SlutWalk is a response to a police officer who said "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized." To defy the pattern of blaming the victim, women are organizing events where they march in provocative clothing to bring attention the the fact that it doesn't matter what a person wears, they are not inviting sexual attacks by showing some leg or cleavage. In fact, it is no less a rape if a woman is walking naked down the street. Nothing, and I mean nothing, gives a person the right to invade another person's body without their consent.
USA Today draws several parallels between this movement and Take Back The Night, where victims of assault walk campuses and dangerous areas to bring attention the crimes, and to announce to criminals that they will not be chased off the streets in fear. The two are similar in feel, but bring two entirely different methods in accomplishing their goals. SlutWalk isn't poking fun at sexual crimes, it is bringing context to a quote from an asshole who thinks women bring rapes on themselves by how they dress. The fact that his phrase "dressing like sluts" illustrates the very problem they are bringing attention to. I respectfully disagree with the groups who feel the word slut is inappropriate in this context.
For example, we have this:
"Using the word 'slut' as an adjective to describe women in any way, shape or form just reinforces that pigeonholing of women and tying our value to our worth as sexual beings," Koestner said. "The things that we're trying to accomplish are talking about where women find comfort and where women can heal after being the victim of abuse and objectification and sexualization…. We believe collectively that the violence against women and violence against anyone shouldn't be based upon gender or what one is wearing. But the source of female empowerment or power of the person - I don't think all of us would ever agree that the power comes from the freedom to wear what you want."
Maybe I'm the one who is off here, but it seems to me that this type of thinking misses the very point. The participants in SlutWalk are not calling themselves sluts, they are saying that it is wrong to believe women "ask" for sexual assault. I do not see anywhere that they are saying that is the end of the matter. It is simply the part of the problem they chose to address. There is no way to cover every relevant aspect of sexual assault. SlutWalk just says that if you show some cleavage you are not inviting being attacked. If you choose to wear a short skirt, you are not responsible for the criminal actions of another.
Hundreds of black women (many of them professors) have endorsed an open letter to SlutWalk, which says that to call themselves sluts would validate "the already historically entrenched ideology and recurring messages about what and who the black woman is."
"As black women and girls we find no space in SlutWalk, no space for participation and to unequivocally denounce rape and sexual assault as we have experienced it. We are perplexed by the use of the term 'slut' and by any implication that this word, much like the word 'Ho' or the 'N' word should be re-appropriated," the letter reads. "In the United States, where slavery constructed black female sexualities, Jim Crow kidnappings, rape and lynchings, gender misrepresentations, and more recently, where the black female immigrant struggle combine, 'slut' has different associations for black women. We do not recognize ourselves nor do we see our lived experiences reflected within SlutWalk and especially not in its brand and its label."
Again, SlutWalk did not say they were carrying the torch for every possible relationship to sexual assault. They may not include the particulars that apply to black women and girls, but they would not be taking anything away from these women, as their point is to help women of every race and walk of life. If these women feel they are not included, it isn't on purpose, and the spirit of the protest would surely happily include a sister movement that brought attention to what these women feel has been overlooked. To me this wasn't misrepresenting black women, but would allow for different groups working together while cooperating from different perspectives.
The whole point is: it's just a damned word. A word that is not justification for rape, a word that is not a real description of a woman who wears spaghetti straps or is responsible for her own sexuality. Slut is like "bitch" or any other hollow insult, it only applies if you allow it.
I won't get too personal here, but I do want to share my own input on this. I was raped when I was eighteen. I was young and moved from a farm town to a major city. I was attacked outside a grocery store, and beaten so badly I couldn't eat solid food or even wash my face for two weeks because it was too painful. When the police arrived, I was dirty, in terrible pain, and ashamed to tell them what happened. I will never forget when one officer asked me "What do you think you did to contribute to these events?" That has haunted me forever. Now I'd say "you asshole, I wanted some Chunky Monkey and Sprite, what the hell is it to you?" Back then, I was immediately shamed and withdrew. I answered questions but did not look them in the eye. In subsequent interviews I declined their offers of help and I suffered more than I had to because I was terrified to face the idea that I had somehow brought this on myself. It took years before I realized the criminal was 100% responsible for his actions, and I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But this is what thousands of women face, from the police, from the lawyers, and the criminals themselves when they try to justify themselves in court. The saddest thing of all is that sometimes it actually works.
Enough is enough. It's time to change the attitudes of the men who never have to face those circumstances. If Springfield ever has a SlutWalk, I'll be right up front, loud and proud. And I dare anyone to try and stop me. I'm a grown woman now, and I will wear what I please. I will say what I please. I will not apologize for wearing heels or a nice dress, and I will not bear the guilt of a criminal's decision to harm another. My prayer is that all women can reach this place of confidence, and not have to take the path that I and other victims have had to in order to see the light.
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