’d be REAL allies since patriarchy was kickin’ all our asses) — I’ve finally realized that white women’s tears and voices will always come before ours, no matter the fact that, as one of our esteemed ancestors asked so long ago…
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@Deb: Sojourner Truth was one of our black profound womanist voices speaking truth to power.
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@Mary Burrell…Yes she was, Daughter. Yes, she was. Some friends at the Mel Fisher Museum in Key West, gave me this beautiful coin when I left the newspaper, moving to MD: https://www.ngccoin.com/boards/topic/184248-anti-slave-token/
I keep it on my keychain…
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@Deb: That is beautiful I would always cherish that.
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@Mary Burell…I do, Darlin’, I do.
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It’s hard to see how these women are at risk of sexual harassment
And the irony
How can women get offended at men approaching them but yet still insist on men making the 1st move ?
What do women want? The guys they’re attracted to approach them ? No problem. The guys they are not attracted to approaching them ? #MeToo
Unfortunately, men don’t know if you’ll find us attractive, until we approach you.
We’re damned if we do, damned if we don’t.
In 1979, My mum met father on the street, He stopped his taxi. Got out and started talking to her. Two weeks later they went on there 1st date. In 1981 they are were married.
In 1983 I was born.
There are millions of stories like. But soon this was of meeting women will be illegal
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eh, nagpo is right to some degree, because apparently with the #metoo phenomenon (maybe before it was/there were hashtag(s)?) there was a #notallmen thing, so…
personally, me too.
so I got raped twice, the second time was so embarassing unbelieveable, it just like wow, its definitely for the book, there. I think it’s worse for a guy? it’s not really coming out? but like damn, you know, as a man, to have gotten raped, it is not something to really broadcast or talk about, but apparently my process of public self-psychoanalysis is catching on.
But in all seriousness if it’s you too: it’s not your fault, and yea blakksage ok you got an agenda, quite clearly this is not about you. Maybe rape is used as a tool in this means of domination or that, but that ish is personal.
Have a blessed day.
jesus h
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@blakksage idk where you live, but it is so easy to get charges these days, i totally disagree that you can just put hands on people like that, maybe in the past, but you wrong
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i would know
and
most importantly
it stops with me.
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and thanks, guys, for illustrating why many people choose not to report, or tell on themselves, that’s how it feels, with your corny memes, like you know what’s the deal, omg. minus 5 points for empathy.
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“It’s hard to see how these women are at risk of sexual harassment”
Because only stunningly gorgeous women have ever been harassed, assaulted, raped, and/or molested.
SMH.
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sorry bout that?
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@blakksage
Well, to call smb’s POV ‘quixotic’ means to indirectly prescribe to oneself ‘a true’ and ‘valid’ POV, which, in my opinion, is not the case.
A phenomenon should be judged through a historical lense only when the historical causes are related to current circumstances and can help in its interpretation, otherwise such an analysis would yield no good.
As for ‘black folks in Russia’, well, we did have some slavery, but it was never race-based or race-biased. A skin colour was and is regardered as a feature, not as a social marker (unlike e. g. a language proficiency, or an education level, or a financial state), therefore you can find ‘racial Blacks’ at any point of Russian social spectrum, with a predominance for mass-media, enterntainment, etc., which is a sort of cool in the mass-media age.
Historically, the ‘racial Blacks’ were treated as any foreigners, or even better (as it was the case with the Imperial Court Servants, where a Black servant got higher wages just because of being Black).
Not a surprising fact for a country with a nationally acknowledged classical writer had had African ancestry roots.
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Its about time this freak got MeTooed.
I dare any of you to watch the start of Girl 6 with out bile rising up in your mouth. No wonder Spike Lee can’t stand the bastard.
Obligatory Armond White quotes
Here , he introes the modern reason for Black Guy Dies First. Not just for Q.T., but for every modern movie.
In one paragraph – he basically breaks down the pre-history hip-hop from a socio-economic perspective. You can just see RZA and GZA watching these movies he is describing. Now we get to the birth of the wigger himself.
This is how we get Hollyweird. No morals. No originality. No sense of aesthetic beauty. Only perversion. Their art reflects their habits. Just read White for yourself.
Oh, and anyone knows why we can’t see Thandie Newton in the movies anymore? I wonder why……..
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