Maybe He Doesn’t Hit You: Twitter Talks Emotional Abuse

#MaybeHeDoesntHitYou attempts to collate stories of different kinds of abuse experienced by women.

(Photo Courtesy: Erum Gour/The Quint)

“Abuse is not sexy. Abuse is not love. Abuse is abuse,” reads one tweet under the trending hashtag #MaybeHeDoesntHitYou.

As a follow-up to the viral social media movements #MeToo and #TimesUp, #MaybeHeDoesntHitYou attempts to collate stories of different kinds of abuse, besides physical harm, experienced by women.

Hashtag With a History

A quick Google search reveals that #MaybeHeDoesntHitYou originally went viral in 2016 when writer and artist Zahira Kelly narrated her experience of emotional abuse on Twitter.

The hashtag has resurfaced not only in the wake of #MeToo and #TimesUp but also because of singer and actress Rihanna’s calling out of Snapchat for a “Would You Rather?” ad.

The ad had two options: "Slap Rihanna" or "Punch Chris Brown." Brown pleaded guilty in 2009 to beating Rihanna during an argument while they were dating.

Another possible reason for the resurfacing of the hashtag is a short film posted by French Creek Films on YouTube. The film is “a short monologue about one woman's experience of an abusive relationship”.

Abuse Is Abuse: Women on Twitter

#MaybeHeDoesntHitYou has been steadily trending on Twitter since February with women recording their experiences of abuse and extending support to their fellow survivors.

#MaybeSheDoestHitYou: Men Write Back

As expected — remember #NotAllMen? — there is also a counter hashtag as men write back about the abuse that they have suffered.

Every Story is Important

Barring the clash of hashtags, here’s some important takeaways from the trend, as pointed out by Twitterati.