How local turns global: Should movements be represented in the same way regardless of where they are in the world?

Back in 2017 the American actress Alyssa Milano tweeted ‘if you’ve ever been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet’.

Source: Twitter

This tweet became the top trending tweet and reached in 85+ countries around the world. This particular incident was triggered because it was fighting against sexual harassment by the film producer Harvey Weinstein.

It is interesting that when this was tweeted by a white, American actress, about a white American man, it managed to create enough attention to create a global movement.  More interesting still, due to the fact that the me-too movement had in fact been created 11 years earlier by a black American activist, Tarana Burke. The purpose was the same, to raise awareness for women who had been abused, but it didn’t gain the traction that the 2017 tweet did. This may have been due to both visibility and social media usage changes.

Me too became a global movement; unsurprisingly given the issues it’s fighting against happen globally. From looking at statistics from the UN about the #metoo on twitter, there is a disproportionate number of mentions in the developed world compared to the developing world. This raises further questions and concerns.

There are several potential reasons for the greater level of traction in the developed world:

1. The people in mention were well known and thus the message spread quickly with those aware.
2. There are more people on twitter and social media in the developed country so that lead to greater numbers
3. There is less risk associated with freely tweeting a cause you care about and want to join or become part of a movement for.

With those points in mind, this raises the question ‘should movements be represented in the same way regardless of where they are in the world?’

Social media is a great way for movements to start, and for awareness to be raised. However, until usage and safety measures can be addressed, it may be that methods that work in the developed world are not the right fit for the developing world at present. Although the issues may be the same across the globe, a universal approach is not always the best approach due to the complex variables that impact individuals, for instance safety. With this in mind, constant adaptations on a global scale could work as a way to overcome barriers in certain places. New media works as a platform for change and continual growth could enable long term change with the fields of development and activism.