Feminism and #MeToo: The Power of the Collective

Abstract

In this chapter, written for the forthcoming Oxford Handbook on Feminism and Law in the U.S. (Deborah Brake, Martha Chamallas, & Verna Williams eds.) (forthcoming 2021), I situate #MeToo as a feminist movement and consider what it — and the responses to it — reveal about challenges for feminism, especially the challenges brought on by individualization and emerging anti-feminist collective narratives. In doing so, I draw lessons from history, including the effort to combat sexual harassment through employment discrimination law, as well as from contemporary commentary. #MeToo may turn out to be the most powerful feminist movement of the 21st century. It brings to the forefront the depth and breadth of sexual abuse and harassment in our society and calls for meaningful change. It will only achieve that change, however, if its supporters can resist individualization and respond adequately to competing collective counter-narratives.