The #NoWomanEver campaign on Twitter has been receiving massive amounts of attention in recent weeks. Most tweets come from women with experiences to share, varying from catcalling to gender inequality and gender violence, but not in the typical way. Instead of simply sharing their experiences, and how they felt afterwards, these men and women are doing things a little bit differently.
Cue Sarcasm. Like Daria, the individuals behind the thousands and thousands of #NoWomanEver tweets have been using sarcasm to point out just how unjust their experiences have been. And it's been an extremely effective tactic. By writing their stories with so much bite and sarcasm, it becomes obvious that these events shouldn't be happening on a regular basis. Women on this thread have shared experiences with catcalls, and the frequency of being followed home by men.
Most women and men know that these experiences are not enjoyable and shouldn't be a regular occurrence, but the #nowomanever movement makes it impossible to ignore. Framing the situation in such a sarcastic light, and then bringing it to a sharp halt with the hashtag, explains in brilliant clarity that no woman ever enjoys the experience of being catcalled, hollered at, followed home or stalked.
People have also been using this hashtag to bring attention to issues like the wage gap, dress codes, and the sexualization of the female body.
Using short-and-to-the-point statements like these really drive home the points that are trying to be made. The wage gap is not a myth. Why can't women wear tank tops? Regardless of clothing, no one is ever "asking for it." These are all conclusions to be drawn from the comments and stories shared through #nowomanever.
But this hashtag does even more still. It has become an avenue for people to leave valuable links, pages, videos and resources related to the topics that #nowomanever discusses regularly. Fusion, Huffington Post, and Metro UK have all contributed to the hype surrounding this buzzing hashtag, and others continuously add content to the page in regards to sexual violence incidences around the world and what political leaders and influences are saying about these issues.
This all being said, there are some that wonder if maybe the #nowomanever is too much. Several posts have condemned the hashtag for being too triggering. Others have received threats and negative comments in response to sharing their stories. And to a certain extent, some of the content that is posted with this hashtag is graphic, and potentially damaging to those who have had traumatic experiences in similar situations. But at the same time, shouldn't these experiences be known and dealt with as opposed to simply being swept under the rug?
There are far more resources and experiences shared with this hashtag. For more information, or to check out what people are saying, visit Twitter and check out #NoWomanEver.