When MeToo Becomes a Meme
Sexual violence is not a TikTok trend
Cassandra Teulon, Investigative Journalist
November 27, 2022
This article discusses sexual violence and may be triggering for some readers. If you need support regarding sexual violence, visit the Queen’s Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Services. You are not alone.
Even as a survivor of sexual abuse herself, Tarana Burke, the founder of the MeToo movement, could not put aside her shame. Throughout her decades-long advocacy career, she always struggled to make space for the dozens of survivors that had shared their experiences of sexual violence with her.
She could not say “me too.”
Burke founded the MeToo movement in 2006 to create a way for young women of color to share their stories, starting in New York.
In 2017, over a decade later, the MeToo movement transformed from a grassroots movement to a globally recognized Twitter hashtag.
Stirring allegations about Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein’s history of sexual misconduct prompted American actress Alyssa Milano to invite her followers to tweet “me too” if they had been sexually assaulted, harassed, or violated.
The response was astounding. Tens of thousands of women came forward on Twitter to share their experiences of sexual violence, explicitly illustrating the magnitude of the problem. In Canada alone, there was a 25% increase in police-reported instances of sexual assault in the three months (October to December 2017) after the MeToo hashtag went viral. Quebec experienced the most significant increase in formally reported instances of sexual assault, with a 61% increase in the same 3-month period.
The MeToo hashtag started overdue conversations; abused women had their voices amplified. But in light of the Depp v. Heard trial, it seems a hashtag is no longer enough to protect the elite, let alone marginalized survivors of sexual violence.
The MeToo movement lost momentum due to the online trivialization of sexual abuse.
A precedent of online misogyny started when Amber Heard was mocked, humiliated, and discredited. After self-identifying as a “public figure representing domestic abuse” in a 2018 article published in The Cut, Heard was sued by her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, for three counts of defamation.
TikTok users reduced Heard’s experiences of intimate domestic abuse to a trend for young viewers, where her testimony was fetishized and acted out by comedians. Various corporations, such as Milani and Duolingo, weighed in on Heard’s testimony through their social media platforms. At the same time, ‘pro-Johnny’ YouTube accounts streamed the trial as if it were a live spectator sport.
The happenings of Heard and Depp’s private relationship became entertainment on social media, explicitly casting Heard as a villain.
Neither Depp nor Heard’s abusive actions are justified. Yet, their case provides a harrowing example of how persistent online cultures of misogyny have overwhelmed MeToo’s efforts to combat sexual violence.
Brutal descriptions of sexual assault became an entertaining source of online comedic content.
Millions of survivors watched as live television and social media dehumanized Heard as she told a story much like theirs.
“We have such difficulty giving credence and perspective to the stories women tell… no matter who the person is,” said Dr. Nancy Butler, an assistant professor of gender studies at Queen’s University.
Even though Heard’s trial took place in a bubble of economic, racial, and social privilege, her story was not listened to. MeToo was not enough to have her story listened to.
“This is what happens now when women who are white, blonde and, wealthy start to speak and use their voice […] [Heard has] been sanctioned by society,” said Butler.
Survivors without swaths of lawyers and extensive PR teams face the same distressing responses when coming forward with abuse allegations.
“If you’re having conversations about celebrities experiencing sexual violence, then you should also think about how [sexual violence] impacts people who don’t have the same social power,” said Butler.
The MeToo movement was hijacked by a social obsession with vilifying women before they could finish speaking, regardless of their status. In Canada, only 1 in 5 formally reported cases of sexual assault go to trial, while only 1 in 15 reported cases of sexual assault end in prosecution.
Silencing celebrity survivors, like Heard, as means of entertainment has harrowing ramifications for women unable or still unwilling to bring their abusers to court.
When people make a celebrity’s testimony into a meme, sexual violence is the punchline. Survivors are listening. They hear it loud and clear.
With more powerful men being brought to judgment day, the Depp v. Heard case is not the last of its time.
A Twitter hashtag cannot dismantle centuries of turning a blind eye to sexual violence against women.
The promises of the MeToo movement need to be cemented into the social norms of not just Hollywood film sets or workplace policies but the day-to-day communities where marginalized women live. The implicit normalization of sexism creates a culture where sexual violence goes unchecked.
North American courtrooms will never allow for the dismantling of gender inequities in trials of sexual assault. Hence, it is up to us to have difficult conversations – honest conversations with the people in our lives.
Let the women around you speak without being interrupted or second-guessed. Let women be listened to, without being turned into a meme.