This is 6 Minute English

from BBC Learning English.

I’m Sam.

And I’m Georgina.

In this programme we’ll take a look

at the sensitive issue of sexual

violence.

At the start of the decade

no one knew that the two-word phrase

‘MeToo’ would go viral

– or spread quickly and widely on the internet

through social media.

But when explosive allegations against

Hollywood movie producer Harry

Weinstein made headlines in 2017,

the MeToo hashtag became the focus for a global movement

of women determined to expose the truth about abusive sexual behaviour

Weinstein was found guilty and given

a 23-year prison sentence.

But the deeper reasons behind the problem,

in America and worldwide, have not disappeared.

I have a question now about

the origin of the MeToo expression.

Although the MeToo message went viral

due to public support

from famous Hollywood actresses,

the phrase itself was thought up years earlier by civil rights activist, Tarana Burke.

What year did she first use it?

Was it: a) 1996,

b) 2006 or c) 2016?

I’ll guess b) 2006.

OK, Georgina.

We’ll come back to that later.

Now more about Tarana Burke.

Yes, Tarana worked with marginalised women in neglected American communities,

shocking numbers of whom were victims of sexual violence and abuse.

Here she is talking with the BBC World Service’s programme HARDtalk

about how the MeToo movement continues to

speak up for voiceless women and girls.

The beauty, I think and the magic of MeToo is

that it’s a unifier in that way, and it’s where survivors

find community and so …definitely the mainstream media

kept the focus on the actresses and Hollywood and that…

but at its core the women who came forward were

really no different than those girls who I served in

the communities ten years before.

Tarana doesn’t call the girls and women who

were abused ‘victims’.

Instead she prefers the term survivors - people who are able to carry on

with their life successfully, despite very unpleasant

experiences which still affect them.

The MeToo movement went viral when several famous movie actresses

came forward – offered to give information, about sexual harassment.

While these Hollywood actresses were famous celebrities, most survivors of sexual

violence are ordinary women, living ordinary lives.

That’s why Tarana calls the MeToo movement 'a unifier'

- something that unites and brings people together,

in this case women of different race and social background.

But while the media focused on particular people

- Weinstein and several actresses in the movie industry

- Tarana is clear that the problem is bigger than just individual cases.

Here she is explaining about the wider reasons behind the MeToo movement.

We can talk about Harvey Weinstein ad nauseam but we also have to talk about

what are the structures that were in place that allowed a Harvey Weinstein

to thrive.

If you’re going to talk about Harvey Weinstein’s being

successful, then we have to also talk about capitalism, right?

Because it’s the love of money and the desire for people to have money and

what he represented.

The bottom line is people value those things more than they value

the humanity of the women that he was destroying their lives.

It’s about power and it’s about privilege.

At the end of the day, these are the two things we have to talk about dismantling.

According to Tarana, the behaviour of abusers

like Weinstein was not challenged or questioned because

of their privilege - power and advantage held by

a small group of people, usually because of their high social position

or because they are rich.

So rather than focusing on individual cases, it’s

male-dominated social structures like privilege that need dismantling

– breaking up or being stopped from working by gradually reducing its power

over a period of time.

Tarana knows the problem won’t disappear overnight.

But she believes the MeToo movement has opened up a space to talk about

sexual violence in a new way and set out a pathway forward.

Let’s go back to the quiz question.

I asked you what year the two-word expression ‘Me Too’

was used.

Was it a) 1996, b) 2006 or c) 2016

and you said…?

Yes. I said it was b) 2006.

Well done, Georgina!

You are absolutely right!

Today, we’ve been talking about the hashtag MeToo movement which

went viral in 2017 – meaning it spread quickly on the internet.

The name ‘MeToo’ was created by Tarana Burke,

an activist who works with sexual abuse survivors

- people who experience abuse but are able to carry on with their lives successfully.

In 2017 many of these survivors came forward – offered to give information

– about sexual harassment in Hollywood.

And these actresses were supported by millions of women and men

across the world, making the MeToo movement an important cultural unifier

– something that unites and brings people together.

Now the movement wants to shift the focus away

from individual cases and onto social structures of privilege

- power and advantage held by a small group of people, usually because of their

wealth or high social class.

And according to Tarana, it is these social structures

and attitudes which need to be dismantled

- stopped from working by gradually reducing their power over time.

And that’s all we have time for today.

Join us again soon, here at 6 Minute English for more topical discussion

and vocabulary.

Bye for now.

Bye.

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English.

I'm Neil.

And I'm Sam.

And if I say to you, Sam, motorbike, what do you think of?

Oh, I think of the film Easy Rider with Jack Nicholson

and Peter Fonda cruising the wide open spaces on powerful machines.

How about you, Neil?

Oh, well, I think of the young man on a moped who delivers my pizzas.

Not quite the same image, is it, really?

No, but in both cases we were associating motorbikes with male figures.

Today, we are looking at women and bikes, but before that, a quiz.

In which decade was the first mass-produced

motorcycle released?

Was it: a) the 1880s,

b) the 1890s or c) the 1900s?

What do you think, Sam?

Tricky question!

The 1880s may be too early - so I think I'll play it

safe and go for the middle option, the 1890s.

Well, we'll see if you're right later in the programme.

Esperanza Miyake is the author of a new study of the 'gendered motorcycle'

in film, advertising and TV. She was interviewed on BBC radio's Thinking Allowed

programme about the topic. First she was asked about the experience of travelling at

over 110 kph on a motorbike.

What world does she say you are part of?

I think it dissolves gender, race, all these things stop mattering.

It's all about experience so car drivers, there's a lot about enjoying the internal

space of the car. On the bike, obviously, there's no interiority,

you're completely part of the exterior world.


 So, what world are you in when travelling at

speed on a motorbike?

The external world.

Because you are not inside a car, your experience is completely different.

On a bike you have no interiority.

That's the experience of being inside - but I do have to say although that

is a real word, it's not one I've ever heard or used before!

No. Me neither.

What she also says is that travelling at speed dissolves gender and race.

It makes them less important.

When you dissolve something you make it less strong.

In fact, she says that at speed these things stop mattering.

They stop having any importance.

If something doesn't matter, it's not important at all.

Before that we said we usually connect motorbikes with men.

Think bike, think bloke.

But what about women and bikes?

Esperanza Miyake goes on to talk about the way women bikers are usually

shown in the media.

How many different types does she mention?

Generally, there's three types.

So, the first type would be your typical

empowered female who's on the motorbike.

You do have that image but, having said that, I would also

add that those images appear typically very sexualised,

very stylised.

So, yes, she's empowered, but she's in a skintight catsuit.

You also get another type which is the female rider but who's been masculinised.

She's kind of embodying a very

masculine kind of style.

And I think the third type is kind of silly, giggly

female on a scooter.

So, she talked about three types of representations, particularly in movies.

Sam, tell us more.

Yes, she first talked about the empowered woman.

This is a character who has authority, who has the

power to drive the plot and action and is not

dependent on a man to make decisions for her.

It seems like a positive image but she does say

that these characters are often sexualised, that is,

presented in a way that might be sexually appealing

for a male audience.

The next character type she mentions is a woman

who is very masculine.

They embody male characteristics, which means they have and

demonstrate many typically male personality features.

And the final type she talked about was showing women on bikes

as silly and giggly riding scooters.

So, there don't seem to be many really completely positive images of

women and motorcycles, at least not in the popular media.

Time to look again at today’s vocabulary, but first, let’s have the answer to the

quiz question.

In which decade was the first mass-produced motorcycle released?

Was it: a) the 1880s,

b) the1890s or c) the 1900s?

What did you think, Sam?

I took a guess at the 1890s.

Well done, it was a good guess.

It was indeed the 1890s and a

bonus point if you knew that it was 1894.

OK, let's have a quick reminder of today's words.

We started with the verb 'dissolves'.

If something dissolves it gets less strong, less immediate.

Then we had another verb, 'to matter',

something that matters is important to someone.

What's the next word?

It was a rather uncommon word to describe

the experience of being inside - interiority.

Let's rush by that one and move on to the next word, 'empowered'.

Someone who is 'empowered' is in control of their own life.

When we talk about empowered women we are talking about women who are not

dependent on men or anyone else for the direction of their lives.

They make their own choices.

Our next word was 'sexualised'. This is when something is given

a clearly sexual styling. In the programme, we heard that women

on motorcycles are often shown in a sexualised way, dressed in clothing, for example,

that makes them sexually attractive.

And finally there was 'to embody'.

This means to be a clear and obvious example of something.

So, in movies female bikers often embody male characteristics, which means

they might dress or behave in a way we would usually associate with men.

Well, it's time for us to say goodbye.

See you next time and, until then, you can find us online

and on our app.

Just search for bbclearningenglish.

Bye for now!

Bye!

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English.

I'm Neil.

And hello. I'm Rob.

So, Rob, you are a man who enjoys travel.

What’s the furthest journey you’ve ever made?

Well, I have been to the other side of the world.

I've been to Australia, New Zealand – so from

London that's a very long way.

And how was it?

It was pretty boring really and quite cramped