Where’s the panic, where’s the fire? Why claims of moral panic and witch hunts miss the mark when it comes to campus rape and MeToo

‘She is not a virgin so why refuse the lecturer sex?’: An appraisal of cyberspace discourse of sexual harassment in Nigerian tertiary institutions

“…It is the tale of a scorned woman. This aligns with findings from the study of Phillips and Chagnon's (2021) that in the discourse of sexual harassment, the discourse of oppositional rhetorics which quickly moves from victim-centred perspectives to moral panic and witch hunt narratives is evident. It is a form of ideological inversion that uphold hegemonic relations.…”

Disrupting the carceral narrative of gender-based and sexual violence

“…Following the decline of the popularity of the 'Me Too' movement, an emerging discourse of 'postfeminism' entered societal consciousness, with many seeming to believe that the successful prosecution of Harvey Weinstein and the social alienation of other prominent men who had been accused was the end of an era (Phipps, 2021). The social reckoning accompanying the movement gradually dissipated from news cycles, which, in many cases, was replaced by headlines questioning if 'Me Too' had become a 'witch-hunt' that targeted (white) men (Lanius, 2019;Phillips and Chagnon, 2020). As feminism has faced ongoing resistance in the form of 'men's rights' movements, it has continued to be a contested term that many women reject on the basis of believing we have achieved gender equality and/or hoping to distance themselves from 'man-hating' labels (Grande, 2003;Gotell and Dutton, 2016).…”

Platform drama: “Cancel culture,” celebrity, and the struggle for accountability on YouTube

“…Perhaps most famously, in 2017, the #MeToo movement sparked widespread debate around sexual harassment and assault in contemporary society and what constitutes an appropriate public response (Mendes et al, 2018). As #MeToo campaigns were mounted with the goal of exposing sexual harassers and abusers, critics claimed that “cancel culture” threatened the foundations of liberal discourse within democracies, pejoratively describing it as a set of “witch hunts” or “McCarthyite campaigns” (Phillips and Chagnon, 2021) perpetrated by an overzealous ‘“woke’ generation” (Dershowitz, 2020: 1). Such criticisms emerged out of a longer lineage of claims about “political correctness” hampering discussions in the public sphere—claims that have historically been used as a cudgel against social justice movements within the so-called “culture wars” (Hunter, 1991; Weigel, 2016; Wilson, 1995).…”

“…In contrast, feminist and critical race scholars have described “cancelations” and “callouts” as a distributed type of unpaid labor taking place among traditionally marginalized groups who aim to hold elite public figures accountable for offensive, immoral, or unjust behavior (Clark, 2020; Jackson et al, 2020; Lawson, 2021; Nakamura, 2015). In contrast to “moral panics,” which involve fear-mongering media coverage that ultimately exercises social control, this scholarship treats “cancelation” as a subversive practice (Phillips and Chagnon, 2021). For example, Clark (2020) shows how “cancelation” grew out of a long line of Black protest methods, such as boycotting, as well as everyday subversive acts within Black and queer communities Similarly, Phillips and Chagnon (2021) describe the events of #MeToo as “moral happenings,” or “collective social reactions infused with emotion and energy that disrupt the status quo” (p. 410).…”

“…In contrast to “moral panics,” which involve fear-mongering media coverage that ultimately exercises social control, this scholarship treats “cancelation” as a subversive practice (Phillips and Chagnon, 2021). For example, Clark (2020) shows how “cancelation” grew out of a long line of Black protest methods, such as boycotting, as well as everyday subversive acts within Black and queer communities Similarly, Phillips and Chagnon (2021) describe the events of #MeToo as “moral happenings,” or “collective social reactions infused with emotion and energy that disrupt the status quo” (p. 410).…”