Collective Power Empowers the Individual—— Anti-Sexual Harassment Movement in American Higher Education

Abstract

The sensation and popularity of the #MeToo Movement pushed the fourth feminist movement to have an impact around the world. The public questioned the protection of women’s rights and interests. In the #MeToo Movement, female college students have become an iconic victim group, and many participants have reported that they have been violated during their student years. In the United States, the #MeToo Movement is prevalent, but in fact, American law has clear regulations and systems for sexual harassment. This article will focus on how sexual harassment incidents in American higher education have developed under the attention of the #MeToo Movement under the premise that American law clearly protects victims. Through research and analysis of collective action theory, combined with relevant literature and actual cases, we find out how American higher education has achieved anti-sexual harassment in contemporary America, where feminism is becoming more and more popular. The ultimate purpose of the article is to rely on collective action theory to prove that although the benefits of collective power to individual empowerment are uncontrollable, it gives individual power the possibility of success in combating sexual harassment.