Meghan Markle Opens Up About Social Media Harassment at SXSW
On International Women's Day, the Duchess of Sussex participated in a panel at South by Southwest that addressed how widespread internet hate impacts women's mental health.
On March 8, Meghan Markle attended the opening of the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, Texas, appearing alongside actress Brooke Shields and journalist Katie Couric on a panel called Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Cope On and Off Screen. The programming was held in honor of International Women's Day. And yes—Prince Harry was in the audience.
During her appearance, Markle thanked her husband while discussing how traumatizing social media can be for new moms. “The effect that social media can have on new mothers, even just the lack of sleep because they spend all this time scrolling, but it can also just be really dizzying for them to see this portrayal of motherhood that looks so perfect when we all know it's not perfect,” Markle told the crowd. “We all know that it’s messy,” she said.
Markle—who shares two children, Archie and Lilibet, with Prince Harry—explained that having someone to lean on can help a mother be less “vulnerable” to online bullying. “I'm fortunate in that, among the privileges I have in my life, I have an incredible partner,” she said, gesturing to Prince Harry, who was sitting in the front row. “My husband is such a hands-on dad and such a supporter of me and my family,” she said.
The Bench author continued, saying, “That is a real blessing. But a lot of people don't have that same level of support. So I think for us, it's about putting safeguards in so women, and moms especially, can not feel like they're even more vulnerable when they go online.” During the panel, the Duchess of Sussex explained the harassment she faced on social media when she was pregnant with her two children. “It’s not malicious. It’s cruel,” she said in reference to offensive content about women online. “When you’re pregnant, with a newborn, we all know as moms, it’s such a tender and sacred time,” she explained.
According to Markle's speech at the panel, some women succumb to bullying, while others react protectively, refusing to allow hate to affect them. She reiterated her sadness about how “disturbing” it is to know that “much of the hate is the result of women against women. I cannot make sense of that”, she emphasized.
“It’s a platform that has quite a bit of hate and rhetoric and incentives people to create pages where they can churn out very, very inciting comments and conspiracy theories that can have a tremendously negative effect on someone’s mental health, on their physical safety,” Markle said. She further pointed out that when someone spreads hate speech, it seems to her as if “we have forgotten our humanity.”
Markle has previously addressed the issue of feeling intimidated while living in the UK during her first pregnancy. According to the British press, some controversies involving racism were part of the reason why she and Harry moved to the United States and distanced themselves from the royal family. “I just didn’t see a solution. I would sit up at night, and I was just, like, I don’t understand how all of this is being churned out,' Markle said of the press during the couple's report to television network CBS in March 2021. “I realized that it was all happening just because I was breathing,” she said.
The constant attacks caused her to have dark thoughts. “I was really ashamed to say it at the time and ashamed to have to admit it to Harry, especially, because I know how much loss he’s suffered. But I knew that if I didn’t say it, that I would do it,” she said about her suicidal thoughts in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021. “I just didn’t want to be alive anymore. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought,” she said.
Since moving to California, Markle and her husband have worked to advocate for mental health. Under the banner of the Archewell Foundation, the couple is working to implement social media safety guidelines to more effectively protect children and save lives that could be lost as a result of excessive hate and bullying.
