The hashtag #YesAllWomen began trending on social media over the weekend, after online videos created by suspected California killer Elliot Rodger were thrust into the public spotlight.
According to police, 22-year-old Rodger embarked on a killing spree in Santa Barbara, Calif. on Friday, killing six people and injuring 13 others, before fatally shooting himself.
In a video posted before the rampage, Rodger vowed revenge against women who rebuffed his advances, and for a life filled with “loneliness, rejection and unfulfilled desires.”
“Tomorrow is the day of retribution, the day in which I will have my revenge against humanity, against all of you,” Rodger says in video that has since been removed from YouTube.
In other YouTube videos, the titles of which included “Why do girls hate me so much?” and “Life is so unfair because girls don’t want me,” Rodger talks about the pain of being rejected by girls.
Twitter users reacted to the killings with the hashtag #YesAllWomen, with both men and women turning to social media to share their own thoughts on misogyny.
The Hashtag is an inversion of the “Not All Men” meme, which argues that not all men are guilty of sexual abuse.
She can wear leggings or maybe even the sexiest high waisted shorts. Regardless, approach her as a human not a piece of meat #YesAllWomen
— Fred Gonzalez (@FredGonzalez1) May 26, 2014
#YesAllWomen cause I spent my early teenage years being groped and objectified by male "friends". And I thought it was acceptable behavior.
— Veronica Tuazon (@VeronicaTuazon) May 26, 2014
#YesAllWomen because when we are groped or harassed by a stranger in public we're told to take it as a compliment.
— ☯ (@seraabearaa) May 26, 2014
BC I walk in the middle of the street with keys in one hand and mace in the other when I park 50ft from my house at night #YesAllWomen
— Lauren Rinaldi (@LRinaldiArt) May 26, 2014
because the # of military women i know who were not sexually harassed/assaulted or raped = 0 #YesAllWomen
— Erynn Laurie (@Erynn) May 26, 2014
Was reading the #YesAllWomen tweets because I have a daughter, now I'm reading them because I also have a son. Let's teach our boys...
— Dave Wright (@Super72Bug) May 26, 2014
