Movements and mindsets: How #MeToo and #BLM shape young adults’ safety perceptions

• In Event: Urban safety and social change: International and interdisciplinary perspectives

Abstract

Have recent social movements impacted young adults’ perceived safety and everyday activities in public places, and if so, how? In this paper, we draw on in-depth interviews with a racially diverse sample of college-aged Americans living in the Southern and Midwestern United States. We uncover the long-term impacts of mass movements, including #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo, on the safety perceptions of young adults, a social group that was highly supportive of movement goals. By situating our findings within broader societal shifts, including record levels of crime fear and an anxiety epidemic amongst younger generations of Americans, we respond to calls for research placing the fear of crime in its wider social, political, and discursive context. Our findings enrich research literature on mass movements and precautionary behaviors, providing insight into the ways in which broad cultural changes shape everyday experiences of safety.

Authors

• Rebecca Lennox, University of Missouri-St. Louis

• Nicole Rader, Mississippi State University