I’ve always wondered about why the #MeToo movement suddenly exploded in the last  two years and not years ago?  Growing up, I’ve heard or read about stories here and there about the sexual harassment or sexual misconduct by famous, rich male celebrities on unsuspecting females.  Yet nothing usually came out of it.

Do you remember Kobe Bryant in Colorado and his sexual assault case?  The case was dismissed later and settled out of court.  Kobe never admitted to doing anything wrong other than consensual sex.  It’s good to be rich and famous.  When the accuser’s name  was publicly known, she received death threats.  Does this sound familiar?  It’s the modus operandi that accusers prior to #MeToo would face including tactics such as smear campaigns, defamation campaigns, intimidation, threats, etc.  In short, no one believed the accusers (rape victim) and everyone believed the accused (rapist).  I always chalked it up to “innocent until proven guilty” for the accused (the rapist).  But I also wondered, why didn’t people believe the rape victim (the accuser)?  Ironically, if a kid accused an adult of rape, everyone believed the kid.  Kind of makes you wonder doesn’t it?

Anyways, a relatively new Hidden Brain podcasts sheds some light into this cultural phenomenon of #MeToo.  It’s a fascinating listen.

https://www.npr.org/2018/02/05/582698111/the-psychological-forces-behind-a-cultural-reckoning-understanding-metoo