From #MeToo to #HimToo in Academia

Abstract

The #MeToo movement has been celebrated for centering the voice of survivors of sexual violence, and the new visibility that it has brought to issues that have long been of marginal interest to mainstream media and public discourse. In the context of the limits of the #MeToo movement, this chapter draws attention to a different kind of feminist Internet activism—the #HimToo movement in India—which entailed the compilation and circulation of a list of predatory men in academia. Apart from the predictable backlash from anti-feminists that this list attracted, it was also denounced by self-proclaimed feminists for its abandonment of due process for institutional remedies in favor of what was deemed “vigilante” action. In light of these debates, this chapter examines the limits and potential of emerging forms of collaborative feminist activism that seeks to transform violence-tolerant cultures and practices within educational institutions.