Google, the search giant, has released a world map showcasing where #MeToo is trending in searches, and India shines the brightest.
“What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life? The world would split open,” wrote American poet and activist Muriel Rukeyser in 1968. The animation begins with this quote and goes on to show how important the movement is.
Rukeyser also wrote that the world is made up of stories, not of atoms, and it is with these stories that the #MeToo movement survives, 12 years after activist Tarana Burke began sharing incidents of sexual assault, harassment and rape.
ADVERTISEMENT
The map also lists resources for survivors of sexual assault. Google shows the cities in which the movement was trending, right from October 1, 2017 till date. #MeToo was trending in four American cities, Albuquerque, Cebu City, Pittsburgh and Oklahoma City, and one city in the U.K. — Leeds. Today, the term is most searched for in South Hadley, a college town in the U.S. where former students are coming to terms with their experiences of sexual assault, Udupi, Vasco Da Gama, Ratlam and Bikaner in India.
The cities most searching for MeToo are cities with the highest proportion of search interest in MeToo, relative to all searches made in the city in the given time period, said Google, in its statement on the project.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Few topics have generated as much awareness of sexual assault than the movement, Me Too. What started as a simple statement of empathy from one survivor to another is changing how the world is listening to survivors of sexual violence, assault and harassment. In recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Google Trends data was used to create a visualization of Google Search interest in “MeToo” over time. This data represents global trends of people searching for the movement from the top 300 searching cities every day,” added the statement.
The MeToo movement, though it began with Burke’s efforts to throw light on sexual assault, became broader after actor Alyssa Milano encouraged survivors to share their stories with the #MeToo hashtag. Soon, the phrase became a byword for those who had endured sexual assault, and survivors began naming powerful people in Hollywood, politics, academia and corporations —Harvey Weinstein, Charlie Rose, Les Moonves, Brett Kavanaugh, Morgan Freeman, Junot Díaz, and many more.
In India, the movement gained more popularity after actor Tanushree Dutta came forward with her accusations against Nana Patekar.