#MeToo and the Politics of Social Change

Foreword

References

Acknowledgments

Contents

Notes on Contributors

1: Introduction: Mapping the Emergence of #MeToo

#MeToo as a Moment of Reckoning

The Politics of Social Change

Situating #MeToo: Trajectories of Feminist Anti-rape Activism

Me Too, but Not You: Accounting for Who can Speak and be Heard

Are We Listening Now?

Outline of the Book

The Politics of Speaking Out and Consciousness-Raising

Whose Bodies Matter? #MeToo and the Politics of Inclusion

Not All That Glitters Is Gold: #MeToo, the Entertainment Industry and Media Reporting

Ethical Possibilities and the Future of Anti-sexual Violence Activism

References

Part I: The Politics of Speaking out and Consciousness-Raising

2: The Politics of the Personal: The Evolution of Anti-rape Activism From Second-Wave Feminism to #MeToo

Introduction

A Radical Agenda for Change

Personalizing Victimization

Returning to the Political

#MeToo in the Activist Canon

The Politics of the Personal: Developing an Agenda for Change After #MeToo

Conclusion

References

3: Digital Feminist Activism: #MeToo and the Everyday Experiences of Challenging Rape Culture

‘The World Should Know That We Face Harassment Everywhere’: Being Moved Into Action

An Easy, Banal, or “Low-Intensity” Form of Activism?

The Transformative Potential of #MeToo

Conclusion

References

4: Online Feminist Activism as Performative Consciousness-Raising: A #MeToo Case Study

Introduction

Consciousness-Raising Across the Waves

Performing #MeToo, Identity, and Public Participation

#MeToo Storytelling as Consciousness-Raising

Concluding Thoughts

References

5: You Say #MeToo, I Say #MiTu: China’s Online Campaigns Against Sexual Abuse

Introduction

University: The Ground Zero

Social and Governmental Responses

The Cat and Mouse Game

The Limitations of the Current Campaign

Conclusion

References

6: A Thousand and One Stories: Myth and the #MeToo Movement

Introduction

Cassandra

Philomela

Scheherazade

Myth and the Modern Day

Conclusion

References

Part II: Whose Bodies Matter? #MeToo and the Politics of Inclusion

7: From ‘Me Too’ to ‘Too Far’? Contesting the Boundaries of Sexual Violence in Contemporary Activism

From Watershed to Witch Hunt

Delineating the ‘Boundaries’ of Sexual Violence

Reconstructing the Boundaries of Sexual Violence

Rethinking ‘Perpetration’

#MeToo: Not Far Enough

References

8: This Black Body Is Not Yours for the Taking

Introduction

Initial #MeToo Conversations in Australia with Black Women

Historical Representations of Black Women

‘Black Velvet’ and ‘Gin Jockeys’

Deadly Women’s Blues

The ‘Meanjin Debacle’ and Latte Magazine

The Curious Case of Trevor Noah

Black and White Feminism

The Long Way to Go

References

9: Beyond the Bright Lights: Are Minoritized Women Outside the Spotlight Able to Say #MeToo?

‘Our Work Wasn’t Recognized as “Work”’: What Does #MeToo Mean for Women in the Informal Economy?

‘Our Disclosures Are Weaponized’: Can Muslim Women in Europe Say #MeToo?

How Can #MeToo Find Relevance for Minoritized Women Out of the Limelight?

Conclusion

References

10: ‘It’s Not Just Men and Women’: LGBTQIA People and #MeToo

Debunking the Cis-hetero Myth

What Can Queers Do When They Are Assaulted Anyway?

The History of Queer Sex as a Perversion

Homonormativity and #MeToo

Perpetrator-Victim-Perpetrator-Survivor

What Queers Have to Offer

References

Part III: Not All That Glitters Is Gold: #MeToo, the Entertainment Industry and Media Reporting

11: #MeToo and the Reasons To Be Cautious

The Trump Testimony

#MeToo as a Consciousness-Raiser

The Policy Challenges for #MeToo

Media and the Hollywood Limitation

The Swinging Pendulum of Politics

References

12: Substitution Activism: The Impact of #MeToo in Argentina

Introduction

Feminist Agendas in Argentina: Gendered Violence and Abortion

#MeToo Arrives in Argentina

Energizing the Abortion Debate in Argentina

The Limit to the Anti-rape Agenda

Conclusion

References

13: Shitty Media Men

Jumbled Allegations

Lack of Verification and ‘Due Process’

The Ethics of ‘Naming and Shaming’

Aims and Limitations of Whisper Networks

Conclusion

References

14: Journalist Guidelines and Media Reporting in the Wake of #MeToo

Introduction

Media Guidelines for Reporting on Violence Against Women

The Articles

Presentations of Victim-Survivors

Presentations of Perpetrators

Presentations of Violence Against Women

Inform and Educate

Conclusion

Suggestions for Journalists

References

15: ‘A Reckoning That Is Long Overdue’: Reconfiguring the Work of Progressive Sex Advice Post #MeToo

Introduction

Analyzing Sex Advice in the Left-Wing Media

Do I Need to Change How I Live?

Could I Have Been a Perpetrator, Too?

Is It Even Possible to Create a Safe Sexual Culture?

Conclusion

References

Part IV: Ethical Possibilities and the Future of Anti-sexual Violence Activism

16: Consent Lies Destroy Lives: Pleasure as the Sweetest Taboo

Introduction

The Trouble with Consent as a Yes-No Binary Conversation

The Inconvenient Truth

Ideas into Action—How Honesty Can Teach Us About Consent

Equality for All—Except in Bed

Conclusion

References

17: #MeToo as Sex Panic

Introduction

A Watershed Moment?

Situating #MeToo as Sex Panic

The Continuum of Consent: Making Space for Pleasure and Danger

References

Legislation

18: Men and #MeToo: Mapping Men’s Responses to Anti-violence Advocacy

Men: Listen to Women

Men: Put Your Own House in Order

Men: Smash the Patriarchy

Conclusion

References

19: Understanding Anger: Ethical Responsiveness and the Cultural Production of Celebrity Masculinities

Introduction

Hypermasculinity as an Outdated Representation of the Problem

Hegemonic Masculinity and Transnational Capitalism

Pivoting the Debate: Toward an Ethics of Mutuality, Vulnerability and Care

Conclusion

References

20: Online Justice in the Circuit of Capital: #MeToo, Marketization and the Deformation of Sexual Ethics

The Development of the #MeToo Media Template

The Corporate Choreography of Online Activism

Communicative Capitalism and #MeToo

Aziz Ansari

Junot Diaz

Cory Booker

Conclusion

References

21: Conclusion: ‘A New Day Is on the Horizon’?

From #MeToo to #NoMore: Where to from Here?

Reference

Index