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#YesAllWomen is a Twitter hashtag and social media campaign in which users share examples or stories of misogyny and violence against women. First used in online conversations about misogyny following the 2014 Isla Vista killings, the hashtag was popular in May 2014, when it gave rise to a grassroots campaign in which women share their personal stories about harassment and discrimination. The campaign attempts to raise awareness of the intimidation and sexism women experience, often from people they know.

Origin

The hashtag started on May 24, 2014, after a killing spree in Isla Vista, California, in which the killer cited a hatred of women and a history of rejection as a motive for killing six men and women, and wounding thirteen others, before committing suicide. The killer previously indicated in online postings and YouTube videos that he would punish women for denying him sex and he would also punish men who, unlike him, were sexually successful. After the killings, some commentators pointed to the killer's history of mental illness, while others believed his beliefs and actions had been influenced by a misogynistic culture that rewards male sexual aggression.

In the wake of the Isla Vista attack, some Twitter users made arguments that "not all men" commit such crimes, with others responding by satirizing those arguments and deeming them defensive and irrelevant. Not All Men has been an internet meme since before the Isla Vista killings, used to satirize the "not all men" argument in discussions about misogyny and sexism.

In reaction to the "not all men" debates, an anonymous female Twitter user then created "#YesAllWomen", which quickly became used by women throughout social media to share their experiences of sexism. Some tweets included "'I have a boyfriend' is the easiest way to get a man to leave you alone. Because he respects another man more than you. #yesallwomen", "I shouldn't have to hold my car keys in hand like a weapon & check over my shoulder every few seconds when I walk at night #YesAllWomen", and "Because every single woman I know has a story about a man feeling entitled to access to her body. Every. Single. One. #YesAllWomen."

Reach and impact

Within four days of the first use of #YesAllWomen, the hashtag had been tweeted 1.2 million times, surpassing predecessors that also drew attention to violence and sexism toward women. Four days after its first use, The Guardian commentator Jessica Valenti wrote that the YesAllWomen hashtag helped illustrate the prevalence of everyday sexism against women. Rebecca Solnit described it as a watershed moment "in which you could see change happen" and credited it for popularizing the concept of "sexual entitlement", which she characterized as male fury at women for not having met their emotional or sexual needs. In an interview with Democracy Now!, Solnit stated that the hashtag helped change the way that society talks about rape. Cynthia Calkins Mercado, an associate professor of psychology, told The Kansas City Star that the hashtag changed her mind about the prevalence of misogyny in American society, and has raised awareness of women's experiences. Writing in The New Yorker, Sasha Weiss called the campaign "a kind of memorial, a stern demand for a more just society", and praised Twitter as a powerful vehicle for activism.

Criticism

Samantha Levine, a columnist at The Daily Beast, wrote that conflating dress code problems and men whistling at women with the Isla Vista killings risks women who have been victims of violence not being taken seriously when they use the hashtag. Emily Shire criticized some #YesAllWomen tweets as trivial in the context of the Isla Vista killings, citing examples such as "I've never seen a hot husband with a fat wife on a sitcom."

Cartoon controversy

On June 1, 2014, cartoonists Michael Kupperman and David Rees were scheduled to release a political cartoon entitled "Testosterone Entitlement Theatre Presents The Man-Babies in 'Hashtag Harassment!'" for The New York Times's Sunday installment's "See Something, Say Something" that satirized the Men's rights movement's response to the hashtag. However, the newspaper believed that "the subject matter (male rage, online bullying & the hashtag #yesallwomen) was 'too sensitive'" to publish and refused to print it. In response to the editorial decision, both Kupperman and Rees uploaded the comic strip independently. That weekend, The New York Times published a different comic by Brian McFadden that tackled the same issues.

See also

• Domestic violence
• Violence Against Women Act

References

1. ^ Medina, Jennifer (May 27, 2014). "Campus Killings Set Off Anguished Conversation About the Treatment of Women". The New York Times. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
2. ^ Grinberg, Emanuella. "Why #YesAllWomen took off on Twitter". CNN. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
3. Pearce, Matt. "#YesAllWomen: Isla Vista attack puts a spotlight on gender violence". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
4. Lee, Jolie. "#YesAllWomen: Killing spree sparks furor about misogyny". USA Today. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
5. Shu, Catherine. "#YesAllWomen Shows That Misogyny Is Everyone's Problem". TechCrunch. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
6. "'Elliot Rodger's Retribution': Santa Barbara killer in his own sick words before shooting". NY Daily News. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
7. Hess, Amanda (29 May 2014). ""If I Can't Have Them, No One Will": How Misogyny Kills Men". Slate. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
8. Yan, Holly (27 May 2014). "Inside the gunman's head: Rejection, jealousy and vow to kill 'beautiful girls'". CNN. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
9. Greenfield, Beth. "UCSB Shootings Prompt #YesAllWomen Trend, Outrage Over Misogyny". Yahoo! Shine. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
10. Harold Pollack (June 17, 2014). "Why law enforcement missed Elliot Rodger's warnings signs". Washington Post.
11. ^ Weiss, Sasha (26 May 2014). "The Power Of #YesAllWomen". The New Yorker. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
12. Plait, Phil (27 May 2014). "#YesAllWomen". Slate magazine. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
13. Grinberg, Emmanuella (27 May 2014). "Why #YesAllWomen took off on Twitter". CNN. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
14. Dempsey, Amy (26 May 2014). "#YesAllWomen hashtag sparks revelations, anger, debate in wake of California killing spree". Toronto Star. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
15. Plait, Phil (27 May 2014). "#YesAllWomen". Slate. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
16. Bailey, Jasmine (25 May 2014). "What's up with the #YesAllWomen and #NotAllMen hashtags?". Springfield Sun-Times. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
17. Pachal, Pachal (26 May 2014). "How the #YesAllWomen Hashtag Began". Mashable. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
18. Zimmerman, Jess (28 April 2014). "Not All Men: A Brief History of Every Dude's Favorite Argument". Time. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
19. McKinney, Kelsey (15 May 2014). "Here's why women have turned the "not all men" objection into a meme". Vox. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
20. Pachal, Pete (26 May 2014). "How the #YesAllWomen Hashtag Began". Mashable. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
21. ^ Valenti, Jessica. "#YesAllWomen reveals the constant barrage of sexism that women face". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
22. "#YesAllWomen Puts Spotlight On Misogyny". NPR. 28 May 2014. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
23. Feeney, Nolan (25 May 2014). "The Most Powerful #YesAllWomen Tweets". Time. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
24. Solnit, Rebecca (3 June 2014). "Why #Yesallwomen Matters". Mother Jones. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
25. "#YesAllWomen: Rebecca Solnit on the Santa Barbara Massacre & Viral Response to Misogynist Violence". Democracy Now!. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
26. Adler, Eric; Williams, Mara Rose; Klein, Kaitlyn (3 June 2014). "After California killings, Twitter's #YesAllWomen reveals the vast extent of misogyny". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
27. Levine, Samantha (May 27, 2014). "Not All Sexism is Equal". The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
28. Shire, Emily (May 27, 2014). "#YesAllWomen Has Jumped the Shark". The Daily Beast. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
29. Kupperman, Michael (June 6, 2014). "The Comic Not Fit to Print". Squarespace. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
30. McDonough, Katie. "This is the #YesAllWomen comic the New York Times wouldn't publish". Salon. Retrieved 6 June 2014.

External links

• Postings to #YesAllWomen on Twitter
• The Comic Not Fit to Print. - Political cartoon by Michael Kupperman and David Rees inspired by #YesAllWomen
• Cartoon: Entitled manchildren magazine - Political cartoon by Brian McFadden inspired by "not all men" - Featured in New York Times on June 1, 2014
• KnowYourMeme "Not all men are like that"
• KnowYourMeme "YesAllWomen"

• Women's rights
• Violence against women
• Feminism in the United States
• Hashtags
• Feminist protests