281 - Final Project - a.a.

Cultural Relevance

Within the past year, issues related to women’s rights have been more greatly discussed than they have been prior. In response to policies and beliefs expressed by the Trump Administration, many women, feminists, and advocates for human rights have spoken out about the injustice represented. The Women's March took place in January of 2017 in which millions of people protested internationally. This began to create a stronger discussion around feminist ideals, resulting in Meriam-Webster Dictionary’s word of the year: FEMINISM .

Much discourse surrounding women’s rights at this point in culture involves the issue of sexual assault. Most recently, multiple sexual assault allegations have been made against notable figures in the media: Harvey Weinstein, Melanie Martinez, Danny Masterson, Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose, Al Franken, Louis C.K., Kevin Spacey, along with others. There have also been numerous women stating that they have been victimized by President Trump, making the issue of sexual assault a much more political manner. In an article from The Atlantic Daily, Gillian B. White says, "The accusations, then firings, of many other powerful men have sparked a public conversation about an uncomfortable issue that rarely surfaces... that's created a different kind of dialogue about sexual assault" (1).

Aligning with the popular culture discussions of rape culture, the #MeToo movement has given victims of all backgrounds and statuses a platform to express their stories:

“The power of #MeToo, though, is that it takes something that women had long kept quiet about and transforms it into a movement. Unlike many kinds of social-media activism, it isn’t a call to action or the beginning of a campaign… It’s simply an attempt to get people to understand the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault in society… There’s a monumental amount of work to be done in confronting a climate of serial sexual predation… But uncovering the colossal scale of the problem is revolutionary in its own right” (Gilbert). 

 

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