Here's Why You're Seeing #YesAllWomen All Over Twitter Following The California Shooting

After the shootings in Isla Vista, Santa Barbara, last week, people have taken to Twitter to speak out against violence toward women. That's because the shooter, Elliot Rodger, posted videos about how he wanted to punish the women who rejected him.

The hashtag #YesAllWomen is a trending topic on Twitter, and has sparked much public conversation around misogyny. It conveys the idea that all women live in fear because there are men who discriminate against them, and who may be violent against them.

But it's also in response to "not all men," a meme that started gaining traction on the internet last year. It essentially implies that not all men are sexist. But it also implies that criticisms of men are undeserved, and defuses the blame for sexism.

At its peak, 51,000 #yesallwomen tweets were sent during a single hour, according to ThinkProgress.

Here are a few examples:

#YesAllWomen because women are taught how to protect themselves from possible rape situations, instead of men being taught not to rape.

#YesAllWomen because when I was ten and was attacked, I didn't own slutty clothes and I didn't know how to be "tempting"

Not all men harass women (directly), but #YesAllWomen are oppressed and harassed by the great patriarchal system.

Because women are forced to monitor the way they dress, act, and exist so the male attention they receive doesn't turn violent. #YesAllWomen