The Danger of The Hysterical Form of 'Me Too Movement'

Every third women in Austria faces sexual harassment of some kind in her life. The number of cases actually brought to court is rather low, amongst other things because most victims are too scared and ashamed to tell the truth. Sexual harassment is not a misdemeanour, but a criminal offence and should be treated as such. The fact that a many predators get away with their vicious crimes is a disgrace. How did the me-too movement gain such popularity topic in western media and might it be the case that it turns out to be total witch hunt?

Me-Too Movement Has Turned Into a Mob

I think the me-too movement has turned into a mob. Some say the me-too movement represents a voice for helpless victims of rape and that it has shown its validity due to the scandalous events that were brought to daylight ever since Harvey Weinstein was first publicly accused of sexual harassment. But I say it has become a total mob and is politically exploited. Without a doubt the number of women being sexually harassed is a lot higher than one would probably expect and that is a shame. As I mentioned earlier every third women in Austria faces sexual harassment of some kind in her live.  But as a matter of fact we do not know for sure what actually happened between the persons accused within the me-too movement and those accusing them. The whole supply of information is gathered from western mass-media which has a really one-sided view of the topic.

Despite the actual relevance of the debate and the constant risk of abuse to publicly disgrace people, there are other developments in that field as well. Even though the me-too movement has started a huge debate about sexual harassment it should not be reduced to a debate about gender inequality. And definitely not be used to discredit men in general.

The fact that most of the offenders where powerful and famous individuals basically separates the me-too movement from a debate which is exclusively about sexual abuse. That differentiation is crucial, because it moves the entire topic of sexism a lot closer to our lives, and some of our idols, favourite actors or musicians might be accused as well. But sadly the whole discussion is focussed on showing empathy towards the victims and disgracing against the offenders, rather than observing the cases with objectivity. Or at least this is the way it is being portrayed by corporate media, as a picture is drawn of some rather bad individuals who seem to be an exception to the rule. This not only diminishes the bigger picture of sexual harassment as a common thing to happen within society, but it also does not represent the huge number of women who are actually being raped and whose voices are not being heard.

The actual situation with sexual harassment is far worse than commonly thought. Yet the public outrage is not really directed at blaming social misconstructions. Instead, the outrage is inteded to expose certain prominent people. Sexism stems from unequally distributed power in society and me-too is about the stronger force abusing that imbalance. However, the movement has instigated a witch hunt that is reminiscent of the Middle Ages. The Australian film maker Michael Haneke was interviewed recently and he makes a compelling point.

“This hysterical pre-judgment which is spreading now, I find absolutely disgusting. And I don’t want to know how many of these accusations related to incidents 20 or 30 years ago are primarily statements that have little to do with sexual assault.” 

Conclusion

Criticizing the me-too movement has nothing to do with the fact that every sexual assault should be condemned and punished. But the fact that suspected actors are cut out of movies and TV series in order not to lose audiences makes me question whether we live in the new Middle Ages. As Michael Haneke says, this hysterical form of prejudgement should be left behind because otherwise the movement will always be coloured by a hatred of men in general. 

References

1. Paglia, Camille. 'The Limits of #MeToo.' Publication: Time, March 22, 2018. URL: https://time.com/5216454/the-limits-of-metoo/

2. Daum, Meghan. 'The Unintended Consequences of Me Too.' Publication: The New York Times, January 5, 2018. URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/05/opinion/sunday/metoo-twitter.html

3. Goldberg, Michelle. 'The Hysteria of the #MeToo Backlash.' Publication: The New York Times, January 9, 2018. URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/09/opinion/metoo-hysteria.html

4. Zito, Salena. 'The Dangerous Misguided Crusade of the Me Too Movement.' Publication: Washington Examiner, January 22, 2018. URL: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/the-dangerous-misguided-crusade-of-the-metoo-movement

5. Hirsi Ali, Ayaan. 'The Problem with the #MeToo Movement.' Publication: The New York Times, January 23, 2018. URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/23/opinion/ayaan-hirsi-ali-sexual-harassment-metoo.html

6. Stoltenberg, John. 'The Limits of #MeToo.' Publication: The Chronicle of Higher Education, October 10, 2018. URL: https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-limits-of-metoo/

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7. Young, Cathy. 'Feminism's #MeToo Moment.' Publication: The Boston Globe, January 2, 2018. URL: https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2018/01/02/feminism-metoo-moment/P1UscWUz4W1yW8EFSC76RM/story.html