#Aufschrei trending in Germany— a new women’s movement?
After a stupidly sexist comment by a German politician, there has been an explosion in the use of the #Aufschrei hashtag in Germany. This means ‘Outcry’, and the subjects of the tweets are sexism, with women sharing their personal stories.
As always, the question is how to turn this into actual forward progress, but especially in Germany, where such subjects rarely get a public airing, it is a good thing on its own that this is happening.
The mini-reports are drawn from both exceptional and everyday situations. Examples include “The doctor who patted my bottom when I was lying in hospital following a suicide attempt” and “The guy that runs up to you after you’ve gotten off the train, who calls out ‘Hang on, beautiful!’” Taken together, the hundreds of tweets paint a disturbing picture of society, even if not all of them are true.
There are stories of lewd stares, sport teachers who stare at their students’ breasts, chat-ups on the train, on the street, in the nightclub and at work - as well as sexual harassment and assault by family members.