Author: Anita Sthankiya

A cultural shift is taking place around the world, and it’s happening on our television screens and in our daily conversations. It’s the Me Too movement, a viral two-word hashtag that spread in October 2017 on social media to help demonstrate the rampant prevalence of sexual assault and harassment towards women in society, specifically in the workplace. The movement came shortly after the public revelations of sexual misconduct allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein.

The phrase was popularized by actress Alyssa Milano after she encouraged women to tweet personal experiences and grievances, as a means of illustrating the magnitude of the inherent problem. Since then, the hashtag has been posted online millions of times and is often accompanied by a personal story of sexual harassment or assault.

While many women have spoken out using the hashtag, one story in particular has garnered a lot of public attention after making headlines. The main point of contention being whether or not a 23-year-old woman’s personal experience constitutes as sexual assault.

At the beginning of January, a 3,000-word-article was published on the website Babe.net, detailing an encounter between a woman named Grace (her real name was not used) and comedian Aziz Ansari. Right from the headline — “I went on a date with Aziz Ansari. It turned into the worst night of my life” — the reader is primed for an expose on Ansari. The article then begins by outlining the events leading up to the alleged sexual assault, starting from their initial encounter at the 2017 Emmys after party. After bonding over cameras and photography, they exchanged numbers and arranged a date in Manhattan.

The article goes on to describe Grace’s excitement for her date with Ansari, and then segues into her perception of the evening. According to Babe.net, she drank wine and made small talk with Ansari before going out for dinner. She describes Ansari’s behaviour as “eager to get back to his place.”

Fast forward to the end of the date, Grace depicts her encounter with Ansari at his apartment as cringe-worthy. She said that sexual activity took place, but that she presented non-verbal and verbal cues to Ansari that she was uncomfortable. Cues that Grace felt were ignored.

#MeToo originally gained traction after actress Alyssa Milano tweeted last year.

According to the article, Grace explicitly told Ansari that they would not be having sex, in which Ansari responded with, “how about we just chill, but this time with our clothes on?”

They watched Seinfeld, during which time Grace said the encounter that just played out between the two of them sunk in.

“It really hit me that I was violated. I felt really emotional all at once when we sat down there. That the whole experience was actually horrible,” read the article.

Eventually, Grace went home in an Uber, crying while texting her friends the details of her encounter with Ansari.

After the article hit the internet, it was considered different from those that have surfaced since the Weinstein allegations. For one example, it wasn’t the result of a workplace incident, as some many other stories including celebrities have entailed. Just days after being published, the article garnered more than 2.5 million views. Some found it to be relatable, as it drew parallels to a common problem that many women face while on dates. Vox.com reporter Anna North alludes to this subject matter in her response to the Babe.net piece: the article “reveals our broken attitudes toward sex.” More on that point, North reiterated that the article touches on a gendered pattern of behavior that is incredibly common and deeply rooted in our society.

Meanwhile, other outlets, such as the New York Times, found the article to be irresponsible. In fact, many journalists, New York Times based and otherwise, questioned the way Babe decided to bring this story to light.