August 21, 2011
Have you heard about slutwalks? These are public demonstrations or marches where women dress in slutty outfits and proclaim themselves proud to be sluts.
It all began when a Canadian police office told a group of women that “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized.” The women immediately took offense at the suggestion that getting attacked or raped is the victim’s fault. The blame for rape or attack falls squarely on the shoulders of the attacker.
So far so good.
But they didn’t take offense as much at the suggestion of being culpable in their own possible attack as they did at the use of the word “slut.” Co-founders Sonya Barnett and Heather Jarvis decided to use the word slut in their response. They observe that historically, “slut” has had negative connotations, and that their goal is to redeem the term.
And that is where they lose me.
“Slut” has negative connotations because it is a negative word, There is no “redeeming” it.
Yet they tried. And so you have the slutwalk. 
“We’re taking slut back”
“Proud slut”
“Slut pride.”
What is the point of identifying yourself as a slut? Why would you want to make that your public image? Do people march under the “I can’t tie my own shoes and I’m proud” banner? Should bad tippers wave “I’m a cheap fuck” placards?
The KKK and American Nazi Party proudly call themselves racists and how does it work our for them? OK, being a slut and being a racist are hardly the same, but why would a woman want to identify herself in a way that only brings up negative associations?
Get it straight. “Slut” has never been and never will be a good word. No good can come from associating women’s rights with “slut.” It overshadows and ruins the point they are trying to make.
The women’s’ point is that no matter how they dress they are not inviting rape. I agree. The fault of rape is the rapist who makes the ultimate decision to take his dick out of his pants. (Pardon my language.)
However.
There are things you can do to lessen your chances of being attacked. You do not walk in a bad neighborhood after dark. You do not go swimming when sharks are sighted off the beach. You do not flash money at an ATM.
And that was the policeman’s (poorly phrased) point. He was not blaming the victims. He was pointing out that there are some things you can do to lower your risk of attack. What’s wrong with that?
Of course, not everyone has the same view of feminism. Check this out:
On the one hand you have a group of women saying “We are not sex objects. Don’t treat us like sex objects.”
On the other hand you have a group of women saying “We are sex objects.”
I guess it is true. Blonds do have more fun.
Especially if you are Vienna from The Bachelor. 
Who would want to watch a show where a normal person stays home and plays video games? What kind of show is that?
Oh, that kind of show.
Mr. Blog's Tepid Ride 
Equal rights are one thing, stupid non-rights are quite another. Like those women who walk topless on a beach and insult you if you look at their tits, or that parade several years ago I don’t remember in what country about the “rights of pedophiles”. The first ones are plain stupid, the second ones – as much as I understand it’s their nature and their curse – should be in jail. The only intelligent ones are the blondes in Latvia – cute, positive, not vulgar at all, relaxed, they are just themselves. Not bad, in this world that gets more and more demented every day…
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I have seen so much bullshit about how pedophilia is natural, how the children want it, etc, that it makes me sick to my stomache. Those guys need worse than jail. And while we are on the subject, look out for Imponderable 15!
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I’m still laughing hysterically at the “I thought she was dead” one – best miserable excuse EVER!
I’ll be there for no 15 🙂 bedtime now (well, way past bedtime, actually…)
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That rivals the Simpsons. Homer on being caught in a prostitution sting. “Let me be clear. I thought the policewoman was a prostitute.”
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The irony of ‘feminism’ is that there’s little feminine about it. It’s about being a male, without the penis: same job, same haircut, same body-type (skinny, no tits). I can get behind the equal pay for equal work, but I can also get behing the Latvian girls. Pun intended.
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W / I can save up my nickels & dimes for air – fare, I think Latvia will be on my list of potential destinations that are ” must – sees “. 😉
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Every year in Auckland they have a parade called “Boobs on Bikes.” It’s organized by the Hugh Heffner of NZ and porn stars actually fly in to participate. Topless women (and men) ride motorcycles down the main street at noon. It always generates a lot of controversy and it’s the number one day for truancy in the city.
The slut thing I don’t get their point.
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I understand there have been naked bike rides organized in many cities but I have no idea if there is any point they are trying to make. As for the slut thing I think it is about female empowerment but they really picked the worst and most ridiculous way of doing it.
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I agree w / rwarez – ” Feminism ” = The right to be a man with tits ( Boobs, whatever ). Still, THERE IS a certain level of empowerment in there, an emotional / spiritual adrenaline rush.
There’s nothing empowering that I can see about being a ” slut ” or a ” ho “. It’s just a new way to become objectified & / or victimized.
Just like a prostitute at the mercy of her pimp or a ” John ” who wants to abuse, rape, beat her into unconsciousness or murder her.
On a side note, I have to say that the Latvian approach is a healthier one.
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Can’t say I agree with the “feminism is women wanting be men” thing but I get where it is coming from. As for the Latvian blondes, I like what one of them said. “I’m not stupid. I’m beautiful and I’ll prove it.” I think it a pretty honest approach that doesn’t deny how they are percieved yet also shows their strength.
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It’s all about empowerment ( A potent buzzword if ever there was one ). Aspiring to be a slut, a whore / ” ho “, etc., is just BEGGING to be victimized, maybe even brutalized, not empowered.
The Uber – feminists who are simply men sans penises can be rather off – putting to the point of being scary.
Ward Cleaver would be lost in this world…..
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Whoa! I can’t believe what I’m hearing here. Feminists just want to be “men sans penises”? There are a lot of definitions of the word feminist but I think that one is a little over the top, don’t you think?
Here are a few facts you might want consider (I apologize that they’re from Wikipedia, but they really do make a good point about gender inequality, which has always been one of the main focuses of women who identify themselves as feminists.):
“The World Economic Forum, which measures gender equity through a series of economic, educational, and political benchmarks, ranks the United States as 19th (up from 31st in 2009) in terms of achieving gender equity.
In the U.S., women are more likely than men to live in poverty, earn less money for the same work, are more likely to be victims of intimate partner violence and rape, and have less of a political voice. A recent statistic from the Department of Labor indicates that in 2009, “the median weekly earnings of women who were full-time wage and salary workers was…80 percent of men’s.
The Department of Justice found that in 2009, “the percentage of female victims (26%) of intimate partner violence was about 5 times that of male victims (5%). “The United States ranks 41st in a ranking of 184 countries on maternal deaths during pregnancy and childbirth, below all other industrialized nations and a number of developing countries” and women only represent 20% of members of Congress. Gender inequality is thus a widespread and ingrained social and public health issue.”
So, I guess it’s good to have a penis. Sign me up.
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Thank God a woman got in on this! Like I said, I didn’t agree with the “men without a penis” thing either but I wasn’t going to get into that debate. A problem is that for some men, “gender equality” also seems to mean “women adopting a man’s personality and outlook” which is just silly.
As for Wiki, the one thing it is OK for is generally known and easily verified facts.
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Yeah. Not to be redundant, but these discussions have been real sausage – fests. On the other hand, instead of being ” Daniel “, I could be ” Danielle “, just pretending to have testosterone. Internet anonymity is a blessing AND a….. well, not exactly a ” curse “, but I think you know what I’m getting at.
As for feminism, I’d rather work with a female supervisor who had great leadership & decision – making skills, & I’d MUCH RATHER be in the care of a female physician who was at the top of her graduating class !
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I am absolutely for equal rights for everybody – men, women, gays, lesbians, transexuals, whatever – but there are just a couple of things I’d like to point out:
1 – for most women having equal rights unfortunately means “I have a right to make the same stupid, horrible mistakes men have made for centuries instead of advancing society and that’s what I do” and quite frankly I find that very disappointing. I was expecting much better from women (I’m generalizing, of course), considering they’ve been accusing the male orientated society of all evil for centuries… no offense meant, but that’s what I feel.
2 – since I do believe in equal rights, I’ll very happy when statistics and laws will take into consideration not just the physical violence unfortunately so many women are still victims of, but also the psychological torture that 75% of men are subject to. I’ve seen so many men being literally destroyed by their obsessively destructive women (starting from my father, in case you think I’m just theorizing) that I find it horrifying that a slap can be punished, but constant psychological abuse doesn’t. If a man must restrain his violent nature (rightfully so), so does a woman.
3 – we have laws here in Italy agaisnt discimination when it comes to job offers. It is forbidden by law to advertise for a job in a way that excludes women, even if it was a building company looking for a bricklayer. Still, it is absolutely common to find ads where companies are looking for women only, and the law does nothing about it. Equal opportunities? I don’t think so. And this is just an example. The problem is, in an attempt to amend centuries of unjust discrimination, we now have the opposite. That is definitely not my idea of equal rights. I don’t know in your countries, but over here a divorce is still something that can ruin a man, but never a woman.
You see, it’s just that. I also find it silly that if a man says these things, he is accused of hating women (but not the other way round, by the way). That is totally moronic. I just want equal rights for everybody that are really equal.
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I do have to agree with #1. Apparently a female can be just as big a p***k ( Or w / ever ) as a male, but she gets a pass for it, just because her reproductive organs don’t ” dangle* ” ( *to indirectly quote Dr. Gregory House, MD, hardly the most credible source on relations btwn the genders ). & feminists have been pretty much accusing men of being the source of all evil in the world.
And #2. Women can be just as cruel as men, even if they don’t always use outright physical violence against them, but verbal & psychological violence A lot of people seem to conveniently forget that.
#3 – In America, there are still jobs where a woman doesn’t get paid as much as a man, or have the advancement oportunities, but most of the jobs I have been in offer equal pay for equal work, PLUS ” disability ” benefits when a woman has to be excused from work temporarily because of pregnancy, etc.
I’ve still read many blogs by ” Super – feminists ” where feminists apparently use their beliefs & position as a reason to express dislike for men, & there are no attempts to reconcile or find common ground with men.
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Okay. In response to #1: Of course there are women who can act just as much like a douchenozzle as men. That is human nature. Why are women expected to be “nice” all the time when men aren’t? As for getting a pass for it, a lot of women (especially executives) have to walk a fine line because what would be considered admirable “agressiveness” in males, would be considered “bitchy” behavior in females.
#2. Yes, verbal abuse is not acceptable from anyone, man or woman. But it never sent anyone to the hospital with a broken nose.
#3. I had to laugh out loud at this one. “PLUS “disability ” benefits when a woman has to be excused from work temporarily because of pregnancy.” Unfortunately, women are the only ones, so far, who can crank out the babies. I think they deserve a little time off to accomplish that. When you’ve carried a fetus around for 9 months and gone into hours of labor and given birth, come back and talk to me. AND, many companies now give maternity leave time to the fathers so they can help out at home with the newborn. Now that’s equality.
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Since when is pregnancy considered a disability? As far as I know it is in a totally different category (in terms of federal guidelines.) And I don’t know anyone who would consider it a disability.
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Bureaucrats – They also consider alcoholism, OCD, & migraines as ” disabilities “. They think it ” levels ” the playing field.
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“Why are women expected to be “nice” all the time”
Did I say I expected them to be nice? I said I expected them to do better than men, not to want equal rights just to have the opportunity to be equally stupid. Knowing several women who are above average (as human beings, not as women) I’m just bitterly disappointed, that’s all. I really hoped they would bring about some positive change, it just didn’t happen.
“when men aren’t?”
I expect every human being to be nice, regardless of sex or sexual orientation. Causing needless pain is not justified for anybody.
“a lot of women (especially executives) have to walk a fine line because what would be considered admirable “agressiveness” in males, would be considered “bitchy” behavior in females”
I don’t consider aggressiveness admirable in anybody, male or female alike. And I expected/hoped for women to want to be something better than executives anyway. Again, you’re talking about women wanting the right to be as stupid and worthless as men.
“Yes, verbal abuse is not acceptable from anyone, man or woman. But it never sent anyone to the hospital with a broken nose”
True, but I’d rather have a broken nose once than a soul and mind shattered for my whole life. And neither is justifiable. We are not talking about an occasional burst, we’re talking about daily, relenteless, sickeningly unceasing abuse; men who put up with that are idiots and I despise them, and women who do that should be in jail. Sorry it bothers you, but that’s my opinion, I’ve seen too many.
“maternity leave time to the fathers so they can help out at home with the newborn. Now that’s equality”
I agree.
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“I said I expected them to do better than men, not to want equal rights just to have the opportunity to be equally stupid.”
Why would you expect women to do better than men and then be bitterly disappointed when they don’t live up to your expectations? To me, that’s like expecting African-Americans to excel at everything they do in order to be “a credit to their race.”
Anybody (man or woman) who puts up with unceasing daily verbal abuse needs psychological help and should get out of that relationship. Especially if there are kids involved.
Okay. I’m done. I think I’ll go see what my cats are up to. There’s nothing like the unconditional love you get from pets. Have a good day.
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“Anybody (man or woman) who puts up with unceasing daily verbal abuse needs psychological help and should get out of that relationship. Especially if there are kids involved.”
Exactly.
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One of my uncles is married to a step – aunt who is thought to be bi – polar. She can be unpleasant or downright hostile to everybody, including complete strangers at times, but my uncle gets the brunt of it & has been with her & loyal for 30 – something years. One could just chalk it up to her condition, but there are likely other factors involved. If I were in a similar relationship, I would’ve gotten into the wind a long time ago.
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On the one hand I think I agree with you, but on the other hand it is different when you are in a relationship and know a person on a more intimate and personal level. While those on the outside see the negative, I am sure there are other factors that we know nothing about. I’m not using this an an excuse for being abusive or staying in an abusive realtionship (because I see no excuse for abuse or allowing yourself to be abused) but I am just saying t here is usually more than meets the eye. Your uncle must see the ralationship in a way we don’t. He could have a very good reason for staying so long or he could have a lousy reason but he must have some reason that you might not see.
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“Why would you expect women to do better than men and then be bitterly disappointed when they don’t live up to your expectations?”
Because they had centuries of mistakes and horrors by men to learn from. Obviously, learning from mistakes is not part of the human nature, feminine or masculine alike. Now I know that men and women are equally dumb. To me that’s good enough a reason to be disappointed with humanity. Plus the other little thing about accusing men of all evil, while it’s now totally obvious that things would have been exactly the same had women been in power.
“Anybody (man or woman) who puts up with unceasing daily verbal abuse needs psychological help and should get out of that relationship. Especially if there are kids involved.”
Exactly. Now, if you kindly explain to me why some women keep staying with men who beat them, I’ll explain why these men stay with women who distroy them psychologically. The human mind is not that easy to understand. However, I still think there should be laws defending both sexes from abuse – any kind of abuse.
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“The human mind is not that easy to understand.” Understatement of the year, Mac.
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Why DO some women stay with men who beat them, insult them & treat them like crap ? There are probably a million strage reasons. I make no claims to being an xpert on relationships between the genders, nor do I claim any expertise in the subject of gender equality or inequality.
& please don’t buy into the messages that the Lifetime Channel sends, ” Because men are evil & will hurt you, there’s Lifetime “. Not all men are nasty, demonic monsters who just want to objectify & abuse women.
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Wow !! ” If you won’t accept my point of view as immutable truth, I’ll just take my marbles & go home “.
Well played…..
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To be fair, I think both sides made their cases clear. Anything more gets repetetive and later, nasty.
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This reminds me of some circular debates about religion & politics that became discussion threads on Rainn Wilson’s website, SoulPancake.com. Sometimes things could get downright nasty. Atheists calling believers ” idiots ” ( not in so many words ), believers calling atheists ” unwashed heathen ” or words to that effect.
We had more than a few discussions re. : gender equality / inequality as well that went badly. So much for seeking harmony.
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The problem with a debate like this or those topics is that those who feel the most passionate are the hardest to convince and it is easy for a debate to devolve very quickly.
Not to change the subject (thought that’s what I’m doing) but how is his site? I follow him on twitter but haven’t had the time to click over there and check it out yet. He keeps posting links on facebook but I haven’t clicked those either. Just lazy.
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I’ve been unable to receive updates except for The Weekly Spoonful, & messages from a thread that a friend of mine started earlier this year that we basically have a 2 – person conv. on.** I ** have been too lazy as to checking why I’ve not getting updates from them myself.
Most of the discussions revolve around ” God / no God “, ” is religion outmoded ? “, ” whose religion is right ? ” so I haven’t tried to dive back in yet. SP used to have discussion theads by teens about which grunge band was the best, etc., as well. & people wanting to know how to contact Rainn Wilson ( AKA ” Forehead Guy ” ) for schmoozing purposes.
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Gotta say, not as interesting as I hoped.
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SP either gets a little too pretentious / pseudo – intellectual or they get over – run by juveniles & stoners. A little over a year ago, someone posted on there that they were contemplating suicide. Of course, it was a plea for attention by an angsty teen who couldn’t face the fact that life is sometimes unfair ( & possibly HIGH ).
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Angsty, high teen looking for attention? Duh.
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Also some social networking going on sporadically as well, & college – age kids asking for relationship advice.
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Now I am less inclined than ever to check it out. Maybe this weekend while the hurricane rages and if I still have power, if I am bored enough I’ll check it out.
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Check it out if you have a sufficiently – charged iPad or Android phone, etc. They even have ads on the site for ” The Soul Pancake Book “. Never really felt curious enough to try to purchase it.
I’ve heard things about the hurricane – it’s going to be a Category 3.
I’ve lived in ” Tornado Alley ” for the last 3 + years, & every time I see a particularly dark cloud, I still get wary. I was here in ’08 when the area was PUMMELED by ” Wrath – of – an – Angry – God ” type funnel clouds in Winter, followed by snow 4 – days after.
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Don’t mean to interrupt the thread here, but I just wanted to say happy Women’s Equality Day! “Women in the United States were given the right to vote on August 26, 1920 when the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was signed. The amendment was first introduced many years earlier in 1878. Every president has published a proclamation for Women’s Equality Day since 1971 when legislation was first introduced in Congress.”
I think too many women take this for granted and don’t really appreciate how much women had to struggle to achieve this basic right.
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Ditto. Happy Women’s Equality Day! And it isn’t just women, I think most people take for granted what they have and don’t appreciate what it took to get it.
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And with all the good points you’ve brought to this thread, I may have missed it if you said it, but what do you think about the slut walk “redeeming” the word slut?
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Yeah, I don’t get it either. Rape is an act of violence. It can happen to little girls and old ladies, so the provocative dress rationale doesn’t necessarily fly in all cases here. Maybe these women who’re doing the “slut walk” thing are just trying to take it to the extreme to point out that dressing that way isn’t going to turn men into uncontrollable beasts. Kind of like performance art…maybe?
You’re right, slut has never had any good connotations to it. And unfortunately in middle schools and high schools across the country it has become increasingly the very word that girls (and some boys) fling at other girls when they want to diss them at school or on social networking sites, to the point that some girls have taken their own lives because of the relentless harrassment. It’s sure a different world than when I grew up.
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