Time Magazine has named its Person of the Year for 2017 – and it’s not a person. It’s a movement.
The #MeToo movement has been picked as this year’s most influential ‘person’, marking the latest time the magazine has elected to pick something a little more abstract than their usual fare for the famous end-of-year ranking.
The Silence Breakers are TIME’s Person of the Year 2017 #TIMEPOY https://t.co/mLgNTveY9z pic.twitter.com/GBo9z57RVG
— TIME (@TIME) December 6, 2017
Under the name ‘The Silence Breakers’, Time is acknowledging the millions who have shared their stories about being sexually harassed and assaulted in the wake of the revelations about Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
The magazine’s cover features Ashley Judd, Taylor Swift, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler, Visa lobbyist Adama Iwu, Mexican agricultural worker Isabel Pascual, and one woman whose face is obscured, representing all other women who have come forward.
The #MeToo hashtag, which went viral across social media, was actually conceptualised ten years ago by activist Tarana Burke on Twitter, but it took off after the Weinstein sexual assault reports when Alyssa Milano tweeted: “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.”
Milano says she wasn’t aware of Burke’s earlier contribution when she made the tweet, and has since credited her.
Time’s big reveal took place on Today, which is particularly impactful given that just last week former host Matt Lauer was fired from the show after staffers and reporters alleged years of sexual harassment and assault.
Both Milano and Burke appeared on Today to announce the cover. Milano emphasised the importance of the movement going forward:
As women, we have to support each other and stand together and say, ‘That’s it. We’re done. No more.” It’s vital to me that we really set in some actionable things that we can do to continue this momentum.
The two runners-up for the title of Person of the Year were Donald Trump – who has himself been accused of multiple instances of sexual harassment and assault – and Chinese president Xi Jinping.
The shortlist also included NFL player Colin Kaepernick, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, and Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins.
Read their full writeup HERE.
