Tarana Burke: The Origin of #MeToo and the Fight for Sexual Justice

When you hear #MeToo, you think of viral tweets and celebrity scandals—but it started with Tarana Burke, an activist who created the phrase in 2006 to help young Black girls survive sexual abuse. Also known as the founder of the MeToo movement, she didn’t want fame—she wanted safety for girls no one was listening to. Her work wasn’t about trending hashtags. It was about showing up in communities where silence was the norm, where survivors were blamed, and where no one asked, "What happened to you?"

Tarana Burke’s approach was simple but radical: sexual violence, the use of power to force someone into sexual acts without consent. Also known as rape, assault, and coercion, it’s not just about physical acts—it’s about control, shame, and isolation. She built a network of survivors who spoke up, not because they were brave, but because they were tired of being told to stay quiet. Her work connects directly to the articles below—like how consent, the clear, ongoing, enthusiastic agreement to sexual activity. Also known as affirmative consent, it’s not just a legal term—it’s a cultural shift that Burke helped force into the open, or how survivor advocacy, the work of supporting and amplifying the voices of those who’ve experienced sexual violence. Also known as healing-centered activism, it’s what happens when communities stop looking away becomes the foundation for change.

What you’ll find here aren’t just stories about abuse. These are stories about how silence was broken—by women who refused to be erased, by researchers who exposed the myths around female pleasure, by movements that demanded real accountability. From Anne Koedt’s fight to validate the clitoral orgasm to the legal battles over housing discrimination for LGBTQ+ people, the thread is the same: power doesn’t change unless people speak up. Tarana Burke didn’t start a trend. She started a truth—and the articles below are the proof.