Introduction with a thesis statement about your politician/pundit/activist’s ideology
Tarana Burke is a significantly famous name in the U.S. and the world due to her activism against sexual harassment towards women. The activist’s #MeToo slogan gives victimized women the opportunity to report their experiences in the hands of some so-called responsible and successful male characters (Burke, 2018). Burke’s concern is that many women silently suffer, wondering why some things happen to them. The silence persists due to the mentality that sexual harassment of women is a personal issue. Some oppressed females even die of depression, fearing that reporting their cases will brand them wrongly. The challenge exists among females abused by respected community figures. The #MeToo campaign occurred online, allowing women to state their plights without being judged or fearing their assaulters (Maier, 2022). This aspect made many women come out to share their hurting secrets. This paper intends to critically analyze the ideologies Burke outlined in the #MeToo campaign.
Brief Background on politician/pundit/activist
Tarana Burke was born and raised in The Bronx, New York. She grew up in a poor working-class family in a housing project. Tarana was raped and sexually assaulted both as a child and a teenager (Burke, 2018). Burke’s experiences motivated her to work to improve the lives of young girls who endured life-threatening circumstances. During her time in college, she organized press conferences and campaigns against economic and racial justice. In 2006, Burke started utilizing the #MeToo slogan to assist other women with the same experiences to come out and stand up for themselves (Burke, 2018). Over a decade later, in 2017, the #MeToo hashtag went viral when Alyssa Milano and other women began using it to tweet about the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse incidents. The #MeToo quickly developed into a broad-based and eventually international movement.
Brief general summary of the Problematizations of the Ideology your figure illustrates (e.g., libertarianism, national conservatisms, anarcho-syndicalism, etc.) drawn from our course materials
Reviewing Tarana’s ideologies, she qualifies to be called a feminist. Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and philosophies that aim to outline and institute the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Most feminists believe that society has for a long time prioritized men more than women and has treated women discriminatorily. Feminists, therefore, fight against gender stereotypes and form informative, expert, and interpersonal opportunities and outcomes for women that are equal to those for men. Additionally, feminism campaigned for various women’s rights. Such as; the right to vote, run for public office, work, earn equal pay, own property, receive education, sign contracts, have equal rights within marriage, and maternity leave. Furthermore, Feminists push to ensure women’s access to contraception, legal abortions, and social integration and to shield women and girls from rape, sexual harassment, and domestic violence. Tarana is a feminist because her #MeToo agenda is pushing for women who have been sexually abused and never received justice to be heard fairly without being judged (Burke, 2018). Moreover, her movement fights sexual violence and harassment against women.
Your Politician/pundit/activist’s PROBLEMATIZATIONS with evidence
The explosion of #MeToo in 2017 exposed the fact that men, for the longest time, have used their power and influence to sexually abuse women and get away with it. The slogan #MeToo attracted international attention when American actress Alyssa Milano used it as a Twitter hashtag in response to allegations of sexual harassment by movie director Harvey Weinstein. Milano stimulated Twitter users to adopt #MeToo to illustrate the global incidences of sexual harassment (Burke, 2020b). The hashtag was used twelve million times in the first twenty-four hours of her tweet by both celebrities and the general public.
The trend the #MeToo took in 2017 showed that women in America, especially black and women of color, were greatly discriminated against and abused sexually by men in power. The high number of #MeToo twits in twenty-four hours showed that many women suffered in silence and needed someone to give them a platform for them to be heard. Many came out and joined the movement; Tarana believed that this was just the beginning of the healing of many women (Burke, 2020b). Her main aim in establishing the movement as a non-profit organization in 2006 was to allow victims of sexual violence to connect and heal from the trauma of sexual harassment. She believes that giving the victims the power to speak will expose the perpetrators and, in turn, reduce cases of sexual violence against women.
Brief general summary of the ANALYSIS of the Ideology your figure illustrates drawn from course materials
Tarana’s ideology is to stop sexual violence committed against women globally. Sexual violence is a menace the world has not been able to address fully. There are cases of rape, assault, and sexual harassment especially committed by men against women, reported every day. Additionally, Tarana noticed that many women did not report these incidences for fear of being discriminated against or because they were abused by men in power or men in their families (Burke, 2019b). Sometimes is hard to prove that a rape has occurred unless it is reported immediately and a rape kit is done; otherwise, it will be a victim’s word versus the perpetrator’s. Women in these circumstances fear that they will not be believed, and hence many cases go unreported. The act of not reporting, in turn, gives the perpetrator the power to continue committing assaulting other women, and this can explain why this menace is yet to be addressed fully. The #MeToo movement encourages women to come out and report their assaults to get justice and prevent it from happening to other women.
Your Politician/pundit/activist’s ANALYSIS with evidence
Tarana has lived as a victim of sexual violence since she was sexually abused as a child and as a teenager. While she was helping girls in a community program in her twenties, she met a young girl who told her that she had been sexually abused. Tarana thought her mind to tell the girl ‘me too’ to make her feel better (Burke, 2019b). To Tarana, telling a victim of violence that it happened to ‘me too’ was a way of comforting her and assuring her that it was not her problem alone. Tarana, therefore, began using the hashtag MeToo to encourage women to come out and face their fears.
The cases of Alyssa Milano, Rose Mc Gowan, and other actresses’ allegations of sexual assault by Harvey Weinstein revealed that sexual violence was not a problem for poor, young girls or women of color alone. It showed that it was an issue any woman could face at the hands of men (Burke, 2019b). The actresses’ case revealed the magnitude of the problem and how a man can get away with abusing women for a very long time without facing justice. Fear comes out as the weapon majorly used by the perpetrators to keep their victims quiet as they move to the next victim. #MeToo aims at erasing the fears and empowering the victims to make them survivors.
Brief general summary of the VISION of the Ideology your figure illustrates drawn from course materials
The MeToo movement’s vision is to see the world free of sexual violence. Ending sexual violence is the vision of every government and every institution fighting for human rights. Rape, sexual assault, and violence are severe human rights violations. Sexual violence violates a victim’s human rights to life, health, personal freedom, and security. It also goes against their right not to be tortured or exposed to other inhuman. Sexual assault affects all people, but women, particularly trans women of color, suffer disproportionately as a consequence of systemic and structural inequality. Curbing sexual violence is paramount for the effectiveness of every part of the sexual freedom movement or organization. From reproductive justice to sex workers’ rights, from gender self-determination to queer and trans-liberation, all fights for sexual freedom rely on freedom from sexual violence. The MeToo movement, to achieve freedom from sexual violence, has to work first to educate women on their sexual rights (Burke, 2019a). Secondly, it has to educate the public on the importance of upholding these rights and, thirdly, ensure those who violate these rights face the consequences.
Your Politician/pundit/activist’s VISION with evidence
The MeToo movement envisions a world free of sexual violence. The organization intends to push for the change of oppressive structures, stereotypes, and cultures, based on the lived experiences and leadership of survivors. The movement creates space for new philosophies, practices, and relationships grounded in love, respect, empathy, and wellness (The Singju Post, 2020). The movement looks forward to societies that are rich in joy, safety, and resources and committed to radical healing. Additionally, the movement intends to see equality among women, where they have the right to make choices about their bodies. Tarana argues that women should be given space to exercise their rights without being judged and discriminated against in a way that harms their well-being. In many cases, women are given the freedom to exercise their rights that are morally judged and discriminated against. For instance, in some circumstances, women are allowed to exercise their rights to abortion; on the other hand, society judges them for aborting.
MeToo is dedicated to the work to ensure that this vision comes to pass. The organization has begun sheltering women who have been through sexual violence and giving them a safe environment to ensure that they begin their healing journey (The Singju Post, 2020). Additionally, the movement is already recognized for speaking against sexual violence. The movement has given many people hope and continues to do so to those that have said ‘me too’ and ensuring that no more people get to say ‘me too’.
Brief general summary of the STRATEGIES of the Ideology your figure illustrates drawn from course materials
MeToo’s main strategy to achieve its long-term vision is to empower women. This movement intends to not only help survivors of violence but also equip women with education and other skills that set them in high places where they get equal opportunities with men (Burke, 2020b). This is the only way to ensure that women are not discriminated against. Though sexual violence affects all people, the most affected people are less privileged women and from poor backgrounds. Upgrading the lives and standards of women is the main strategy to ensure that women get an opportunity at policy-making tables. If the former is done, it will mean that women get to promote guidelines that protect women and humanity at large. There needs to be a structural change in government; this can be effective if only an equal number of women are involved in legislation as men. For instance, the overturning of Roe V. Wade was decided by a panel of mostly men. Women who were more understanding of Roe’s issue were less involved in the process.
Evaluation 1 of strengths/weaknesses
Tarana’s utilization of social media platforms to present male criminals to the online community marks a new era where social offenders face punishments for past misdeeds or mistakes. The campaign depicts the realization of new, uncontrollable power by the weak feminine groups initially viewed as powerless. Due to Burke’s activism, great names, such as Harvey Weinstein, no longer dominate Hollywood, while many other greedy males now operate with caution. Arguably, the long-embattled strive for females’ freedom seems to realize a novel platform for all to play equally. The #MeToo campaign allows the minority and majority groups of women to air their cries to the social media judge, with the results coming almost immediately (Burke, 2022b). The use of the online platform is a plus for this movement because it makes people feel comfortable enough to share their experiences without being judged.
Evaluation 2 of strengths/weaknesses
Tarana also has the advantage of running this organization successfully and achieving the goals she is set to accomplish. Being a victim of sexual violence herself makes her understand the victims from a personal experience (Maier, 2022). Additionally, she began working with communities and helping girls at a very early stage in her life. The former means that she has experience of how to deal with diverse kinds of people facing different issues in life. His vision for this movement is a long-term one. Even before the MeToo slogan began to trend in 2017, she was already working. The movement, therefore, cannot be highly affected by social media’s negative campaigns against the movement (Burke, 2020a). The movement has a clear long-term vision and mission, which makes those who have joined the organization feel safe and secure.
Conclusion
Tarana started this journey as a child, a teenager, when she was assaulted; since then, she has begun looking for ways to heal her wounds. Working with girls who had been assaulted gave her the healing that she was looking for. Observing how women suffered in silence fueled her to want to do more for women hence the birth of the MeToo organization to give women a safe healing environment. Her slogan began to trend in 2017, which changed the future of the organization. She views this movement not just as a moment but as a beginning of creating a safe environment for women by empowering them to face their fears and do more for their lives (Burke, 2019a). She states that the organization intends to do more to ensure women win their battles in the long run and turn from victims to survivors who can positively impact the world.
Five Final Questions
- Do you think that the MeToo movement has the machinery necessary for sexual violence, especially tycoons who commit these crimes?
- Do you think MeToo has something different to offer as compared to other organizations that have fought sexual violence before?
- Do you think Tarana has a better idea of feminism than other feminists before her?
- What do you feel that this movement can do better than what it has already to improve its mandates to women?
- Is there anything you would like the MeToo movement to change in how they do things?
References
Burke, T. (2018). Tarana Burke – the full power of women’s speech. YouTube. Web.
Burke, T. (2019a). Tarana Burke: MeToo is a movement, not a moment | TED. YouTube. Web.
Burke, T. (2019b). Tarana Burke: How can we build a world where people don’t have to say “Me too”?NPR. Web.
Burke, T. (2020a). ‘Me too.’ movement founder Tarana Burke delivers MLK Keynote. YouTube. Web.
Burke, T. (2020b). “My greatest hope is that people understand this is about healing and action”: MeToo founder Tarana Burke on the movement’s future. Vogue India. Web.
Burke, T. (2022a). #MeToo founder Tarana Burke explores the ‘jarring’ effect of overnight celebrity in a New book. MSNBC. Web.
Burke, T. (2022b). Unbound: My story of liberation and the birth of the Me Too Movement. Web.
Maier, S. L. (2022). Rape victim advocates’ perceptions of the# MeToo Movement: opportunities, challenges, and sustainability. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 08862605221081929. Web.
The Singju Post, (2020). Me too is a movement, not a moment: Tarana Burke (full transcript). Web.