Reflection on Social Media Case 7: Anthony Weiner’s Post

The US Congressman Anthony Weiner sent sexually explicit photos to a 21-year-old woman through direct messaging on twitter. Other inappropriate content with other women and minors unfolded. In the beginning he tried to deny the allegations, but with the pressure and stir of social media he came clean with the truth. Social media does create a sphere where if you're hiding something, it will be brought to the surface. Especially if millions of people are looking for that truth. This can effect reputation, but I think there is a more important issue to focus on here. Anthony Weiner (an unfortunate last name for this topic, but here goes) sexually harassed several women. Whether his intentions were pure or not, if these actions were not wanted by the women, this is considered harassment.

Social media has created a whole new world for this issue. In the past, sexual harassment or assault has been a topic that has been very taboo and I believe this was because of the sexism that existed "back in the day." Unfortunately, it is still present in a lot of ways, but I would like to believe there has been improvement. I feel like awareness of sexual assault truly started in 1991, during Anita Hill's televised testimony of Clarence Thomas' advances towards her. Naturally, this testimony brought a lot of attention. After this testimony, sexual harassment complaints to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission increased by 73 percent! I believe this increase was because women realized that they are not alone in this journey and they need to stand up. It has been 40 years since this testimony and instead of women wearing "I Believe Anita" buttons, they post #metoo. Social media has facilitated a campaign of women standing together and sharing their experiences, so people can truly understand the gravity of the issue of sexual assault. This hashtag has been modified across the world, but it all has the same message.

This campaign was partly inspired because of the accusations of sexual assault from Harvey Weinstein, a very influential producer. Allegations exploded in the media and several actresses and celebrities shared their opinions and experiences. When the #metoo campaign started, I saw several men and women share their stories on Facebook. I never ended up posting, but I could have joined that conversation. I personally was grateful that social media created that safe space for people to join together because I realized that I'm not alone, that I'm not "dramatic," and my safety and boundaries are important and should always be respected. I believe that the conversation has started and some action has taken place regarding fixing this problem. USU has a campaign about what true consent means, businesses are fixing their sexual misconduct procedures, but we still have a long way to go. However, I believe we can get there, but it's going to have to take both men and women to stand up and fight.