New David Adjaye-Built Museums Beg the Question: What Happened to #MeToo?

"Detractors have since labeled the movement as little more than a battle in a lost liberal culture war, but at the time, it was electrifying. As I messaged with other women in my field, I realized that I was not alone in my situation. In fact, my situation was nauseatingly common, and the more I and other realized this, the more urgency I felt to change it, galvanized by a sense of collective anger and sorrow that built up into something real, and, evidently, dangerous."

"There was a moment, albeit brief, when sexual abuse in the workplace, long the subject of whisper networks and covert references, was dragged out of the shadows and into the public spotlight. Briefly, there was a moment when it felt like real change was possible. Maybe, we thought, it wouldn't have to happen to anyone else. Maybe, for once, actions would have consequences."

"That #MeToo was the closest thing many institutions got to a reckoning with incipient and rampant sexual abuse and harassment was both, in the moment, a triumph, and in the now, almost ten years later, an abject failure. Many of the figures named during this time, such as Louis C.K., Bill O'Riley, Morgan Freeman, and Johnny Depp have returned, after a stint in the time-out corner, to public life in the increasingly illiberal 2020s."

#MeToo briefly pulled workplace sexual abuse from whisper networks into public view, producing collective anger, urgency, and hope for accountability. Women sharing stories discovered how common harassment was and felt energized to change it. For a short period, named figures faced consequences and public attention suggested institutional reckoning. Over nearly ten years, many accused figures returned to public life, revealing protest fatigue, reactionary shifts in discourse amplified by algorithms, and other factors undermining sustained change. The movement's initial triumph thus yielded limited long-term power or systemic reform, leaving many hopes for lasting accountability unfulfilled.

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