VISUALIZE ME TOO

Sports Illustrated made a swimsuit issue that responds to the #MeToo movement by including photos of naked models with positive words written on their bodies. The magazine argued that  this allows women to be themselves without fear of judgement, but the swimsuit issue and the images in it are created for consumption by men. In this image, the word “TRUTH” seems to suggest that this image is the real truth-- that women are happy to be objectified. Social media images that women use to represent themselves show that this not the case. Contrast this photo with the one of John Yuyi’s confrontational stare and “Me too” written across her face.

By featuring a group of women rather than one, this photograph helps show that the problems of sexual harassment and assault are pervasive. Yet, the women are still pictured as traditionally feminine, with make-up and jewelry, perpetuating the image of the “perfect victim” that deserves to be believed.

Published by the New York Times, this image is associated with an article discussing the importance of social media in the #metoo movement and how it “gives women a voice.” The article featured pictures of womens’ bodies with text and images covering them. While the message of the article is empowering, the images appear very sexual. This one in particular fits with a visual culture that is created for the male gaze and fetishizes a woman’s mouth. However, it should be noted that the image was created by a young, female artist, John Yuyi.

This Instagram user posted a screenshot of a text message from her attacker. The easily recognized frame reads “Facebook” and has a date and time stamp. These visual clues lend believability to her post. Rather than turn the camera on themselves, #MeToo participants were using Instagram to flip the camera onto the normally hidden actions and words of men who harass and assault.

Some women used #MeToo to expose their attackers. These images were posted on Facebook by Deborah Copaken and tagged #MeToo. They were part of a photo series of men who had harassed her on the street. As reported by Copaken on Medium.com, Facebook initially removed these images and banned Copaken from Facebook because they said it was “content that threatens or promotes sexual violence or exploitation.” The ban was lifted and the images restored after Copaken reported on the incident.

The New York Times has an opinion section specifically dedicated to the #MeToo movement. Is this a show of support or another media conglomerate trying to take a piece of the “#metoo pie?” A recently published opinion piece was titled “Has #MeToo gone too far?” Both positive and negative comments flooded the posting, many zeroing in on specific statements and taken out of context. No does mean no. But what about when there’s no question being asked or when you’re in a position where you don’t feel empowered to say “no”? Similar images of women speaking out together at protests can be found in social media #MeToo posts.

Artist John Yuyi’s selfie is powerful because she stares confrontationally at the camera and it includes the words “Me too” written boldly across her face. Even while posting a selfie, she shows solidarity with through the words of the movement. This can be contrasted with one of her photos used by the New York Times, which featured a close-up of a woman’s mouth and #MeToo stamped on her tongue. It’s interesting that Yuyi used this photo on her personal Twitter page while the NYT chose a more fetishistic image squarely in the tradition of the voyeuristic male gaze.

Two women, Anna Zuccaro, left, and her sister, Mia Merrill, recently and unsuccessfully petitioned the Metropolitan Museum of Art to take down a painting of a young girl by Balthus. The women received overwhelming negative public feedback possibly fueled by The New York Times publishing multiple opinion pieces about oversensitivity, such as the article “Has #MeToo gone too far?” Many famous pieces at the Metropolitan Museum of Art are centered around nudity, primarily of women and young girls. The sisters stand alone in this image, dwarfed by the city around them, suggesting their isolation in these efforts.

On March 27, 2015, the New York Times used this photo to accompany their article on the loss of Pao’s gender discrimination case against Kleiner Perkins. Pao appears to be leading her legal team as they take a break from the courtroom session; again, she appears to be smiling, confident, and put-together.

This photo was taken on March 10, 2015, as Pao and her legal team stepped outside the courtroom for a lunch break. Pao appears to be smiling, confident, and well put-together.

In July 2014, as Pao’s gender discrimination lawsuit against Kleiner Perkins gained increasing amounts of public attention, this photo was used both to introduce Pao in 2014 (at the time, she was the interim CEO of Reddit) and to accompany news articles that announced her resignation from Reddit in July 2015. In this photo, Pao (center) is at the Reddit offices, appearing confident and in control.

When women used close-ups or selfies tagged #MeToo, their choices were often strategic and significant. Actress Uma Thurman used a screenshot from Kill Bill: Vol. 2 in her #MeToo post on Instagram. It’s significant because: 1) the scene takes place immediately after her character kills a manipulative and cruel male character, and 2) Thurman was injured during this shot and had accused producer Harvey Weinstein and Director Quentin Tarantino of forcing her to perform it against her will. Fans will recognize that context and the image’s connotative meaning.

USA Today featured an article focusing on #metoo movement in France, or their version of it. The author states, “Sex is not considered taboo in France as it is in the United States. Come-ons — welcome or not — are considered a part of life.” Naturally, not everyone agrees with this statement. Pictured is French author, Sandra Muller, creator of the #balancetonporc (roughly translated as “out your pig”) phrase to speak out about sexual harassment. A group of supporters have since used used the hashtag to create a website where women could come forward anonymously about sexual harassment.

This post received little attention, but is representative of many tweets as #MeToo went viral. Individuals who included an image in their tweets often chose landscapes or cityscapes rather than images of themselves or other women. This image of a city skyline, contextualized with a short poem, suggests the sweeping magnitude of sexual harassment and assault.  

Associated with the article titled, “The #MeToo Moment: Navigating Sex in the ‘Gray Zone’” published by The New York Times, this piecemeal and grayscale image is supposed to represent how there is a massive ‘grey area’ surrounding sexual encounters - both in the workplace and everyday life. Some people may be looking for more guidance on socially acceptable behaviors, while others may respond with, “Be a decent human being” and how “right vs. wrong” is more of a feeling. But then what is decent and what qualifies and right and wong? This conceptual artwork attempts to convey that issues around #MeToo are complex.

On October 24, nine days after the hashtag went viral, Twitter created an emoji for #MeToo. It was automatically included in every post tagged #MeToo from before and after that date. The emoji has three raised hands of different skin tones on a pink background. The use of pink reinforces feminine stereotypes and raised hands carry less power than the raised fists seen in other posts. Twitter chose the symbol, not individual users. Yet, in accordance with other representations, it conveys inclusivity and the magnitude of those affected.

Many #MeToo social media posts included only text. The layout of text in these posts has its own aesthetic. As seen in this tweet, many women favored short lines of text that are easily seen and comprehended at a glance.