Would You Co-Create This Talk With Me?

A few weeks from now, I’ll be joining attendees from around the world at the African Women in Media conference. In addition to co-leading a few workshops on some of my favorite topics (including storytelling and coalition building), I’ll be speaking on a panel about continental initiatives and global movements like #MeToo and – spoiler alert – I’d love to hear your input.

We’ll be asking questions like “How might we challenge sexual harassment in the industry?” and “Which interventions are effective and which are not – and why?” The panel will bring together women from several countries to talk about gender discrimination and oppression in the media industry.

Aware of the facts that:

1) a week-long conference could be held on the topic of gender discrimination alone and we still wouldn’t cover all of the nuances; and

2) as the only American panelist, it is critical that I speak from more than my own personal experience,

I’m going to try something different with this post: rather than put complete thoughts on a topic here all at once, I’d like to make this a collaborative work-in-progress. I’ll review all of the comments as I’m preparing and will update the post along the way – and again after the conference to share insights from the conversation there.

Join me?

Let’s start with the fact that the #MeToo movement has grown into a major force around the world that has resulted in historical shifts, including many powerful men being held accountable for their inappropriate behavior. The sheer size and power of the movement highlights how widespread gender-based discrimination and oppression is, and how far we still need to go to fully address it. As we look globally, there are unique cultural challenges but also factors in common. There’s incredible potential to learn from and support one another around the world. 

For my part, I’ll begin with a brief overview of #MeToo, starting in 2006 with its inspiring founder, Tarana Burke. I plan to share examples of tangible, positive results the movement has yielded, with an eye to factors that may have been overlooked or unknown along the way. Next, I’ll turn to the backlash, including what was surprising and what, sadly, was not. Lastly, I’ll take a look at where “we” are now – and there are many ways to define “we:” as the United States… as American women... as women in media.... as women as a whole... and as a planet.

(All that in 15 minutes? We'll see!)

Ok, marvelous readers. Let’s do this. (And in that “us,” I include everyone – all ages, genders, backgrounds, affiliations, etc.) I deeply value your thoughts, stories, ideas, #MustReads, and questions leading into this conversation. (And if you prefer to share directly, let’s connect!) 

UPDATE - July 6, 2019: In trying to find a common definition of #MeToo, I'm finding instead a troubling trend: deeply angry and at times misogynistic dismissals of the movement. I'm disappointed but not terribly surprised by the troglodyte trolling on Urban Dictionary, but I expected more of Macmillan than an examined suggestion that the movement has "gone too far," as if geographic reach of a hashtag has anything to do with impact or the realities women across the U.S. and around the world continue to face:

I'm curious, readers - how would you define #MeToo?