#MeAt14 becomes platform to show 14 is still a child, unable to consent
It started as a way for people to show their support for Leigh Corfman, the woman who accused Republican Senatorial candidate Roy Moore of initiating sexual contact decades ago when she was 14 and he was 32.
But the #MeAt14 campaign on Twitter has taken on something of a life of its own since it began Friday night. Moore, who is vying for an open Senate seat in Alabama, continued to deny the allegations on Saturday.
Many used the hash tag as an opportunity to show how young they looked at the age of 14 and how they couldn’t possibly consent to a relationship with a man in his 30s.
Can’t consent at 14.
— Eden Dranger (@Eden_Eats) November 11, 2017
Not in Alabama.
Not anywhere. #MeAt14 pic.twitter.com/4V51WZJljC
Some of the tweets were sheepish. Others were humorous.
#MeAt14 obviously very ready to have a romantic relationship with a grown adult attorney #RoyMooreChildMolestor pic.twitter.com/FkA7nrN0tL
— Rebecca Caplan (@RabbiReba) November 11, 2017
#MeAt14 Here's a diary entry about the time I started crying at a dance because I was scared of dancing with boys.
— SharAAAUUGH! (@sharahmeservy) November 11, 2017
Not old enough to consent to a romantic relationship with an adult man! pic.twitter.com/1m2SF7wzo6
Still others used the campaign as an opportunity to say they, too, had been assaulted at a similar age. The tweets came from men as well as women.
#MeAt14 By the time I was 14 years old, I had already been abused. At 6 a friend’s father abused me. He took us to a local planetarium. When the lights went down he attacked. He fondled me. At 12 he exposed himself to me but never touched me again. #NoMoore @MooreSenate pic.twitter.com/qJHnyY3qXE
— Derek S. Spalla (@derekspalla) November 12, 2017
This is #MeAt14. I'd already endured several years of sexual assault and physical abuse by adults. This was me, finally happy, in my 2nd adoption. A short time after this was taken, I assaulted twice by my peers. pic.twitter.com/ulDYDbRoXC
— Myschevious Chris (@Ynubet) November 12, 2017
In a post on Facebook, Anne Rounds of Wichita called the #MeAt14 responses “simply stunning examples of truth speaking to power...this is an epic story for the ages.”
Stan Finger: 316-268-6437, @StanFinger
This story was originally published November 11, 2017 at 8:41 PM with the headline "#MeAt14 becomes platform to show 14 is still a child, unable to consent."