Deep-rooted misogyny appeared to play some role in Elliot Rodger’s shooting rampage that left seven people dead near Santa Barbara University on Friday night. A video showed Rodger wanted to “punish” the women “who’ve ignored or rejected him over the past eight years.”
In the online reaction to the tragedy, nothing has matched the conversation that began with a simple hashtag, #YesAllWomen.
The hashtag is a response to a “Not all men” meme that’s surfaced over the past few months. “Not all men” is an objection that’s used to dismiss the issue of violence against women and misogyny in society, simply because not all men are like that. Turning that language around with #yesallwomen refocuses the conversation on the fact that all women, at some point, face objectification. This occurs on a daily basis, but stories about women who are victims of domestic violence or street harassment don’t attract national attention.
The person who created the hashtag hoped to show that even though not all men are violent, objectification is widespread:
At its peak, 51,000 tweets an hour called out the harassment, threats, and abuse that women face from men who are taught to feel entitled to women’s bodies.