#TimesUP
Introduction
Figure 1: This picture is a screenshot from the official Time's Up "About" page.
The #TimesUp movement was announced on January 1, 2018 through an article in the New York Times as a direct response to the sexual harassment present in Hollywood and other work places that was brought to light by the Harvey Weinstein case and the growing popularity of the #MeToo movement. It was launched by 300 prominent actresses, producers, directors, screenwriters, etc. with the goal of making the workplace a safe space for all women regardless of age, financial status, racial identity. #TimesUp aims to take the next steps in eliminating gender inequity and sexual harassment through social media activism, a legal defense fund designated to help protect women who report harassment in their workplaces, introducing legislation to combat the issue, work with Hollywood agencies and production companies to hire more women, and use red carpet events like the Golden Globes in 2018 to raise awareness for the cause (Buckley). Since its original announcement, #TimesUp has supported thousands of people with its legal defense fund, supported the conviction of Harvey Weinstein, created guides for equity and inclusion that can be used in workplaces worldwide, and supported state legislation against sexual harassment in the workplace across the United States (“2020 Year in Review”).
Context
Figure 2: Female celebrities at the 75th Golden Globes wearing black in solidarity with the Time's Up movement. Many brought female activists as their guests. Photo originally found on The Haystack.
Key Terms
Sexual Harassment: “One or more specific sexually-based behaviors, such as unwanted sexual attention or sexual coercion” (Feldblum and Lipsic).
Gender Harassment: “Gender harassment can include sexually crude terminology or displays... [and] sexist comments (such as telling anti-female jokes or making comments that women do not belong in management.) These behaviors differ from unwanted sexual attention in that they aim to insult and reject women, rather than pull them into a sexual relationship” (Feldblum and Lipsic).
Figure 3: Graphic of the original letter published as an announcement of the Time's Up organization and movement. Originally found on the 5050by2020 website.
Background
In a report on the 2015 fiscal year, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported that up to 85% of women have experienced some sort of sexual harassment in the professional workplace (Feldblum and Lipsic). The Time’s Up movement and organization was developed by some of the biggest female names in Hollywood because they recognized that they had platforms and power that could be used to shift the conversation (or lack thereof) about sexual and gender harassment in the workplace that spans from blue collar jobs all the way to corporate America and Hollywood.
Before Time’s Up was #MeToo
Originally founded by Tarana Burke, the #MeToo movement gained popularity and momentum in 2017 with the high-profile Harvey Weinstein case after Alyssa Milano posted an invitation of Twitter for other users to simply write “Me too” as a sign of solidarity if they had also experienced sexual violence and/or harassment in their lives (Langone).
Figure 4: Image of Alyssa Milano's original tweet captured from TIME.
After this initial influx of awareness for the fight against sexual violence and harassment in the workplace, many other women and celebrities took up the cause. Women from many different backgrounds began speaking out about their experiences and demanding accountability for the acts committed against them. Their voices were loud enough that in 2017, TIME named “The Silence Breakers” as its Person(s) of the Year (Zacharek, Dockterman, and Sweetland Edwards).
Time’s Up: Turning Momentum into Action
On January 1, 2018, shortly after the events of the Harvey Weinstein case, the Silence Breakers being named TIME’s Person of the Year, and other high-profile cases being brought forward, over 300 women in Hollywood who announced in a letter that they would be started an initiative to bring equity and safety for women (and men) in the workplace through the Time’s Up Foundation.
The initiative started with three main goals:
1. Start a legal defense fund to help support women from all backgrounds who brought forward allegations of sexual harassment and violence against their employers despite facing possible retaliation.
2. Help write and introduce legislation that would provide strong protection for women in the workforce against harassment and retaliatory practices.
3. Encourage more equitable opportunities for leadership positions and wages in industries where women are traditionally underpaid and underrepresented (Calfas).
Going Global at the Golden Globes
In a show of solidarity for the Time’s Up movement, the founders asked those attending the 75th Golden Globes in 2018 to wear black as a show of support. Many of the women who attended also brought other female rights activists as their guests so as to give them a larger platform and audience for their message and their cause (Buckley). Though the movement originally started in the US, more celebrities in other countries such as Great Britain and other global organizations soon signed on with letters of their own (“Sisters, this is our moment to say Time’s Up”).
Taking Action with Big Names
Though Time’s Up did not start as a centralized group with a clear leader and is instead run mostly by volunteers, many of the movement’s offshoots have worked to form smaller plans and commissions to help further advocate for equality in Hollywood and other workspaces. For example, in December 2017, the Commission on Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace was started by some of the female chairs of different companies such as LucasFilm and the Nike Foundation who chose Anita Hill to lead it. The goal of the commission is to help make the entertainment industries’ workplaces more open and empowering to women (Buckley).
Other individuals in Time’s Up worked to start the 5050by2020 initiative, which aimed to advocate for and bring more intersectional leaders (individuals identifying as women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, etc.) into the filming and production industries so that the people who were working behind the scenes and in front of the camera more closely reflected the actual demographics of the general population and viewing audience (5050by2020). As the world moved into 2021, this work continues under a new title: The Distruptors. The new fellowship seeks to continue the progress made by the previous initiative with a specific focus on financially supporting the projects of intersectional screenwriters in Hollywood (The Disruptors).
Fighting for Equity During the Pandemic
In a continued effort to focus on supporting women of all backgrounds, especially women of color or those working in “blue collar” or low salary jobs, Time’s Up working in the last year to develop “The Time’s Up Guide to Equity and Inclusion During Crisis,” conducted a survey on COVID-19’s impact on the gender pay gap and women’s income, provided resources to continue to support diversity in the entertainment industry, and pushed for legislation for paid sick leave due to COVID-19 as well as other laws that will work to support and protect women in the workplace (“2020 Year in Review”).
Key Actors
Tina Tchen (@TinaTchen)- President and Chief Executive Officer
Tina Tchen is the current leader of the official Time’s Up organization and is in charge of the foundation and making decisions for future action and focus. She was one of the original founders of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund. Prior to working with Time’s Up, Tchen was Michelle Obama’s Chief of Staff and a lawyer who specialized in workplace culture (Time’s Up).
Shonda Rhimes (@shondarhimes)- Television Producer/Screenwriter/Author
Reese Witherspoon (@ReeseW)- Actress/Producer
Hilary Rosen (@hilaryr)- Political Commentator on CNN, Co-Founder of the Time’s UP LDF
Fatima Goss Graves (@FGossGraves)- President and CEO of National Women’s Law Center, Co-Founder of the Time’s Up LDF
Lisa Borders (@Lisa_M_Borders)- Former President and CEO of Time’s Up, Former President of the WNBA
**NOTE: Time’s Up is a movement that was founded by over 300 women who have played various roles in the action being taken. The women listed above are some of those that were frequently mentioned in articles about Time’s Up by mass media organizations**
Social Media Presence
Platforms Used: The #TimesUP movement developed on social media by women in industries such as film, TV, and theatre in the United States based on the need to tackle sexual misconduct at the workplace. The social media presence--in conjunction with some major live TV events--brought the hashtag and movement into the forefront of the societal mind. With more than 500,000 tweets from more than 100 countries during/following the 2018 Golden Globes, the message was loud and clear. Both Facebook and Instagram prove to be reliable platforms as well for individuals to further the message. (Richards;
Popular Hashtags:
#TimesUP
Originating out of the #MeToo movement, #TimesUP became the rallying point for women to channel the feelings and sentiment into definitive action. While many might be more familiar with #MeToo, #TimesUP aims to further capitalize on the newfound societal awareness in order to effect permanent change.
Figure 5: Flyer from the TimesUP GoFundMe page.
Figure 6: Image from the 2018 Women’s March.
#MeToo
With earlier beginning dating back to MySpace, MeToo is one of the most well known hashtags to ever trend on Twitter. Many users include the MeToo hashtag in combination with the TimesUP to remind readers of the continuance within the movement.
Figure 7: Another image from the 2018 Women’s March.
#GoldenGlobes/#WhyWeWearBlack
In a unified show of solidarity, numerous Hollywood members donned black to raise awareness and highlight the pressing issue during the 2018 Golden Globes. Both women and men came together in order to raise awareness for the cause.
Figure 8: an image from the official goldenglobes instagram account after the blackout in solidarity.
#MuteRKelly
Continuing the long awaited justice of the Bill Cosby conviction, the #TimesUP organization turned its focus to R Kelly over his allegations of sexually abusing women, including some minors in certain instances.
Figure 9: one of several images put together to raise awareness about the famous R&B singer’s allegations.
Memes:
While many people use movement slogans as a punchline to a bad joke (test taking images with TimesUP and numerous movie allusions right before some character meets their demise), others harnessed the momentum to unify people into direct action at the voting booth. While now former President Donald Trump was far from the only target of the movement, he became a symbol of the disgust so many people felt about men who commit levels of harassment/assault with little to no repercussions.
Figure 10: a singular meme that captures the totality of the movement culminating in a women’s march to inspire voter turnout.
Impact of the Movement
Women’s March 2018: what began the previous year as a direct rebuke of President Donald Trump’s presidential election continued with new layers of activism that originated with numerous Hollywood celebrities. While TimesUP is not solely responsible for the march, it certainly helped fuel the continued solidarity and feeling of growing resentment in the country. (“Women’s March…”).
Aftermath of Golden Globes and Celebrity Women: the shocking truth. “1 in 3 women ages 18 to 34 have been sexually harassed at work, and 71% of those women said they did not report it” (Cowan).What originates from famous individuals with a national if not global platform shifts to the everyday woman as 700 female farmers who are part of the Alianza Nacional de Campesinas organization. Inspired by the women of Hollywood, the goal was to ensure that working class women were represented too (Cowan).
Even today, the movement is credited with supporting survivors in their search for justice. Both #MeToo and #TimesUP have continued the initial movement in advancement of public policies in order to protect employees from various forms of sexual harassment. Forming coalitions, TimesUP helped push Congress to “pass emergency sick days and paid leave” is available for all workers. While oftentimes the federal government has remained stagnant, more than 19 states have passed new projections against workplace harassment and 16 states have initiated new pay equity laws. Additionally, 10 states have passed legislation expanding rights of pregnant workers (TimesUP).
Critiques of Movement
From the very onset, TimesUP has not been exempt from criticism. And some of that critique stems from the very women the organization claims to protect. Weinstein accusers Rose McGowan and Asia Argento called out the Golden Globes blackout as “Hollywood Fakery.” Many point to the lack of diversity in the movement and call attention to Hollywood’s penchant to perform photo ops without making any necessary changes for true reform. The fact that the majority of the spokespeople--at least in the beginning--possess wealth and celebrity status, many questioned whether this was truly a movement representing all women. While the “open letter of 300 women'' aimed to represent a wide array of women, many noticed a select few become the vocal agents for the movement, at least initially. The “out of touch” critique often lobbed at Hollywood elite did not silence the same criticism at potential social activism (Wilson).
Conclusion
Despite initial criticism, TimesUP has continued to spread its message in the continued fight against harassment. What might have begun as a Hollywood moment has expanded to reach every living room and workplace in America. That progress has not led to any slowing down as recently TimesUp initiated a 4 percent challenge, asking production companies to display their support and commitment over the next year and a half. So far numerous companies have pledged to do so, including Universal Pictures, MGM Studios, Paramount Pictures and Amazon Studios (Kilday).
With the momentum gained, TimesUP continues today attempting to bring about social and ethical reform at both the federal and state levels. A movement that capitalized on the social media fervor has only continued to expand in development of hierarchical structure and goals that most closely resemble prior social activism of the 1960s prior to social media. Now, it appears their goal is to capture the essence of the most successful rhetorical strategies and activism within the online and physical world to bring about long awaited change.
Works Cited
“2020 Year in Review.” Time’s Up, 2 Dec. 2020, https://timesupnow.org/2020-year-in-review/. Accessed 7 March 2021.
5050by2020. The Center for Cultural Power, 2020, https://site.5050by2020.com/. Accessed 7 March 2021.
Buckley, Cara. “Anita Hill to Lead Hollywood Commission on Sexual Assault.” The New York Times, 15 Dec. 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/15/movies/anita-hill-hollywood-commission-sexual-harassment.html?auth=login-google. Accessed 7 March 2021.
Buckley, Cara. “Powerful Hollywood Women Unveil Anti-Harassment Action Plan.” The New York Times, 1 Jan. 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/01/movies/times-up-hollywood-women-sexual-harassment.html?_r=0. Accessed 7 March 2021.
Calfas, Jennifer. “Hollywood Women Launch Time’s Up to End Sexual Harassment. Here’s Their Plan.” TIME, 2 Jan. 2018, https://time.com/5083809/times-up-hollywood-sexual-harassment/. Accessed 7 March 2021.
Coggan, Devin. “See How Time’s Up Took Over Twitter During the Golden Globes.” Entertainment Weekly, 08 Jan. 2018, https://ew.com/golden-globes/2018/01/08/times-up-golden-globes-twitter/.
Felblum, Chai R. and Victoria A. Lipnic. “Select Task Force on Study of Harassment in the Workplace.” US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, June 2016, https://www.eeoc.gov/select-task-force-study-harassment-workplace#_Toc453686302. Accessed 7 March 2021.
Harris, Ida. “#MuteRKelly is Working.” Elle, 30 May 2018, https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a20965079/muterkelly-is-working/.
Kilday, Gregg. “Universal, MGM Studios Accept 4 Percent Challenge to Hire Women Directors.” The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Jan. 2019, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/universal-becomes-first-studio-accept-4-percent-challenge-1180949.
Langone, Alix. “#MeToo and Time’s Up Founders Explain the Difference Between the 2 Movements--And How They’re Alike.” TIME, 22 March 2018, https://time.com/5189945/whats-the-difference-between-the-metoo-and-times-up-movements/. Accesses 7 March 2020.
“Our Staff.” Time’s Up, https://timesupfoundation.org/about/our-leadership/our-staff/. Accessed 7 March 2021.
Richards, Katie. “The #TimesUP Movement Dominated Social Media During the Golden Globes.” AdWeek, 08 Jan. 2018, https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/the-timesup-movement-dominated-social-media-during-the-golden-globes/.
“Sisters, this is our moment to say Time’s Up.” The Guardian, 17 Feb. 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/18/sisters-this-is-our-moment-to-say-times-up. Accessed 7 March 2021.
The Disruptors. The Center for Cultural Power, 2021, https://www.artistdisruptors.org/. Accessed 7 March 2021.
Wilson, Lena. “Thandie Newton, Asia Argento Criticize Time’s Up Movement for Exclusivity.” Slate, 24 Apr. 2018, https://slate.com/culture/2018/04/thandie-newton-asia-argento-criticize-times-up-movement-for-exclusivity.html.
“Women’s March 2018: Protesters Take to the Streets for the Second Straight Year.” New York Times, 20 Jan. 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/20/us/womens-march.html.
Zacharek, Stephanie, Eliana Dockterman, and Haley Sweetland Edwards. “TIME Person of the Year 2017: The Silence Breakers.” TIME, Dec. 2017, https://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2017-silence-breakers/. Accessed 7 March 2021.
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