When Time revealed its 2017 Person of the Year early Wednesday (Dec. 6), Twitter feeds were flooded with positive reactions. Converse to what the sitting president tweeted in late Nov., he was not the title-bearer for a second year in a row: ‘Silence Breakers,’ women and men who have raised their voices and spearheaded the movement to speak openly about sexual harassment and assault, were honored instead. Individuals from all walks of life, Time explained, are “part of a movement that has no formal name. But now they have a voice.”
Currently, the story holds two trending spots in the US, as Twitter users have rapidly tweeted their overwhelming approval for the Time POY. As pointed out by Time national correspondent Charlotte Alter, “This was conceived, reported and written by women. It was fact-checked by women. The video was shot and edited by women. The layout and photo spread were designed by women.”
The Time narrative expanded from focusing on the watershed moment when Alyssa Milano tweeted #MeToo and reignited activist Tarana Burke’s phrase to unite women across the internet; it also highlighted narratives of women who pursued justice against sexual harassment and assault on their own.
Taylor Swift, while not directly linked to the #MeToo movement, gave insight into her story, and why she pursued the symbolic counter-suit against former radio host David Mueller, who had groped her during a photo shoot back in 2013.
Time also did not shy away from including the POTUS (and Person of the Year runner-up) in the narrative, mentioning his name a total of eight times, all in reference to women who have accused him of abuse, to which LOLGOP hilariously pointed out, “FYI: This is the first time ever that the previous Time Person of the Year, and current president of the United States, has threaten to sue the next Time person of the year.”
Read through some of the best reactions to the “Silence Breakers” below, and read through Time‘s entire cover story here.
Congrats to the #MeToo movement on winning @TIME’s Person of the Year. Let’s celebrate that once again, women got more votes than Donald Trump. #TIMEPOY
— Full Frontal (@FullFrontalSamB) December 6, 2017
This was conceived, reported and written by women. It was fact-checked by women. The video was shot and edited by women. The layout and photo spread were designed by women. It’s one of the reasons I’m proud to work at @time https://t.co/ekMMIBV0Vc
— Charlotte Alter (@CharlotteAlter) December 6, 2017
Women included in this piece:
Professors
Journalists
House keepers
Strawberry pickers
Engineers
Actors
Broadcasters
Pop stars
Dish washers https://t.co/U23LJonZyI— Fiona. (@fiona_day) December 6, 2017
Shout out to the @TIME Women of the Year 1975, too! This is only the 7th time women make it to the “person of the year” spot. Of these, two were group positions, hashtag sisterhood! #metoo https://t.co/XFDeJTL43g pic.twitter.com/mfj2kXN1gj
— Annalisa Merelli (@missanabeem) December 6, 2017
Thank you. Stay loud women, stay strong. https://t.co/XbX8qLWk9T
— Dayna For Congress (@daynasteele) December 6, 2017
I’m honored to be a part of the Time Person Year issue with @TaranaBurke. This is for every woman who came forward. This is for every woman who was brave enough to say #MeToo. I hear you. I stand with you. I see you. I am you. #BreakTheSilence pic.twitter.com/MRSSKKPWeu
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) December 6, 2017
I cried tears of anger last year when Donald Trump said Time Person of the Year should go back to Man of the Year.
Today I’m crying tears of joy. Women are writing themselves back into the narrative through #MeToo and #HerToo.#TimePOY#BreakTheSilence#TheSilenceBreakers pic.twitter.com/sK5FSJssWF
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) December 6, 2017
THE INCOMPARABLE @TaranaBurke created the movement that just won @TIME‘s Person of the Year. The Silence Breakers. Tarana, thank you for creating #MeToo — you gave so many of us a voice and your work from all those years ago only has become more powerful. So so proud of you!!
— afrobella (@afrobella) December 6, 2017
Trump: Time told me I was going to be Person of the Year.
Time: Yeah we decided to go in literally the opposite direction. #metoo #silencebreakers pic.twitter.com/ICvwtbJgsz
— Brohibition Now (@OhNoSheTwitnt) December 6, 2017
The #MeToo movement counts! https://t.co/5mXvQabrZA
— Josée Rose (@joseerose616) December 6, 2017
President Trump’s name appears in the ‘Time Person of the Year’ issue 8 times, and all 8 times it refers to him as an abuser of women! This is why Time wanted a photoshoot with Trump. Congratulations, you did make the #PersonOfTheYear issue!
Congrats to the Silence Breakers!
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) December 6, 2017
FYI: This is the first time ever that the previous Time person of the year, and current president of the United States, has threaten to sue the next Time person of the year. https://t.co/ogsqn4Wlfj
— LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) December 6, 2017
This is powerful. It is also a painful testament to our allegedly advanced and civilized society’s epidemic sexual abuse.
The Silence Breakers are TIME’s Person of the Year 2017 #TIMEPOY https://t.co/ryndyzAFpa
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@MuslimIQ) December 6, 2017
BREAKING: “The Silence Breakers” of the #metoo movement named TIME’s 2017 Person of the Year.
The irony that these brave women, some of those who Trump allegedly attacked himself beat Trump!!
— Brian Krassenstein– (@krassenstein) December 6, 2017
Women’s March
The Silence Breakers
Donald Trump has unleashed the greatest wave of feminism since the Suffragettes. And we will take him down!— Amy Siskind (@Amy_Siskind) December 6, 2017
Trump isn’t Person of the Year, but TIME’s piece on The Silence Breakers calls Trump a ‘precipitating factor’ in the #metoo movement. “In this case, you had Harvey Weinstein, and before that you had Trump.” https://t.co/fYaJLcTgq6
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 6, 2017
How fitting that in the same week we saw Trump fully endorse Roy Moore, he was supplanted by The Silence Breakers as #TIMEPOY… ‘Go get em’ Rose, Ashley, Isabel, Juana, Crystal, Selma, Lindsey, Summer, Wendy…#TimePersonOfTheYear
— Cyrus McQueen (@CyrusMMcQueen) December 6, 2017
By picking The Silence Breakers as Person of the Year, Time is telling the women who have accused Trump & Moore, we hear your stories too. We believe you. We are grateful for your courage. We will change things.
— Bryce Tache (@brycetache) December 6, 2017
Time’s POTY is The Silence Breakers. This is wonderful for 2 reasons:
1) It’s about damn time sexual abusers are held accountable.
2) Trump’s head will blow clean off —#TIMEPOY— ColoradoGal (@ColoradoFierce) December 6, 2017
The Silence Breakers named Person of the Year?? TIME really doing its best to save 2017
— merry madeline (@queermoonlight) December 6, 2017
