Since the start of this year the #timesup movement has been taking the world by storm. After a plethora of sexual assault cases were brought to light, prominent women in Hollywood have decided that sexual harassment must stop and must stop now. While the Time’s Up movement specifically focuses on the harassment seen in the film industry, it calls for an end to all the abuse women have had to face because of their sex. Time’s Up not only acts as a platform for women to voice the inequalities they have faced due to gender, but also their race, sexuality and economic status. This is important as it’s an idea that some feminists overlook, other factors such as race play a large role in the type of sexual harassment that a person faces. If you want to learn more about intersectional feminism refer to this article, as it not only explains but describes why it’s important.
The campaign calls for more representation in all areas of life: in offices, film and yes, in the White House. Not only acting as a platform, the Time’s Up campaign offers a legal defense fund for all those who have faced sexual harassment, providing them with assistance in however they plan on moving forward. The National Women’s Law Center is in charge of the funds as they provide free consultations and assists all those who face retaliation in the workplace. Women can either request assistance or sign up to volunteer as an attorney at their official website, Time’s Up.
One of the first acts of this movement was to call for all actresses attending the Golden Globes early in January to wear black as a sign of solidarity with sexual assault victims. This charge was answered with an overwhelming response, all but three (Meher Tatna, Barbara Meier and Bianca Blanco) were decked out in their best and darkest. Throughout the night multiple women who either presented or received awards gave a shout out to the campaign, declaring that the time for gender inequality is over. One of the most memorable speeches came from Oprah, who won the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award. Her speech focused on the power dynamics between men and women in the workplace. After the show it was announced that all the women who wore black would be selling their dresses with the proceeds going to #timesup.
This is not the only campaign that has been standing up to sexual harassment. At the Grammys multiple artists could be seen wearing white roses to market their support not only for Time’s Up but also the #MeToo movement. Some artists chose to hold roses, while some even made white roses the centerpieces of their ensemble. It will be interesting to see what the group has planned for the upcoming 90th Academy Awards event.
This movement serves are a reminder to all of us that gender inequality is not something of the past, it’s still present today and is not something we can ignore. Instead of denying its existence we need to recognize and stop it. Before we can move forward we need to identify the specific things that are unacceptable and not allow them to happen again.
If you want to learn more about the movement visit https://www.timesupnow.com/.
VOICE OF THE VOTELESS 