On Thursday, the Washington Post reported allegations that Roy Moore, the Republican Senate candidate from Alabama, had initiated a sexual encounter with an Alabama woman when she was 14 and he was 32. Three other women, then between the ages of 16 and 18, also say that Moore pursued them.
In response, the hashtag #MeAt14 began to trend on Twitter, popularized by comedian Lizz Winstead. As part of the movement, women are posting pictures of themselves at 14 as a way of emphasizing why it’s inappropriate for a young teenager—still a child—to have a sexual relationship with a man in his 30s. The photos and captions seem to emphasize the innocence of childhood and highlight that, at that age, teens are unable to consent to a relationship with an adult or encounters like the ones Moore allegedly attempted to carry out.
Moore has been elected twice and removed twice from the Alabama’s supreme court, both for ethical violations un-related to sexual misconduct. In his initial defense against the allegations, he denied even knowing the then-14-year-old and addressed the other three women: “With regard to the other girls, you understand this is 40 years ago and, after my return from the military, I dated a lot of young ladies,” adding that he didn’t “remember ever dating any girl without the permission of her mother.” Since the allegations broke, several fellow Republicans have distanced themselves from Moore.
On Saturday, a former co-worker of his told CNN it was “common knowledge that Roy dated high-school girls. We wondered why someone his age would hang out at high school football games and the mall, but you really wouldn’t say anything to someone like that.”
Many women—including Katie Couric and Alyssa Milano—have joined in the hashtag by posting photos of themselves accompanied by captions explaining what they were actually concerned about at 14. (Hint: Fighting off advances from adult men were not one of them.)
https://twitter.com/ashlieatkinson/status/929849225948655616
The hashtag, however, has also been met with some criticism, with some users saying the use of photos to illustrate the importance consent laws is misguided. “Making it about photos reinforces the wrong idea that child sexual assault is wrong only when children look like children,” wrote one user.
However, others replied, chiming in that that wasn’t really the point of using visuals in the hashtag:
https://twitter.com/SaffiEriksdottr/status/929815500456112138
https://twitter.com/FutureGirl2073/status/929814328684969985
Another critique holds that some tweets, including those that use the phrasing like “I was not dating a 32-year-old man,” can be seen as victim-blaming.
Regardless, the message behind #MeAt14 isn’t only about the photos; it’s about the captions that go with them, listing what young women were concerned about at that age: Get Smart re-runs, playing the French horn, Lord of the Rings discussion boards. The examples make it clear that 14 really is young—and that this hashtag should never have to exist in the first place.
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