On October 15 and 16, 2020, the second session of the (De)Coding Maculinities series took place. The event was dedicated to the repercussions of #MeToo in the Portuguese media, one of the thematic areas of the DeCodeM project: (De)coding Masculinities. On the first day (15) there was a brief presentation of the partial results of the project and a round table that discussed the media coverage of sexual violence and harassment in the Portuguese media. The second day (16) had a contribution from project consultant Tina Askanius on #MeToo in Scandinavian countries, and a round table dedicated to the question “Was there a Portuguese #MeToo?”. The two round tables brought together journalists, media experts, and activists in the area of ​​sexual violence.

The 2017 #MeToo movement was widely reported in Portugal, partly because several actresses involved in denouncing Harvey Weinstein are known to the Portuguese public. The media followed the development of the movement in the United States and its translations in countries like France (#BalanceTonPorc) but paid only marginal attention to the movement’s appropriations in other parts of the world (Sweden, Egypt, and India, for instance).

With this session, the DeCodeM project intended to promote a discussion on how the Portuguese media covered #MeToo developments abroad; how media coverage of some (mostly) legal, and controversial, Portuguese cases were influenced by the movement; and how conceptions and ideals disseminated in the Portuguese media sphere contributed to include, restrict or exclude debates about masculinities, sexual violence and sexual harassment generated around # MeToo.

It was also discussed how Portuguese media coverage was event-oriented, rather than focused on the root problem. The fact that the #MeToo movement has its origins outside of the country’s borders also indicates that it contributed little to public awareness of harassment as a form of violence.

The opening round-table video: “Was there a Portuguese #MeToo? Did the media contribute to this? ” can be viewed below, and the other videos with the discussions that took place in the two days of the event are now available on Canal CES.