#METOO told by...

About the project

Our objective with the #MeToo mosaic is to extend the debate from the film industry into the broader society. 

The #MeToo movement gained momentum with the Harvey Weinstein case. Therefore there has been a lot of attention on the stakeholders of the film industry. But #MeToo is not merely about this. It’s much more. It’s about society as a whole. About an inherently sexist culture. This is what we try to illustrate with the #MeToo mosaic.

The mosaic serves the purpose of explaining that these stories are not simply individual cases. They are part of a vast pattern. A problem for the entire society. It is part of our culture. It has been considered a natural circumstance, something very ordinary. Do we really want our culture to be this way?

The development of Danish culture has been underway for more than a millennium, but women’s rights have only been on the agenda for the past 100 years.  In this light, it’s not strange, that we still have some way to go in terms of gender equality.

 We’re not placing the guilt on anyone for this. Men are not collectively the perpetrators. Women are not collectively the victims. It is simply a depiction of a culture we’re all part of.

 To put it briefly, our wish for the #MeToo mosaic is to draw a picture of the sexism of our society and shed light upon the inequality between the genders.

With the hope that we can all agree that it is not a desirable culture.
With the hope that we can all change for the better. All of us.

What is a #METOO experience?

A #MeToo experience is defined as a sexist or sexual violation in a physically, mentally or hierarchically unequal power structure. Whether it happens at work, at home, at the sport’s club, on public transport or somewhere else, and to what degree the abuse of power unfolds is essentially irrelevant. All of the stories play their part in shining a light on particular underlying social structures and a social issue.

Approach

Our starting point was to focus on both women and men who have experienced – or on same occasions, observed – a sexual violation in an uneven power structure. During our gathering of the stories, it became clear the vast majority of instances were women violated by men. However, there are cases where a man is violated by another man or woman, or where a woman violates another woman. Examples of all these situations can be found in the mosaic.

Sexual violation is a taboo for both women and men, unreported instances, different definitions and perceptions of sexual harassment also make it impossible to produce an unambiguous picture of reality, for instance, determining how many women versus men are subjected to sexual violations. Therefore, the amount of the various types of situations in the mosaic are not meant to serve the purpose of illustrating statistic. But we can conclude that the majority of the cases and the #MeToo stories, we have had access to, come from women, and therefore, the mosaic illustrates a general disparity between the genders.

Anonymous accounts about sexual harassment have been collected through 10 Danish trade unions, from the book Sexual harassment at work by Anette Borchorst & Lise Rolandsen Augustin, Ålborg University. Furthermore, #MeToo stories have been collected through LOKK (National organisation of women’s shelters in Denmark), Women´s shelter Danner, the organisations The Everyday Sexism Project and The Danish Women´s Society as well as through an open call. 

The #MeToo experiences are anonymous. No names or specific work places are mentioned. The stories have been cut to the bone, while in some cases, it has been necessary to change the language from written to spoken. The actors have all each interpreted their specific text, which means that in some cases, a few words have been changed. The crucial point is that the meaning of the story hasn’t changed. The stories from the trade unions are all closed cases from courts in Denmark, where the claim was sustained. These cases have been received as dossiers, which is why it has been necessary to display the cases as personal stories. Once again, nothing has been changed in connection to the meaning or consequences of the case.

What did we learn?

We learned the following from collecting the stories:

1. Many have told us, they had a long series of #MeToo - experiences.
2. Most abuse happens early in life, and it becomes less frequent by time
3. The reaction to abuse is normally shame and guilt. Some never share their story.
4. Many women will consider harassment a normal part of her life, and do not necessarily find their experiences noteworthy
5. Far more women than men experience sexual harassment.
6. The men who had experienced sexual abuse or harassment were often LGBT or young.
7. The vast majority of stories we received were female victims and male perpetrators.
8. It is apparently very uncommon for women to be on the giving end of abusive relationships.
9. Sexual abuse or harassment at the work place was often due to the management not taking their responsibilities seriously.

Thanks to 100 Danish actresses and actors

The following 100 actresses and actors have supported the #MeToo project and told #MeToo stories from 100 Danes: 

Anna Clara Sachs, Amalie Dollerup, Amalie Lindegård, Amanda Collin, Anette Støvelbæk, Ann Hjort, Anna Neye, Anne Louise Hassing, Anne Marie Helger, Anne Sofie Espersen, Anne-Grethe Bjarup Riis, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, Birgitte Raaberg, Camilla Bendix, Camilla Søeberg, Carsten Bjørnlund, Charlotte Fich, Charlotte Munck, Christian Gade Bjerrum, Christiane Bjørg Nielsen, Claes Bang, Coco Hjardemaal, Danica Curcic, Diana Axelsen, Ditte Hansen, Ditte Ylva Olsen, Dorte Højsted, Ellen Hillingsø, Emma Sehested Høeg, Ena Spottag Fogh, Fanny Louise Bernth, Filippa Suenson, Frederikke Dahl Hansen, Ghita Nørby, Inge Sofie Skovbo, Jannie Faurschou, Jens Albinus, Jesper Christensen, Julie Agnete Vang, Julie Brochorst Andersen, Julie Christiansen, Julie Grundtvig Wester, Julie Zangenberg, Katrine Greis-Rosenthal, Kirsten Peüliche, Laura Bro, Laura Drasbæk, Laura Elisabeth Christensen, Lene Maria Christensen, Lykke Sand Michelsen, Lykke Scheuer, Maibritt Saerens, Maj-Britt Mathiesen, Maria Rich, Maria Rossing, Marianne Søndergaard, Marie Askehave, Marie Bach Hansen, Marie Hammer Boda, Marie Louise Wille, Marina Bouras, Mathilde Arcel Fock, Mathilde Norholt, Merete Mærkedahl, Mia Jexen, Mia Lyhne, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Morten Kirkskov, Neel Rønholt, Olivia Joof, Patricia Schumann, Rasmus Hammerich, Rosalinde Mynster, Sandra Yi Sencindiver, Sara Fanta Traore, Sara Hjort Ditlevsen, Sara Marie Maltha, Sarah Boberg, Sarah Juel Werner, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Sofie Lassen-Kahlke, Sofie Pallesen, Sofie Stougaard, Solbjørg Højfeldt, Stephania Potalivo, Stine Stengade, Susanne Storm, Tammi Øst, Therese Damsgaard, Therese Glahn, Thomas Levin, Thure Lindhardt, Tina Gylling Mortensen, Tove Bornhøft, Trine Pallesen, Ulla Henningsen, Vibeke Hastrup, Vicki Berlin Tarp, Victoria Carmen Sonne og Özlem Saglanmak.