I wrote a piece about/for/in support of Slutwalk, just before the London Slutwalk took place. It was intended to go in Bitch theme #3 but um, the zine isnt out yet obvs.
Instead, i will post it here. Yes, the Slutwalk has come and gone, the news channels and papers have forgotten all about it etc. But there will be more Slutwalks. There are still Slutwalk’s taking place in other countries. And the issue behind it is still something that we need to be talk about. This piece could do with some editing, but i can’t be arsed. You get the point.
“Slutwalk is getting a lot of attention right now, some negative and some positive. The subject of Slutwalk has been featured on blog posts, tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, news websites and more, and really is the ‘hot’ feminist topic right now. Basically the story is: In January of this year, a police officer in Toronto was giving a ‘personal safety’ talk to a group of Law students and said to them “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised”. Yep, if you don’t want to be raped, then don’t dress like a slut. This astonishing lack of sensitivity and hideous display of victim blaming sparked outrage in the feminists of Toronto, who quickly organised Slutwalk, Toronto. Many sister Slutwalk’s have been organised in places such as America, New Zealand, Amsterdam, Australia, and London (which hasn’t happened yet- June 11th!).
If you are a feminist, or indeed a decent human being, it would perhaps be safe to assume you would agree with the basic idea behind Slutwalk- putting a stop to victim blaming and rape culture. So, why the negative attention then? Well, people have had a number of different issues with Slutwalk- but the main issue that keeps cropping up time and time again is the use and celebration of the word slut. Yes, slut is a negative word. Because it is used in a negative way. It is used as an insult, generally directed towards women who wear make-up, dress ‘promiscuously’ or sleep with a large number of people (what exactly constitutes as a large number has yet to be defined). The people who throw the word “slut” around as an insult have no right (nor does anyone) to determine what a slut is or isn’t. Also, the word slut generally isn’t used against men- why? Because men generally can wear what they like and behave the way they want. They are not judged for their sexual behaviour; in fact their sexual behaviour is more often than not celebrated. These are reasons why we should be reclaiming the word slut, and not allowing people to cut us down with words that judge our behaviour and appearance, just because we are women. If you reclaim the word slut, no one can hurt you with it, right? When you reclaim the word you remove all power it has, and create your own meaning. Whether, for you, being a slut means being yourself, being happy, wearing what you want- it doesn’t matter.
But I don’t think that’s the main issue here. Whether you agree with the name or not, the facts are simple: Society teaches “don’t get raped” instead of “don’t rape”. That policeman’s words echo this sentiment exactly. Women are told to cover up, stay away from certain areas, only spend time with men who they know well, not get drunk etc. But actually, women get raped whilst they are wearing short skirts and heels, as well as trousers and a jumper. Women get raped in the night and in the day. Women get raped in the streets and in their own homes. Women get raped whether they are sober or drunk. Women get raped by people they know well, and by strangers. Women get raped. And it is not their fault. Rapists’ rape and they are the only ones to be held accountable for their behaviour. Slutwalk is a chance to march, shout and protest with other people who believe the same, and I urge you to get involved (if you can) in the London Slutwalk on June 11th.”
