Tarana Burke, the founder of the Me Too Movement, says she hopes society will one day view sexual violence in the same way they view smoking.

香蕉视频直播淚f someone lit up a cigarette (in a building) you would be appalled. But that wasn香蕉视频直播檛 the case 30 years ago. They didn香蕉视频直播檛 even think about it, they would smoke on planes and in offices. So you can change people香蕉视频直播檚 thinking and shift the way people relate to one another,香蕉视频直播� said Burke, who spoke in Kelowna Wednesday

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 not about your own health, it香蕉视频直播檚 about other people香蕉视频直播檚 health. So we have evidence in our world that there are shifts in understanding, thinking and in our culture, it can happen. We need to be aware of how do we re-imagine our lives so that we look down on sexual violence as something so distasteful, like smoking, like drug use香蕉视频直播� to make sure people don香蕉视频直播檛 have this experience in their lives.香蕉视频直播�

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Burke has been in sharp focus lately, but the activist has been pounding the pavement for her grassroots movement for 25 years. She first wrote 香蕉视频直播淢e Too香蕉视频直播� on a piece of lined paper in 2006 when she was frustrated with the amount of sexual violence in the world and the way it is spoken about.

What the movement has become most known for, however, does not resemble what she set out to create.

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香蕉视频直播淚 don香蕉视频直播檛 think it will ever be what it was when I started because it started as a grassroots movement in the (U.S.) South (Alabama),香蕉视频直播� said Burke.

香蕉视频直播淪o, I think that coming up on two years (since then), we are able to shift the narrative so more people understand it香蕉视频直播檚 more expansive than what the media would lead you to believe. It香蕉视频直播檚 more expansive than a hashtag. It香蕉视频直播檚 all-encompassing in ways we don香蕉视频直播檛 really get to see represented on a day-to-day basis.香蕉视频直播�

People who said, 香蕉视频直播淢e Too香蕉视频直播� were talking about the entire spectrum, she said, not just being harassed at work or what is happening in Hollywood.

香蕉视频直播漈hey were talking about their real lived experiences,香蕉视频直播� Burke said.

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Burke said the media, while it has helped amplify her voice, has failed to share the narrative that features the spectrum of sexual violence.

The movement has not scratched the surface, questioning authority, sharing stories of people with different sexual violence experiences and expanding the coverage of the topic instead of focusing on the celebrity angle.

香蕉视频直播淚 think the media香蕉视频直播檚 role is a big one. I think that people have also been socialized in a way to think about sexual violence in a way that is incredibly small,香蕉视频直播� said Burke.

香蕉视频直播淭he other side of things is I wouldn香蕉视频直播檛 be here if it wasn香蕉视频直播檛 for the media. We wouldn香蕉视频直播檛 be able to have this platform and talk about sexual violence the way that we do.香蕉视频直播�

Burke spoke at UBC Okanagan Wednesday to help students understand their role in the Me Too Movement as students, as well as how to handle sexual violence on campus. Later she spoke at the Kelowna Community Theatre.

Tickets are available at

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