當 #MeToo 從全球蔓延至台灣：YouTube上的大眾反應如何轉變？

Abstract

#MeToo 作為全球性的數位女性主義運動，致力於解決性暴力和性別不平等問題。從2017年自美國好萊塢開展，並於2023年中旬蔓延至台灣，#MeToo 的發生引發許多重大的社會變革。在這些變革中，以大眾在數位平台上對性暴力的態度轉變尤其重要。因此，本研究旨在探討YouTube上——台灣人最常接收新聞與資訊的社交平台——台灣大眾對性暴力議題的看法會如何變化，並聚焦於兩個時期：2017年全球 #MeToo 運動發生後及2023年台灣 #MeToo 浪潮興起後。 本研究透過蒐集來自YouTube的相關影片和影片附屬的留言，使用ChatGPT協助進行自動化文本分類，再利用卡方檢定和貝葉斯多層回歸模型分析數據，檢視不同時期和各種影片屬性下，大眾對性暴力議題的社會反應變化。其中，這些社會反應包括正面評論，如呼籲倡導和個人經歷分享，以及負面評論，如指責受害者和轉移焦點等反應。 最終，本研究結果針對 #MeToo運動的發生以及YouTube的影片屬性，如何影響台灣大眾對性暴力議題看法的提出見解，同時也比較台灣與其他國家的狀況，為台灣在全球女性主義運動中的地位討論做出貢獻。 有關 #MeToo 的發生對大眾反應所產生的影響，在2023年台灣 #MeToo 浪潮後，相較於2017年全球 #MeToo運動的興起，YouTube上有關性暴力倡導和責任的呼籲顯著增加，而受害者指責的回應數量則有所減少，顯示在某種程度上，這一國內浪潮提升了台灣大眾對性暴力的看法，讓個人聲音轉變成集體力量。至於YouTube影片屬性對社會反應的影響，本研究發現，國內案件相關的內容和新聞影片容易同時引發負面反應和某些正面回應，如呼籲解決性暴力問題的倡議。這突顯了數位平台在女性主義運動中扮演的矛盾角色：它們一方面提升大眾對性暴力議題的意識，但也可能助長有害言論傳播，進而阻礙女性主義運動發展。 最後，關於台灣 #MeToo 現象與其他國家的比較，結果顯示，當 #MeToo於2023年在台灣爆發時，政治和娛樂圈相關的事件有所增長，成為主要的討論焦點，並引發大量新聞報導。相較於台灣的鄰國中國，該國的審查制度與極權國家型態讓此類醜聞的曝光變得困難；而台灣擁有的言論自由則能讓更多潛藏在各領域的性暴力事件被揭露，也回應了過往研究發現，民主體制和女性主義運動發展高度相關。 另一方面，#MeToo在台灣爆發後，倡導與呼籲改善性暴力問題的相關評論顯著增加，和譴責被害人的反應數量有所下降的現象，也與西方研究結果大致相符。然而，在這段期間，受害者分享個人經歷的評論數量相較於前期卻略有下降，這可能和受害者在揭露性暴力相關經歷後，往往必須付出極高代價，以及部分亞洲國家共有的社會文化規範有關。整體而言，本研究為台灣在 #MeToo運動，甚或全球女性主義運動中的地位提供一系列見解。

The #MeToo movement, a global digital feminist campaign addressing sexual violence and gender inequality, began in Hollywood in 2017 and reached Taiwan in mid-2023, triggering significant societal changes. Among these changes, the shift in public attitudes toward sexual violence, particularly within digital spheres, stands out. Thus, this study investigates how public reactions to these issues were influenced and expressed on YouTube, Taiwan’s most-used platform for news and information, focusing on two distinct periods: the global #MeToo movement in 2017 and the emergence of Taiwan’s #MeToo wave in 2023. By collecting data from YouTube, including related videos and their associated comments, categorizing them through automated text classification with the assistance of ChatGPT, and analyzing them using chi-square tests and Bayesian multilevel logistic regression, I comprehensively examined variations in social reactions across different periods and video attributes. These social reactions included positive responses, such as advocacy and sharing personal experiences, and negative responses, such as victim-blaming and distraction comments. Finally, the findings provide valuable insights into the influence of the #MeToo movement and various attributes of YouTube videos. They also offer a deeper understanding of Taiwan’s position within the global feminist movement compared to other regions. Concerning the impact of #MeToo’s emergence in Taiwan, the significant increase in calls for advocacy and responsibility, alongside a decrease in victim-blaming responses on YouTube during the later period when Taiwan’s #MeToo happened, suggests a moderate raising in public consciousness about sexual violence, transforming individual voices into collective power. Regarding the influence of YouTube video attributes, domestic content and news formats were more likely to generate both negative reactions and specific positive responses simultaneously, such as advocacy for addressing the issue. This highlights the contradictory role of digital platforms in feminist activism: while they raise public awareness, they can also perpetuate harmful narratives that discourage feminist activism. Lastly, regarding the comparison between Taiwan’s #MeToo phenomenon and international ones, the findings show that when #MeToo reached Taiwan in 2023, political cases and incidents in the entertainment industry increased, dominating the news. Unlike our neighbor China, where censorship limits the exposure of such issues, Taiwan’s greater freedom of speech allowed more incidents hidden in different societal categories to surface, resonating with a previous study that indicated the strong connection between feminist activism and democracy. On the other hand, Taiwanese responses shifted toward advocacy and responsibility and a decrease in victim-blaming, aligning with trends in Western research. However, there was a slight decline in the number of survivors’ responses regarding sharing personal experiences, likely due to the high personal costs associated with disclosure and the shared cultural norms prevalent across some Asian countries. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into Taiwan’s position within the #MeToo movement, contributing to a broader understanding of feminist activism globally.