Feminist futures

MeToo’s possibilities as poiesis, techné, and pharmakon

Bibliographic Data

ID12690271
AuthorsBrianna I Wiens (0009-0003-9942-3862, Communication and Culture, York University, Toronto, Canada, corresponding author), Shana Macdonald (0000-0001-5828-6345, Communication Arts, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada)
Year2020
Volume21
Issue7
Pages1108-1124
Publication date2020-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueFeminist Media Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1468-0777 • E-ISSN: 1471-5902
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14680777.2020.1770312
OpenAlexW3033619107
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited35

In this article we argue that the #MeToo movement contributes tocombatting sexual harassment by acting as techné (tools), which offer a range of poietic (world making) possibilities given the contexts under which #MeToocirculates. We situate #MeToo as pharmakon (creation and constraint)to highlight how the movement enables new feminist possibilities for action and simultaneously restricts the movement’s limits. Drawing on existing coverage of #MeToo featured in popular media stories, we consider the layers of meaning and circulation of some key #MeToo tweets and their framings within media accounts of the movement. We focus on tweets that emphasize remembering experiences of misogyny, assault, and harassment, in addition to implicating social structures in perpetuating rape culture. In employing poiesis and pharmakon as orienting frames, we acknowledge both the discursive power a movement like #MeToo holds and the forms of occlusion, privilege, and marginalization that emerge

Action (physics · Aesthetics · Epistemology · Focus (optics · Harassment · Movement (music · Political science · Power (physics · Privilege (computing · Psychoanalysis · Sociology · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOI