Why #MeTooGarçons is also important

Recently, especially in France, the hashtag #MeTooGarçons has spread, through which some men are sharing the violence and sexual abuse they have experienced throughout their lives, particularly during adolescence (hence "garçons," which means "boys"). The hashtag was launched by the French actor Aurélien Wiik, who on Instagram stated that he had been a victim of harassment by some members of his entourage when he was under eighteen. The actor invited all victims of violence, regardless of gender, to share their experiences and file complaints. Indeed, Wiik's testimony has prompted other men to share online the assaults they have suffered – among them was also the French deputy Andy Kerbrat, from the left-wing party La France Insoumise.

Recently, the actor and musician Drake Bell, known among other things for being the co-star of the sitcom Drake & Josh, also revealed that he had suffered violence as a teenager – from one of his collaborators, who was later convicted of sexual offenses. Bell discussed this in the documentary series Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV (not yet available in Italy), which depicts the toxic environment typical of late 1990s children's television industry. Another entertainer who managed to speak out about the harassment he suffered was Brendan Fraser: he revealed it in an interview in 2018, stating that he had been subjected to violence about fifteen years earlier by the former head of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), an influential and controversial organization that, among other things, organized the Golden Globe Awards until last year. Following the incident, Fraser suffered from depression for a long time, and it led him to work much less in the film industry, as well as to divorce his wife. Since his return to the spotlight – first with the film The Whale, then with Killers of the Flower Moon by Martin Scorsese – Fraser has received many expressions of affection from his fans on social networks.

What is male #MeToo about

#MeTooGarçons refers, starting from its name, to the #MeToo movement of 2017, which also originated in the film industry (following allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein), and quickly became a global phenomenon – with cascading effects on Western society and beyond. At least for now, #MeTooGarçons has not had the resonance of #MeToo, also because men are much less exposed to this type of violence compared to women – according to statistics, the ratio is less than 1 to 10. Sexual assaults against men – in over 90 percent of cases – come from other men, and according to the data, these episodes mainly occur during childhood and adolescence – it is believed that women, on the other hand, are potential victims throughout their lives or almost. Similarly, however, in the stories recently circulated online, the difficulty of being believed by friends and family, as well as by institutions, often emerges. In adulthood, harassment usually affects mainly homosexual individuals, who, like women, are more exposed to the typical structural patriarchal dominance of contemporary society. It is not surprising, therefore, that some men who have recently shared online the violence they have suffered have been accused by various users of not being "manly enough" to defend themselves. #MeTooGarçons has also been supported by various movements, associations, and personalities linked to feminism, and has become an opportunity to question common beliefs about masculinity. #MeTooGarçons could indeed encourage men to recognize and combat gender violence, emancipating themselves and following the direction already traced by feminism – also because a male stance could really contribute to changing the patriarchal system from within.