#MeToo in China

#METOO Movement In CHINA

By: Grace Moore

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INDEX

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#MeToo: US Contexts

Chinese Feminist Contexts

#MeToo: Effects in China

Conclusion

#MeTOO: US COntexts

Brief background information on the birth of the #MeToo movement before it went international

#MeToo: US Contxts

• Tarana Burke founded the #MeToo movement in 2006
• The "Me Too" movement that Burke created is not the same at "#MeToo"
• 2017: Actress Ashley Judd & many others accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault
• October 2017, less than 2 weeks later: Actress Alyssa Milano tweets: “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.”
• The #MeToo movement explodes in the US

Black Herstory: Tarana Burke

Optional video

Chinese Feminist Contexts

Into what environment did the #MeToo movement arrive?

Chinese Feminist Contexts

Confucianism (551-479 BCE)

May Fourth Movement (1919)

Mao Zedong's PRC (1949)

Concerns About Women's Status (1980s-90s)

#MeToo: Effects In China

#MeToo took root in a very different context than that of the US

#MeToo: Effects in China

October 2017/January 2018: #MeToo arrives in ChinaHindrances to the movement's growth Benefits of social media as a platform

#MeToo: Effects in china

The fate of the face of the movement

• After coming forward with her case in 2018, a Chinese woman named Zhou Xiaoxuan became the face of Chinas burgeoning #MeToo movement.
• Zhou accused prominent TV anchor Zhu Jun of sexual assault in 2014, an allegation Zhu denies.
• September 2021: After three years, a Beijing court finally ruled on the case: they claimed that Zhou had not provided sufficient evidence to support her accusation. The case was dropped.
• Instead of recieving the public apology and RMB50,000 ($7,600) in damages she asked for, Zhou now faces a defamation countersuit from Zhu.

#metoo: Effects in China

• There had been a few cases of reprecussions for harassers in China. That combined with the updated Civil Code of January 2021 that officially defined sexual assault in law gave Zhou Xiaoxuan and those following her case (the entire #MeToo movement in China) a lot of hope.
• In an essay released after the court ruling, Zhou detailed the many ways the courts delayed the case (for over 2 years!), prevented her from retreiving or using a lot of evidence, and other obstructions.
• "I have done all that I can. I knew this would be the last hearing, but I never imagined it'd turn out like this," explained a tearful Zhou after the final verdict.
• The Chinese government has been recently censoring social media even more, especially after the onset of the pandemic. Even the #MiTu homonym has been banned.
• According to an article by NPR on the case, "An August report from Yale Law School researchers found only 83 lawsuits concerning sexual harassment were filed in China between 2018-2020 in the public law enforcement database. Of those 83 cases, just six were brought by victims against a harasser. The remainder were filed by the accused harassers for damages against the alleged victim or their former employee for wrongful termination."
• Recently, more and more women coming forward with accusations and those supporting them have been disappearing from public view and some have had their social media accounts banned.

conclusion

• Why is the #MeToo movement in China failing?
• The state of #MeToo in China is extremely dissimilar to that of the US. The Chinese government is not only more repressive than in the US, but the feminist movement in China and Chinese cultural attitudes towards women are vastly different due to the distinctive historical/cultural contexts.
• Where will the #MeToo movement in China go from here?
• That depends on many factors, including the perseverence of Chinese feminists and global attention to the issue. This is a very complex issue that deserves attention and action.

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