From the Women’s March to #MeToo and #TimesUp campaigns, will their social media dominance really affect change?

For centuries women, have been fighting to be treated equally and yet, in 2018, the war hasn’t been won. In elementary and high school I was deprived of any knowledge of the Woman Suffrage Movement which began in 1848 (Women’s Suffrage, n.d.). The fortunate opportunity came in a Public Campaigns class while doing my undergraduate degree.  I learned about pioneer crusaders like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony who helped pave the way for the Nineteenth Amendment to the constitution, granting American women the right to vote.

Although I learned about a lot through this campaign, there was still the question of color.  While women of all races have common political interests, the alliance of their movements has not always been easy.  It took an effort in researching black female leaders during the Women’s Suffrage Movement.  Black feminist writer Evette Dionne argues that prominent black leaders like Sojourner Truth and Frances Harper were left out of the Women’s Suffrage Movement.   Although it’s easy—and true— to say that racism might have split many women’s movements for many years.  After bearing witness to the effective Women’s March, it is evident that integrated marketing efforts are a primary influencer in women attaining a united front.

The Women’s March drew half a million women—from all backgrounds—to march in Washington and more than five million across the United States.  In fact, the organizers reported that marches took place across all seven continents, including Antarctica!  In analyzing the integrated marketing efforts of the Women’s March social media indeed had the strongest impact. The movement commenced with the creation of a Facebook event by Teresa Shook and soon led to similar pages being created by   Evvie Harmon, Fontaine Pearson, Breanne Butler, and New York fashion designer Bob Bland. To ensure the march was led by women of diverse races and backgrounds Tamika D. Mallory, Carmen Perez and Linda Sarsour were brought on to serve as co-chair alongside Bob Bland. Across their social media platforms partnerships were also forged with Planned Parenthood, the Natural Resources Defense Council, AFL–CIO, Amnesty International USA, the Mothers of the Movement, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the National Organization for Women, MoveOn.org, Human Rights Watch, Code Pink, Black Girls Rock!, the NAACP, the American Indian Movement, Emily’s List, Oxfam, Greenpeace USA, the League of Women Voters amongst several others.  Several celebrities political figures around the world endorsed and participated in the campaign including Ashley Judd, Senator Bernie Sanders, and John Legend.

The phrase “Me Too” was first created by Tarana Burke in 2006 on the then-popular social network site Myspace (thankfully she got the credit for doing so!).   Burke stated that in 1997 she encountered a young girl in Alabama who told her about being sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend and at the time she wished she said “me too” to the young girl.  Fast forward to 2017, Alyssa Milano started the use of the hashtag #MeToo in response to the accusations against Harvey Weinstein (by Rose McGowan and Asia Argento) and many other public figures of sexual harassment/assault, and other abusive behavior.  If you have been using any form of media, you know this went viral and is still very much current—just two weeks ago Kate Upton said #metoo to guess co-founder Paul Marciano. The movement created more than a viral effect on social media platforms—Times Magazine dedicated their 2017 Person of the Year to the silence breakers—Rose McGowan created a documentary called Citizen Rose—Men like Liam Neeson started saying #MeToo—The #TimeUp movement was born.    This campaign all started with a hashtag and was integrated into several media platforms.  Sadly, to say as of December 2017, I too I’m saying #metoo. Had it not been for the dominance and diversification of this campaign I might not have had the courage to type this statement.

Fast-forward to 2018, and like Oprah said at the Golden Globes…the time is up! The movement is the next step to the #MeToo movement and has raised over 20 million dollars for its legal defense fund to defend women from all industries who have been victims of sexual abuse and systematic inequalities.  The #TimesUp movement dominated social media, and traditional media platforms during the Golden Globes.  Almost every single person attending the event wore black as part of the movement, and all the men wore pins saying “times up.”  There’s also “time up” apparel and accessories being sold in various mediums. When visiting the Times Up Website, the first thing one would notice in big bold letters is “Dear Sisters.” The reason I highlighted this is because it appears to me that there is now an alliance in women’s movement.  Social media and other integrated marketing efforts seem to be a primary influencer in women of all races and backgrounds coming together to advocate as one.  But will this sisterhood really affect change?