Time’s Person of the Year is a person, event, idea, group or object that had the most influence on events throughout that year. This year, Time magazine awarded their Person of the Year award to what they named the Silence Breakers. The Silence breakers are a group of diverse men and women who had all faced the same battle at some point in their lives and decided not to stay quiet. They were all survivors of sexual assault.
This year was more prevalent than ever. Actors, activists, singers, hotel workers, senators and people alike came together to talk,stand up for themselves and stand against the people who had once sexually assaulted them.
“The idea that influential, inspirational individuals shape the world could not be more apt this year,” said Edward Felsentha, editor-in-chief for Times. “For giving voice to open secrets, for moving whisper networks onto social networks, for pushing us all to stop accepting the unacceptable, The Silence Breakers are the 2017 Person of the Year.”
One of the Silence Breakers was the activist who created the hashtag that went viral, #metoo. Activist Tarana Bruke pushed women and men to come together and share their stories, causing a social wave against sexual harassment. It proved to these men and women that they are not alone, and should stand up against their attacker.
The cover this year’s Person of the Year features 5 faces including actress Ashley Judd, artist Taylor Swift and former Uber engineer Susan Fowler. Also featured on the cover is the elbow of an anonymous hospital worker from Texas, who has yet to come forward in fear of how her assault might affect her family. This faceless woman symbolizes all the women who have shared their stories anonymously because anonymous is still a person, and all those who have kept their #MeToo to themselves, because they’re still afraid of speaking out.
“The galvanizing actions of the women on our cover … along with those of hundreds of others, and of many men as well, have unleashed one of the highest-velocity shifts in our culture since the 1960s,” said Edward Felsenthal in a statement.
The Stories of the Silence Breakers were all different but in the end, the same. Adama Iwu, a lobbyist that had been groped by a man in front of her colleagues, Ashley Judd had spoken out to everyone she could about her assault throughout the years, Crystal Washington a Hotel Hospitality Coordinator who had been questioned if her story was true and if anyone had witnessed it. Along stood Sara Gelser a state senator who was told she was tough and could have just stood up for herself.
In it’s entirety, Time magazine made a decision to place the people who had made a difference on their cover, not just in the United States but throughout several countries. They chose a group of people who selflessly shared their stories so others could feel like they were not alone. Time magazine chose a group of people ready to make a difference not only for themselves, but for others in a stride to put an end to sexual harassment.
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