Metoo Movement: Why #metoo Movement Went Viral

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MeToo Movement
Before the #metoo movement went viral, its founder Tarana Burke had been making use of it for over a decade. Her main aim was to help victims of abuse to fight against their demons. She was committed to her mission, but as is often reported, when the tag went viral, she was caught off-guard. Burke had no idea that the world would respond the way it did. Her goal when she came up with the tag was to help victims of sexual abuse to overcome their trauma by letting them know they are not alone. Her commitment to helping the voiceless in the community is admirable, and even today, she still speaks against sexual abuse and violence. However, seeing all the evils and issues surrounding women, one cannot be faulted if they wonder whether the mission of the movement should evolve to something bigger and more profound. Harris (2018) notes that Burke has been “working to ensure that I MeToo doesn’t lose sight of its mission: to connect survivors of sexual assault to the resources they need in order to heal.” The mission is indeed great. However, it should not stop there. There is currently no greater voice that appears to defend the plight of women than the MeToo movement. So, even as Burke looks to ensure the movement maintains its initial trajectory, it is crucial that it evolves and grows to include other issues, including pay disparities, gender inequality, and power structures that continuously appear to consider women inferior to men. The above forms the focus of this paper.
Having already taken the fight to the predators and with the widespread support the movement has received worldwide, it is crucial that it expands and includes other aspects as well. For example, pay disparity does not happen in Hollywood alone, it is something that has been happening around the world and one that will continue to happen if nothing is done. Graf, Brown, and Patten (2018) write that even though the gender gap in pay has decreased since the 80s, the past 15 years have not seen any change. The researchers from the Pew Research Center continue to indicate that “in 2017, women earned 82% of what men earned” meaning that “it would take an extra 47 days of work for women to earn what men did in 2017.” The article continues to discuss the issue and notes that while in some situations the gap could be explained by looking at factors such as educational levels, work experience, etc., there are other factors which appear to contribute to this retrogressive habit. One of the chief factors that might lead to the gender wage gap is gender discrimination. In another Pew Research Center study by Parker and Funk (2017), it was revealed that 42% of women in the U.S. workforce had been discriminated against because of their gender. With such a factor in play, one cannot be faulted if they appear to indicate that gender is a factor that is used to determine employees’ pay. This cannot be allowed to continue. Women all over the world need to stand together and give the system enough push to make it topple. The MeToo movement can indeed help in making this happen. Having united millions of women around the world already, it will take less time and effort t...