#METOO – A year of sexual unfreedom?

A paradigm shift for women or feminism gone off the rails? Join journalist and author Ella Whelan as she shares her strident views on the #MeToo movement. Opposing her is academic, feminist and lesbian activist Albhie Smyth.

#MeToo, the hashtag taken up as a clarion cry of solidarity by thousands of women in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein allegations, has been hailed as a breakthrough in the fight against sexual harassment. The New York Times’ new gender editor, Jessica Bennett, says #MeToo has become ‘a lens through which we view the world, a sense of blinders being taken off’. Many claim #MeToo has broken an apparent silence around sexual harassment. Time Magazine named the ‘Silence Breakers’ – those who have come out with #MeToo stories – as its Person of the Year. Yet its embrace has not been universal. For author and Spiked commentator Ella Whelan it is a signifier that feminism has lost its way and is devoted to exaggerating the problem of harassment and abuse and simply encourages women to be scared. Join Ella Whelan as she pulls no punches in defence of her thesis that 2017 marked a year of sexual unfreedom. Rebutting Whelan will be Ailbhe Smyth, a Feminist, Socialist and LGBT activist. Keeping the peace falls to Sarah Carey, a communications consultant and former columnist for The Times (Irish Edition).