Abstract
The #MeToo movement is an international movement against sexual harassment. The movement began due to the viral #MeToo which spread on social media. Multiple celebrities participated in the movement by sharing their accounts of sexual harassment or expressing support towards victims of sexual harassment on social media. Hence, celebrity discourse using the #MeToo maintained public attention on the movement. The researcher aimed to evaluate how celebrities shaped the discourse surrounding sexual harassment using #MeToo on Twitter. The research process utilized Ian Parker’s guidelines of discourse analysis to analyse the celebrity tweets. Thirty-five tweets were analysed and among the thirty-five tweets, only two were from male celebrities. The five main dominant discourses identified were the responsibility of the perpetrator, perpetrators placed in position of power, encouraging victims, solidarity between victims and #MeToo. These dominant discourses are further elaborated in the findings section. The researcher concluded that the celebrity tweets constituted dichotomous discourses which either reiterated the reality victims endured or they offer support and validation towards the victims. There was no single independent discourse identified which focused on one matter of sexual harassment.
M.A. (Psychology)