The response was massive.<\/b>
\nActress Alyssa Milano took to Twitter on Sunday with an idea, suggested by a friend, she said.
She urged any women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted to write two words on Twitter: \u201cMe too.\u201d
\u201cIf all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote \u2018Me too\u2019 as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem,\u201d wrote the actress, who is known for her roles in \u201cWho\u2019s the Boss?,\u201d \u201cMelrose Place\u201d and \u201cCharmed,\u201d and as a host on \u201cProject Runway All Stars.\u201d
Milano starred in \u201cCharmed\u201d alongside Rose McGowan, one of film producer Harvey Weinstein\u2019s accusers. She is also friends with Weinstein\u2019s wife, Georgina Chapman, and wrote in a blog post that she was sickened by the \u201cdisturbing\u201d sexual abuse allegations against him.
Women listened. Within hours, tweets with the words \u201cme too\u201d began appearing in droves. By 3 o\u2019clock Monday morning, almost 200,000 metoo tweets were published by Twitter\u2019s count. The stories came pouring forth on Facebook as well with nearly 80,000 people said to be \u201ctalking about this\u201d by the wee hours Monday.
The messages were striking in their simplicity, and in the sheer number of them. Those two words soon became a hashtag, the top trend nationwide on Twitter and yet another rallying cry for women \u2013 and men \u2013 who have experienced some type of sexual harassment or assault.
If you\u2019ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write \u2018me too\u2019 as a reply to this tweet. pic.twitter.com\/k2oeCiUf9n
\u2014 Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) October 15,2017
Many shared personal stories of their experiences:
\u2013 There was the woman who said she was assaulted by a man who pretended to work at a local YMCA, and the woman who said she was groped in an elevator by a superior who was nearly two decades older. \u201cI never told anyone,\u201d she said.
\u2013 Another recounted how in the sixth grade, a group of boys held her up against a wall as they pulled up her shirt to \u201csee if I stuffed my bra with Charmin or Bounty.\u201d
\u201cThe boys barely got a slap on the wrist but I was socially ostracized because I \u2018couldn\u2019t take a joke,’\u201d she said.
\u2013 A number of men shared their stories as well, including one who said he was raped by two men in high school and has never gotten over it.
Others were simpler.
\u201cBy my mom\u2019s then boyfriend,\u201d one tweet said.
\u201cat 8, at 12, at 14 at 19 MeToo,\u201d said another.
\u201cMe too, my mother too, my sister too, my grandmother too, my best friends too,\u201d said another.
A number of celebrities joined in, including actresses Rosario Dawson, Debra Messing and Anna Paquin, admitting they too had dealt with similar experiences. Actress Gabrielle Union and singer Lady Gaga also tweeted the hashtag.
The MeToo Twitter campaign was at least the second of its kind since decades of sexual abuse allegations emerged against film producer Harvey Weinstein.
On October 5, the day the New York Times expose revealed the claims against Weinstein, thousands of people took to Twitter to share their own encounters with sexual harassment in the workplace, using the hashtag MyHarveyWeinstein.
Just over a year ago, a similar response, under the hashtag NotOkay, followed a leaked 2005 \u201cAccess Hollywood\u201d video in which Donald Trump boasted about kissing and groping women.
Each time this has happened, predatory behavior once shrouded in secrecy, and still tolerated in many settings, has become a little more public. Victims who may have suffered in silence seem to feel liberated, knowing they\u2019re not alone.
Some women and victims of sexual assault expressed that Sunday\u2019s stream of tweets felt empowering. For others, the sheer volume of posts \u2013 the pervasiveness of the issue \u2013 was disturbing. As Natalie Gouch\u00e9 wrote on Facebook:
\u201cAs I read all of the Me Too posts out there I feel heartbroken. So many women have been sexually assaulted. And many in their youth. As I think to myself \u201cit\u2019s never happened to me.\u201d I realize that while I\u2019ve not been sexually assaulted I have been sexually harassed (many times before.) Sadly that\u2019s the case with most women at some point in their lives right? . .. Seeing so many women vocalize that they have been sexually assaulted or harassed gives more women the courage and bravery to speak up, tell someone, and not feel so ashamed.\u201d
\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t have to out ourselves as survivors in order for people to grasp the magnitude of how systemic assault & harassment are,\u201d one tweet read.
Days earlier, a different Twitter campaign spread in response to the social media platform\u2019s temporary suspension of the account of actress Rose McGowan, after she had tweeted about Weinstein.
In solidarity, scores of women vowed to leave Twitter all day on Friday, and used the hashtag WomenBoycottTwitter.
Twitter said it banned the actress because she tweeted a private phone number, violating its service terms. After the backlash, Twitter lifted the suspension and said it would \u201cbe clearer about these policies and decisions in the future.\u201d
Milano joined in the boycott, tweeting that Friday would be the first day in over 10 years that she wouldn\u2019t tweet.
McGowan joined the \u201cme too\u201d movement overnight.
Milano spoke out against Weinstein on her website, Patriot not Partisan, on Oct. 9, four days after the New York Times story was published.
She said the statement was \u201ccomplicated\u201d for personal reasons, including the fact that she is good friends with Weinstein\u2019s wife, who has since said she is leaving the film producer. The Weinsteins also have two young children Milano\u2019s children have known their entire lives, Milano wrote.
\u201cIt is because of my love\u201d for Weinstein\u2019s wife and children \u201cthat I haven\u2019t publicly commented on this until now,\u201d Milano wrote. \u201cPlease don\u2019t confuse my silence for anything other than respect for a dear friend and her beautiful children.\u201d
\u201cThis is not an uncommon occurrence,\u201d she added. \u201cThis is a sick culture. Men like Harvey Weinstein are around every corner. Men who undermine women and their strength, ability and intelligence exist everywhere.\u201d
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