#MeToo and testimonial injustice: An investigation of moral and conceptual knowledge

Abstract

Two decades ago, Tarana Burke started using the phrase ‘me too’ to release victims of sexual abuse and rape from their shame and to empower girls from minority communities. In 2017, actress Alyssa Milano made the hashtag #MeToo go viral. This article’s concern is with the role of testimonial practices in the context of sexual violence. While many feminists have claimed that the word of those who claim to being sexually violated by others (should) have political and/or epistemic priority, others have failed to recognize the harm and injury of instances of sexual violence that are not yet acknowledged as such and failed to listen to victims from marginalized social groups. In fact, some feminists have attacked #MeToo for mingling accounts of ‘proper’ sexual violence and accounts that are not ‘proper’ experiences of sexual violence. My aim in this article is to show why this critique is problematic and find a philosophically fruitful way to understand the #MeToo-movement as a movement that strives for moral and conceptual progress.

The Theme Park as Simulation of American Rape Culture: #MeToo and the Problem of Justice in HBO’s Westworld

“…Hsu 2019), and for policing testimonies as containing types of violence that are “proper” or “not proper” (cf. Hänel 2022). Despite high profile cases, critics in recent years have described #MeToo as a failure in court (Goodmark 2018).…”

Violence Regimes: A Useful Concept for Social Politics, Social Analysis, and Social Theory

“…Activities not previously recognized as violence are now often seen as such. Neglecting the experiences of the victim/survivor/violated unseen limits (feminist) knowledge production on violence (Hänel, 2021). Thus, there are in effect that there are differential (violent) truths of violence, and regimes of truth.…”