#METOO AND TIME’S UP. WHAT HAS BEEN THE IMPACT SO FAR?

The #MeToo and #TimesUp campaigns have sparked a movement putting sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the workplace on centre stage. (Robinson, C.K., 2018) Alyssa Milano, the actress, popularised the #metoo movement on October 15, 2017. The online movement quickly evolved into a global phenomenon that was widely well supported. The movement online was criticised by some as a war of the sexes, which pits men against women. (Kunst, J.R., Bailey, A., Prendergast, C. and Gundersen, A., 2019) Hardly a period is elapsed without a new allegation being made since the charges of sexual assault against US film producer Harvey Weinstein in October 2017. Strong men have been publicly accused of sexual harassment, abuse and rape by an increasing number of women, including producers, actors, directors, politicians, well-known News reporters, journalists and sports doctors. (Zarkov, D. and Davis, K., 2018.) Also, this #metoo / Time’s Up campaign has moved beyond social media since it makes feminist perspectives open and accessible to a broader audience (Eagle, 2015) and is being taken to the streets, where people are rallying to condemn sexual harassment demanding the enforcement of 'zero tolerance policies' against workplace sexual harassment. (Bhattacharyya, R., 2018) Moreover, using a #to shout back on social media offers a forum for women to express experiences of misogyny and abuse, raise awareness, question existing hegemonic discourses, raise awareness in both the private and public about women's daily realities (Crossley, 2015). Certainly, these campaigns have helped to connect feminist communities that are geographically distant (Schuster, 2013) and cultivate a sense of belonging (Baer, 2016).

However, was this a positive movement for women in the industry? Currently, sexual abuse in the media is once again being shot by feminists, posing critical questions about what it means to come into contact across society with misogynistic violence. (Hill, R.L. and Savigny, H., 2019) In the artistic fields, abuse can be difficult to define and explain. When 'natural' behaviour has become sexual harassment, many women are uncertain. They are afraid of reprisals and of a lack of action if they report violence, and they are hesitant to be seen as a victim. Women socialised in a society in which sexual assault is normalised without help are unable to comprehend and exercise their rights. (Sexual harassment in the creative industries, 2020)

Therefore, as the abuse that is suffered in this industry is difficult to define or explain women are more vulnerable to sexual aggressions or minor sexist comments which are normalise in their working environment. As a matter of fact, it is so normalised to have sexual abuse behaviour towards women that the prevalence of songs glorifying rape and sadomasochism are increasing by number of bands who reflect this disturbing and escalating trend.

Consequently, if these women that work in the creative industries surround themselves with people that produce and listen to these types of lyrics it is normal for females to not feel save in their own environment. Thus, a social media hashtag is not effective enough if people keep listening to this sort of lyrics and even work in the creative industry with people which create sexist and degrading videos towards women. (Hill, R.L. and Savigny, H., 2019)

Not only that but even though the numbers of females working in the industry have increased there are still more men than women in the creative industries. (Gender distribution in off-screen Hollywood 2019 | Statista, 2020) Meaning women are still not valued enough in order to work in this type of sector, or they are degraded to objects and not employees.

Moving on, is not only the music industry where sexist judgment is being made, actresses are still getting fetishized and disrespected by society. This can be seen in many different interviews around the world. Starting in Spain there was an interview at the LOS40 gala where, Ester Expósito an aspiring Spanish actress receives this comment "That neckline is not of a Disney princess; princes would probably get hard if they saw that.” (Álvaro Ojeda, a Ester Expósito: "Ese escote no es de princesa Disney, que los príncipes se pondrían palote", 2020) from a Spanish interviewer.

In fact, many actresses around the world have been asked sexist questions during galas or interviews rather than being asked for their own work as men normally do. “Swift was asked about having children in an interview. The singer said she doesn't think men are asked that question when they turn 30. "I'm not going to answer that now," she said.” (America, 2020) implying women should be more focus in motherhood rather than perusing a career like men do.

Another sexist interview the cast of Mad Max Fury Road 2015 had was when during a press conference in Cannes that was held to discuss the new movie Mad Max Fury Road 2015 the following questions were asked; “I just wanted to ask you, as you were reading the script did you ever think why all these women are in here, I thought this was supposed to be a man’s movie” However, it did not end with this inquiry. Actress Charlize Theron received the successive question about her character; “You’ve got this rage within you where did it come from?” to what she responded, “surprise women have that”. She then followed up her speech adding the director has this “innate understanding that women are just as complex and interesting as men” (MsMojo, 2017). In other words, the cast had such an extremely rude, sexist questions which if the film was acted entirely by men would have never had.

Lastly, the sexiest question was asked to Scarlet Johansson during a press conference for her role in the Avengers: Endgame 2019. The actress was asked about her fitness regime meanwhile, her fellow colleague actor Robert Downey Jr was asked about character development. Therefore, even the #MeToo campaign has helped women to feel more empowered and to speak about the harassments they suffer females in the industry are still oppressed by the patriarchy and ergo giving dictatorial power to men over women.

Nevertheless, after the #MeToo campaign it can be stated that it has contributed to more attention being paid to sexual harassment, which has potentially led to a reversal in what is appropriate conduct in conventional common sense. It has contributed to more attention being paid to sexual harassment, which has potentially led to a reversal in what is appropriate conduct in conventional common sense. After all, awareness is a vital part of resistance, as political theorists and activists have been arguing for a very long time, and this issue is now definitely more apparent. (Rottenberg, C., 2019) Even though Federal regulations on sexual discrimination and most state laws do not protect independent contractors; only employers are protected by legislation. That means that if they're threatened at work people who are legally self-employed, from actors to makeup artists to Uber drivers, can have no legal recourse. There is beginning of change in some ways. In 2018, New York extended its sexual assault legislation to include private contractors and increased domestic worker safety in 2019. (7 positive changes that have come from the #MeToo movement, 2020)

Furthermore, not only the #MeToo movement has helped women but It's prohibitively costly for many individuals to bring a sexual harassment case.

That's why Time's Up, a group of women organising to combat abuse in Hollywood, launched the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund to help survivors of sexual assault get legal representation, especially in low-wage industries. It has raised over $24 million since the fund was launched in January 2018 and linked 3,677 individuals with lawyers to take future legal action. (7 positive changes that have come from the #MeToo movement, 2020)

In conclusion, these two movements have helped an incredible number of women to feel they are not alone, and they are protected by other. Not without standing females in the creative industry are still getting target by sexual abuse and sexual aggressions whether they are physical or verbal and yet people keep categorising women into motherhood and superficial things except as professionals of their jobs and not getting recognition for their careers.

Bibliography

> Robinson, C.K., 2018. # UsToo# MeToo# TimesUp. Guardian (Sydney), (1836), p.11.

> Kunst, J.R., Bailey, A., Prendergast, C. and Gundersen, A., 2019. Sexism, rape myths and feminist identification explain gender differences in attitudes toward the# metoo social media campaign in two countries. Media Psychology, 22(5), pp.818-843.

> Zarkov, D. and Davis, K., 2018. Ambiguities and dilemmas around# Metoo:# forhow long and# whereto?.

> Bhattacharyya, R., 2018. # Metoo Movement: An Awareness Campaign. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 3(4).

> Crossley, A. (2015). Facebook Feminism: Social Media, Blogs, and New Technologies of Contemporary U.S. Feminism. Mobilization: An International Quarterly, 20, 253-268.

> Eagle, R. B. (2015). Loitering, lingering, hashtagging: Women reclaiming public space via #BoardtheBus, #StopStreetHarassment, and the #Everydaysexism Project. Feminist Media Studies, 15, 349-353

> Schuster, J. (2013) Invisible feminists? Social media and young women’s political participation. Political Science, 65 (1), 1-8. • Twitter. (2015). FAQs. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/ [accessed 02/11/2020]

> Bates, L. (n.d). Everydaysexism.com. Retrieved from http://everydaysexism.com/ [accessed 02/11/2020]

> LSE Business Review. 2020. Sexual Harassment In The Creative Industries. [online] Available at: <https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2017/07/20/sexual-harassment-in-the-creative-industries/> [Accessed 9 November 2020].

> Statista. 2020. Gender Distribution In Off-Screen Hollywood 2019 | Statista. [online] Available at: <https://www.statista.com/statistics/289821/gender-distribution-in-off-screen-hollywood/> [Accessed 11 November 2020].

> www.20minutos.es - Últimas Noticias. 2020. Álvaro Ojeda, A Ester Expósito: "Ese Escote No Es De Princesa Disney, Que Los Príncipes Se Pondrían Palote". [online] Available at: <https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/4054519/0/alvaro-ojeda-entrevista-bochornosa-ester-exposito/> [Accessed 12 November 2020].

> America, G., 2020. Taylor Swift Shuts Down An Interviewer When Asked About Wanting Kids. [online] Good Morning America. Available at: <https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/taylor-swift-shuts-interviewer-asked-wanting-kids-men-63319368> [Accessed 8 November 2020].

> MsMojo (2017). Top 10 Celebs Who Shut Down Sexist Interview Questions. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNbooQcnRaQ [Accessed 8 Nov. 2020].

> Hill, R.L. and Savigny, H., 2019. Sexual violence and free speech in popular music.

> Rottenberg, C., 2019. # MeToo and the prospects of political change. Soundings, 71(71), pp.40-49.

> Vox. 2020. 7 Positive Changes That Have Come From The #Metoo Movement. [online] Available at: <https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/10/4/20852639/me-too-movement-sexual-harassment-law-2019> [Accessed 9 November 2020].

Filmography

> Mad Max Fury Road 2015