Tarana Burke
Hashtag MeToo. Does that sound familiar? The MeToo movement is one of the most influential movements of our time. According to cbsnews.com a movement that reached over 12 million posts on Facebook in just 24 hours. Most of you know the power of Me Too and some participants in it, such as Ashley Judd, Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cara Delevingne, Lupita Nyong’o, Lindsay Lohan, and many more according to CNN. However, you probably do not know who began this powerful movement. Her name is Tarana Burke. Tarana Burke is a sexual assault survivor herself and began the Me Too Movement in 2006 when she was having trouble with comforting a young girl, who had confided in Burke about her sexual assault experience according to brown.edu.
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Tarana Burke is an important advocate for gender equality, and is a great role model as she supports women especially sexual assault survivors, she advocates for men of color, and started the Me Too Movement. Tarana Burke is known as an influential person and a very popular women’s rights activist.
Her constant fight for women equality has not gone unnoticed, it has made such a big impact that she was nominated for a Shorty Award in Activism. According to shortyawards.com, this award is presented to people who they believe have lived up to Gandhi's words “be the change you want to see in the world”. People who have had the impact to begin a revolution. Tarana Burke has done and is still doing so many things in order to support young girls. She is also a Senior Director for an organization called Girls for Gender Equity. According to Girls for Gender Equity Mission Statement, they “commit to physical, psychological, social, and economic development of girls and women”. Their main goal is to encourage communities to break down the sexist barriers and give women the same opportunities and freedom men are given. This influences the mindset girls will grow up with and ultimately change the way young girls will view a patriarchal society and culture. Her work with these girls who see her as a role model, will cause for a new generation of role models …show more content…
alike. Tarana Burke is not only an advocate for women but an advocate for men.
Burke was on the Time’s list of the 100 most influential people. Gabrielle Union, the woman who put Tarana Burke on the list, described Burke as “a leader who truly believes in inclusivity”. According vibe.com Tarana Burke’s first experience with organizing activist movements was in 1989, where she worked against Donald Trump and his campaign that targeted a group of colored men who were accused of raping a white woman in Central Park, and were commonly known as the “Central Park Five”. Trump had paid thousands of dollars in order to create propaganda through adds on newspapers, that the five colored men were guilty. Burke’s fight against Trump illustrates her dedication to fighting for equality among everyone, not only women. Tarana Burke also later organized a rally to support young people of color in New York City. Tarana Burke is a perfect example of a feminist because not only does she fight for women’s equality but also men, especially those of color. Her advocacy for both men and women is what makes her a great role
model. Tarana Burke started the Me Too Movement which became a huge way to connect sexual assault survivors around the world. Not only was this movement seen on the streets through rallies and marches, but also all over social media platforms. Tarana Burke has said “[Me Too] could be the conversation starter or the whole conversation.” This implies the impact that the Me Too Movement has had, as it started a conversation on rape culture and the impact it has had on women. According to CNN Twitter reports that more than 1.7 million women and men have used the hashtag in 85 countries. A hashtag that has brought many predators into the open. For the first time in history, powerful men are falling like dominos, and women are being believed. Although celebrity women were the ones who put this movement in place it has since benefited many other women. Such as Brenda Siegel a 40-year-old women, who never spoke up about her sexual assault experiences until the hashtag began, according to insider. Or Samantha Shulman who had harassed by her voice coach, and for years felt the guilt and shame from her encounter, until “Me Too” had erupted and she learned she wasn’t the only one, according to CNN. The Me Too Movement has made major impacts on society and culture since it no longer allows rapists to have control over their victims. Victims no longer feel as afraid over there predators. Chimamanda Adichie, a Nigerian author once said “Culture does not make people. People make culture.” This is a quote Tarana Burke strongly responds too through her constant actions, and movements in order to change modern day society to be inclusive of everyone and allow everyone equal treatment and rights. Her organization Girls for Gender Equity targets young girls in order to fight for equality among both men and women. These young girls who would later define what culture is in the future. Tarana Burke has made a positive impact on women and men of color and sexual assault victims. She has become an advocate for women’s rights and equal treatment between genders. This has become more and more evident through her devotion to helping by starting the Me Too Movement, establishing the Girls for Gender Equity, and defending the Central Park Five. If you want someone to look up to, look up to Tarana Burke. Thank you.
DEBORAH SOLOMON, “Out of the Past, An Ur-Feminist Finds Stardom”, New York Times, Published May 3, 1998
These women have changed the world and had a huge impact on society. Michelle Obama states “with every life they touch and every spirit they raise, women are creating ripples that stretch across the globe”.
Hillary Rodham Clinton is a well-recognized woman in the United States. Her great contribution as Secretary of State impacted people’s lives. One of many remarkable speeches Clinton gave was the “The Women Rights Speech” on the 4th World Conference on Women Plenary Session, where she used strong words and emotions to appeal the audience. Even though the speech talked about women rights, she wanted everyone including men and children to listen and take action. Her use of ethos, logos and pathos throughout the speech helped people understand women live in a world where they suffer discrimination, and she proposes solutions to solve the issue.
...framework given to us, feminists, we do have to embrace the positive processes that are sometimes happening within this framework as well. When feminism becomes an accessory it does lose its radical political potential but it also creates a new potential that more and more people will become interested in feminism and possibly not only marketable and sexy ideas spread, but also some important issues and topics will be brought up in public awareness. There is no one way, or two ways, to be a feminist, but rather multiple ways. Feminists, rather than being elitist that these celebrities are dull to understand feminism properly, should embrace all the potential that Beyoncé or any other celebrities might do for feminist values, otherwise the movement and its values might become ever more alienated from the society and this is not going to do any better job for women.
“For me, education was power.” Michelle Obama has always been a major advocate for many different causes, such as education, health, and support for military families. Her work to make people’s lives better has influenced many people to join the causes and have healthier lifestyles. Becoming First Lady gave her a large influence and began her support of many causes, which has made her one of the most influential people of this century.
Many people may have an image in their head of a feminist, as a reflection of the Miss America Protest of 1968; this was the second wave of feminism, where hundreds of liberal women protested against pageant and what it stood for (Napikoski, n.d.). “The second wave was increasingly theoretical, based on a fusion of neo-Marxism and psycho-analytical theory, and began to associate the subjugation of women with broader critiques of patriarchy, capitalism, normative heterosexuality, and the woman's role as wife and mother.... ... middle of paper ... ... Beyonce ‘harms children’ and is ‘part of the problem’ with black teenage pregnancy, claims US TV host Bill O’Reilly. Retrieved from The Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/beyonce-harms-children-and-is-part-of-the-problem-with-black-teenage-pregnancy-claims-us-tv-host-bill-oreilly-9302728.html Smith, L. (2014, January 14).
Backlash against the “Me Too” movement? It would be a jest to say there is a person, within the field of the internet, who has not recognized the existence of the “Me Too” movement. Although the credit of publicising was given to the actress Alyssa Milano, after her reaction tweet earlier last October: "If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote 'Me too.' as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem," it was founded a decade ago by Tarana Burke, an American civil right activist. The motive of the phrase was to empower women who suffered from different sexual harassment and assault especially the young, colored and those from a low wealth community.
For instance, Holly Jarrett created the #AmINext movement after the passing of her aboriginal cousin Loretta Saunders who attended Saint Mary’s University. Since 1980 “1,181 indigenous women [have] disappeared or [have] been killed,” resulting in a threat that is “four times greater than that faced by non-Aboriginal women” (Giese par. 10). Through this movement, Jarrett aimed to “put a human face on the grim statistic and help push the federal inquiry” (Giese par. 12). Her efforts instigated numerous posts on social media across the country and brought awareness to the issue of sexual violence. This campaign was an individual effort that was not affiliated with a university policy and made citizens aware of sexual violence on a global scale. Her efforts assisted in the reduction of sexual violence in not only her community, but nationwide and had a greater involvement from citizens than a university prevention program. Another campaign that spreads awareness of sexual violence is the annual “Slutwalk” located in Toronto. Participating individuals of the walk “dres[s] in feather boas, lacy bras[,] and Converse sneakers,” while protesting issues of “women’s sexual safety and liberation” (Giese par. 21). This protest inspired Columbia University student Emma
During her early life, Hillary Clinton learned that a huge problem across the globe was gender inequality. Women and men were not equal. Men were making more money than women for the same jobs. She believed she could change this. On September 5, 1995 Hillary Clinton gave a speech at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women. Clinton uses powerful rhetoric in order to create an air of sympathy for women among her audience. She is hoping to make the world become more aware of the inequalities women face daily while also making them feel ashamed for their previous actions of discriminating women, which would cause them to change their ways. She uses her speech “Women’s Rights Are Human Rights” to create awareness of the discrimination
Maureen Bridgid Dowd was born in Washington, D.C. on January 14, 1952. She was born to Mike Dowd and Peggy Dowd, she is the youngest of five children. Maureen graduated from Immaculata High School in 1969. She obtained her Degree in English at the Catholic University of America. Maureen Dowd is one of the most well-known columnists in America. During her career obtained many awards(.)
#Me Too is an international movement against sexual harassment and assault. It being used on social media to help demonstrate the widespread prevalence of sexual assault, especially in the work place. The term sexual harassment was only coined in 1975 by a group of women at Cornell University after an employee, Carmita Wood, filed for unemployment benefits after she had resigned because her supervisor touched her inappropriately (Reed, 2013). The term “Me Too” was first used more than a decade ago by social worker activist Tarana Burke as part of her work building solidarity among young survivors of sexual harassment and assault (Jaffe, 2018).
If one to were to take a look at an image of Miley Cyrus ten years ago, one in the present, and one in the future they would not believe she is the same person. On March 26th, 2006, the live-action comedy show, Hannah Montana was launched on Disney Channel with Miley Cyrus playing her first major role as the show’s protagonist, conveniently named Hannah Montana. The television show showcased a 13 year old teenager’s everyday misadventures as living a double life as Miley Stewart and Hannah Montana. The show instantly became a fan favorite, permanently staining Miley Cyrus’ public image as Hannah Montana. At this point, Miley was young, she was innocent, had meaning, and was living the life of an interesting
Burke's objective was to spread awareness of sexual abuse and sexual assault in our society today. Me too movement has been an active movement for the past 10 years. Thanks to this movement, we have people who are victims and they are willing to share their experiences. The movement has not gone too far in fact, it's helped another woman to speak out on this issue. For years woman have never spoken of this issue because they felt embarrassed and ashamed, but they no longer have to do that. According to the Atlantic an article posted by Sophie Gilbert makes a very good point, she says "For a long time, most women defined their own sexual harassment and assault in this way: as something unspoken, something private, something to be ashamed of acknowledging." This is why this movement has not gone too far it's just encouraging people to not be victims anymore. We can't let a person who sexually harasses us walk around like nothing happened. This is why this movement is so important because now people are being held responsible for things they have done to hurt others. Now that this movement has become widely popular man are thinking twice before sexually harassing a woman again. Gilbert adds "The power of #MeToo, though, is that it takes something that women had long kept quiet about and transforms it into a movement." You no longer have to hide in silence anymore women should no longer be in fear. Thanks to this movement women are starting to listen to each other stories and this is why people are coming forward because this has become a very empowering movement and it helped and change the life of so many people around the
In a news about the 32 years old pop star Beyonce “Gender Equality is a Myth” (CNN Wire 13 Jan. 2014). She wrote an essay about this on Maria’s website, The Shriver Report. She wrote that we need to...
In 2013 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie delivered a speech for a Ted Talk based on a very controversial issue, gender inequality. A year later, in 2014, Ngozi was inspired to transform her speech into the book, “We Should All Be Feminist”. The book was all transcripted by her Ted Talk in 2013. In this novel, Ngozi ultimately argues about gender inequality, and how individuals are compressed to live by social expectations or stereotypes, and fights against the negative interpretation that individuals have of feminism.