Women & Gender

7/24/2018 The "Me Too" Hashtag Isn’t As Inclusive As It Could Be, But Here’s How You Can Help Change That

https://www.bustle.com/p/the-me-too-hashtag-isnt-as-inclusive-as-it-could-be-but-heres-how-you-can-help-change-that-2955147 1/7

The "Me Too" Hashtag Isn’t As Inclusive As It Could Be, But Here’s How You Can Help Change That

By KYLI RODRIGUEZ-CAYRO Oct 20 2017

S O U R C E : A n d r i k L a n g � e l d Pe t r i d e s / U n s p l a s h

7/24/2018 The "Me Too" Hashtag Isn’t As Inclusive As It Could Be, But Here’s How You Can Help Change That

https://www.bustle.com/p/the-me-too-hashtag-isnt-as-inclusive-as-it-could-be-but-heres-how-you-can-help-change-that-2955147 2/7

The “Me Too” hashtag has proven to already be extremely powerful since it began to trend on

October 15 — Alyssa Milano's tweet popularizing the movement, originally started by activist

Tarana Burke, has over 67,000 responses, and the "Me Too" hashtag, originally started by

advocate Amy Siskind, doesn’t seem to be waning any time soon. Other social media

platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, have also been �ooded with “Me Too” posts

from sexual assault survivors. Despite the positive aspects of the “Me Too” campaign, many

fear its reach (and therefore impact) is too limited — it's not as inclusive as it could be, some

say, but there are ways to change that.

7/24/2018 The "Me Too" Hashtag Isn’t As Inclusive As It Could Be, But Here’s How You Can Help Change That

https://www.bustle.com/p/the-me-too-hashtag-isnt-as-inclusive-as-it-could-be-but-heres-how-you-can-help-change-that-2955147 3/7

Most grassroots activist movements have, historically, struggled to be inclusive of

marginalized communities, and to be accessible to the least privileged members of a

community. The suffragist movement centered white women who fought solely for their

voting rights, at many points excluding Black women from the conversation. Second-wave

feminists excluded transgender women from mainstream women’s rights movement. Even

modern day social justice movements still fail, at times, to be truly intersectional, and center

the voices of women of color, disabled women, and other oppressed groups. The “Me Too”

campaign is no exception. While the campaign is bringing to light the very necessary

conversation our society needs to have about sexual violence, the “Me Too” conversation is

not accessible to every survivor. Those who are impoverished, who do not speak English, who

have limited internet access, or who are in an unsafe living situation may not be able to

access the “Me Too” campaign — even though some of those folks may be the ones who need

to hear those two words the most.

Here are �ve simple ways to make the “Me Too” conversation more inclusive of and

accessible to marginalized people.

Use your privilege to retweet and share stories from marginalized communities

hannah norris @hlnorri ∙ 16 Oct

#MeToo but like let's not make this into a thing where victims  feel pressured to share their stories if they're not ready

hannah norris @hlnorri

#MeToo but let's remember to not center this around white cis  women and to uplift marginalized folks 4:24 PM ­ Oct 16, 2017

1 See hannah norris's other Tweets

7/24/2018 The "Me Too" Hashtag Isn’t As Inclusive As It Could Be, But Here’s How You Can Help Change That

https://www.bustle.com/p/the-me-too-hashtag-isnt-as-inclusive-as-it-could-be-but-heres-how-you-can-help-change-that-2955147 4/7

Did you know over 64 percent of trans and nonbinary folks have experienced sexual assault in

their lifetime? Did you know Native American women are two and half times more likely to

experience sexual assault or rape than women of any other ethnicity? Or that 40 percent of

physically disabled women have reported being victims of sexual violence? While the “Me

Too” campaign has been a powerful demonstration of the systemic nature of sexual violence,

most of the stories have focused on non-disabled, white, and straight cis women. Use

whatever privilege you have to support communities that are especially more vulnerable to

sexual assault and harassment.

De-gender your language

Luna Luna Magazine @LunaLunaMag

Me too. Me too. Us too. Us too. We see you. Hear you. All of  you. Women, femmes, nonbinary folks, queer folks, and  women of color.#MeToo 1:48 PM ­ Oct 16, 2017

25 See Luna Luna Magazine's other Tweets

7/24/2018 The "Me Too" Hashtag Isn’t As Inclusive As It Could Be, But Here’s How You Can Help Change That

https://www.bustle.com/p/the-me-too-hashtag-isnt-as-inclusive-as-it-could-be-but-heres-how-you-can-help-change-that-2955147 5/7

Alyssa Milano's original Tweet calling for "women" to share their experiences made some

members of the LGBTQ community, especially nonbinary people, trans folks, and femmes, feel

excluded from the campaign. The LGBTQ community is disproportionately affected by sexual

assault and harassment, more so than straight peers, so it's important use language that is

inclusive of their experience, too. It can be as simple as saying "people" instead of "women" —

and it'll make a big impact.

Raising awareness about systemic sexual violence on social media is important, but the next

step is to have “Me Too” conversations IRL. Sit down with friends, family members,

coworkers, or anyone you trust, and continue to talk about sexual assault and harassment in

the real world as well as the digital world. Talking about sexual assault and harassment may

help reach someone who isn't digitally literate, like some elderly people, or who don't have

access to the internet, like some homeless people.

Have "Me Too" Conversations IRL

TaTA! @SaschaSeriously

#MeToo don't let this hashtag be just that. Talk in person, in  real life. Let it live beyond the internet. Let it be a tv special  report. 9:15 PM ­ Oct 15, 2017

See TaTA!'s other Tweets

Include people that don’t have legal protection

Zhu Li

7/24/2018 The "Me Too" Hashtag Isn’t As Inclusive As It Could Be, But Here’s How You Can Help Change That

https://www.bustle.com/p/the-me-too-hashtag-isnt-as-inclusive-as-it-could-be-but-heres-how-you-can-help-change-that-2955147 6/7

The “Me Too” movement has inspired thousands of people to share their experiences with

sexual assault or harassment, but not everyone has the choice to disclose— even if they want

to. Many undocumented people are too afraid to report domestic and/or sexual violence, out

of fear of deportation. Additionally, sex workers are routinely subjected to sexual violence, but

majority cannot report or disclose due to harmful and untrue stigmas (i.e., "a sex worker

cannot be raped"), and because of criminalization. Our “Me Too” conversations must include

people who are not given the same legal protections or the option to pursue justice like the

general population.

If you’re in a steady place emotionally and have a strong support system, use “Me Too” as a

platform to continue to educate and advocate for sexual assault survivors. Tarana Burke

@JulieAtwood42

Being in a relationship doesn’t mean “yes”  Being a sex worker doesn’t mean “yes”  Being a sugarbaby doesn’t mean “yes”#MeToo 12:10 PM ­ Oct 16, 2017

10 See Zhu Li's other Tweets

Turn Your "Me Too" Into Action

alterna @tsukinokawa

#metoo it's really sad that so many women have been  harassed and assaulted and there will be no end in sight  unless action is taken. 12:15 PM ­ Oct 19, 2017

See alterna's other Tweets

7/24/2018 The "Me Too" Hashtag Isn’t As Inclusive As It Could Be, But Here’s How You Can Help Change That

https://www.bustle.com/p/the-me-too-hashtag-isnt-as-inclusive-as-it-could-be-but-heres-how-you-can-help-change-that-2955147 7/7

began “Me Too” a decade ago as a grassroots movement, so take your activism o�ine and to

the most vulnerable people in your community. Have conversations about the sexual assault

epidemic, volunteer at a local rape crisis center, run a donation drive for a women's shelter,

and go to sexual assault awareness rallies. Most of all, do not let “Me Too” just become

another tired hashtag — the conversation we're having because of it is just too important.