The MeToo Movement

3 DAYS AGO·UPDATED 3 DAYS AGO

context

Above: Protesters gather as Harvey Weinstein arrives at a Manhattan court house for the start of his trial on in New York City on January 6, 2020. Image copyright: Spencer Platt/Staff/Getty Images News/Getty Images

The Spin

Left narrative

MeToo has undeniably achieved significant success. Sexual violence and abuse are now discussed far more openly, and the outpouring of testimony and solidarity across race and gender has led to real results in holding exploiters — often industry monoliths — accountable. Yet society still has a long way to go. While individual attitudes have shifted, institutions and legal systems remain slow to change. Much work is also needed to protect vulnerable and marginalized communities, as well as women worldwide. Broader, systemic changes are required before we can claim full victory.

CNN me too. Movement

Right narrative

MeToo may have begun with noble intentions, but it quickly became its own kind of religion, undermining the justice it claimed to champion. While some men were rightly held accountable, the movement also unleashed a frenzy of trial by media that ruined many innocent lives. Its silence on abuses in marginalized communities, and its tendency to equate a leg brush or crude joke with rape, have diluted its purpose and diminished the experiences of true victims. It is time to acknowledge the good it has done, but also take a step back.

Daily Mail

Narrative C

The MeToo movement has achieved a lot, but its popularity also distracted from larger goals it could have pursued. Socially, it has become easier to single out and vilify individual men, while bigger systems that fuel misogyny — like the porn industry — remain largely unchallenged. Simple man-hating, without a deeper look at how misogyny is built into society, is counterproductive and only creates more resentment.

Critic