. Fontana approached the collective about a feature segment that would share their story while protecting the wellbeing of the survivors. Dhaliwal describes how much the collective appreciated Fontana’s commitment to centering “the strength and courage of the women coming forward.”. Even the style of the animation centered the women of #MeToon, who were asked to provide self-portraits which the animation team used as their starting point.
Rice discusses how the severity of the case made it easier for #MeToon’s detractors to misunderstand the nature of the campaign and dismiss its participants as hypersensitive, “hysterical” , or otherwise irrational.Rice also mentions how the continuing bias against believing women is particularly frustrating. Proving an abuser’s guilt through due process is already made onerous by the professional risk involved in reporting, and the likelihood of disbelief makes it even tougher.
However, much greater numbers of women, LGBTQ+ people, and people of color are needed in supervisory roles such as director and showrunner. The leaders of #MeToon furthermore point out that this campaign is only the beginning of the conversations that need to take place in the animation world, and they want their colleagues and managers to feel more comfortable asking questions.
Know your rights! Learn the laws and policies of your location and workplace. Arm yourself with knowledge of how to find legal advice and other services. Our business has always been male-dominated. Women make up only 23% of union employees, so it’s no surprise that problems with sexism and sexual harassment exist. Sexual harassment and assault are widespread issues that primarily affect women, with women of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized groups affected at an even greater rate.