What’s in a Hashtag? Mapping the Disjunct Between Australian Campus Sexual Assault Activism and #MeToo

Abstract

ABSTRACT In 2017, the #MeToo hashtag drew focus to the issue of sexual harassment in Australia, following its widespread reach in the United States. However, long before #MeToo made waves around the globe, feminist activists on university campuses were highlighting the prevalence of sexual violence in their communities. These dialogues in Australia have proceeded on somewhat separate terrains, with relatively few student activists taking up the #MeToo banner in their campaigns. Nonetheless, the narrative of #MeToo continues to be retrospectively mapped onto student sexual assault activism in the media and public discourse. This paper considers the disjunct between the campus sexual assault movement and the ‘#MeToo moment’ in Australia through first-hand research conducted with student feminist activists. It explores the racial and class politics of the so-called ‘#MeToo moment’ in Australia, and critiques the way in which diverse feminist movements against sexual violence have been subsumed under the master narrative of #MeToo. For these movements to have transformative potential, I suggest, requires sexual violence activists to engage with anti-colonial and anti-capitalist struggles, beyond the narrow vision posited by #MeToo.