In light of the ‘slut-shaming’ phenomenon sweeping the web, Madeleine Berry looks at what it says about how we perceive women in our society and asks whether our perspective needs to change.
Around 50 per cent of the people reading this will have experienced the feeling of being named a ‘slut’, or worried that it would happen perhaps because of their clothing or casual relationships. The phenomenon of ‘slut-shaming’ which has cascaded its way into our culture has perhaps got much to answer for this constant fear. Girls in particular are pressured to behave in a certain way and express a certain sexuality that society and those around them deems acceptable. ‘Slut-shaming’ is defined as the act of making an individual feel inferior or guilty for engaging in certain sexual behaviours that deviate from traditional gender expectations. These can include using sex as a form of power control, having casual sex outside of marriage, or even dressing in a way that is deemed to be provocative in its overly sexual nature.
Throughout the social-networking and blogosphere this has escalated to worrying highs, with memes existing to dictate the acceptability of revealing female dress. We all know what I’m talking about; stalking through photos of friends of friends, or maybe that hottie you’ve seen in the library, and deeming that the girls in them look ‘slutty’ or ‘slaggy’. But why do we do this? As women especially, should we really be encouraging the cultural norm that girls who act in a hypersexual way have something to answer for? It’s not dissimilar to buying into the idea that dressing provocatively leads inevitably to rape, and the surrounding tendency of victim blaming. Women are ultimately blamed for being the bearers of attack, because of their audacity to choose to wear a low-cut top or short skirt. But why shouldn’t we choose? By admitting that behaving in such a way that could conjure up the label of ‘slut’, we are consequently pandering to society’s call for a woman that is both sexually experienced and innocent at the same time. And surely, they can’t have it all. Covering up and denying sexual activity outside of the accepted norms throws off the threat of being slut-shamed, but returns the individual to the so-called ‘fantasy’ of innocence and virginity. And if this is the case, once again women are behaving in a way which panders to the desires of men, rather than taking control of their own bodies.
This attitude is what prompted the international SlutWalks in the last five years. Following an event in Canada in which a policeman told female students of a local university to “avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised”, scores of women have taken to the streets to demonstrate that those who experience sexual assault are not the ones at fault. The dress in tight clothes, shorts, backless dresses or underwear and ask ‘do our clothing choices perpetuate a cycle of violence and assault? Are we to blame?’ And the same can perhaps be said for slut-shaming. Should the way that girls dress and their chosen sexual behaviour, provided that it is safe, be to blame for their humiliation? Surely we should be fighting for the right for them to make that choice themselves. Especially when you consider that the male counterparts for slut, are almost exclusively positive, including ‘player’, ‘stud’ or ‘pimp’. Imposing the negative label of slut upon girls who behave in a sexualised way damages the reputation of all females within society; we must all be both chaste and sexy at the same time. And what is worse is that it is overwhelmingly other women who do the labelling. And of the females reading this, you will almost definitely be forced to admit that this is true.
So, maybe we should begin by avoiding the inevitable trawl through Facebook pictures after nights out to scrutinize the girls wearing skimpy skirts and boob tubes, and instead think ‘good for them’ for throwing off the regulations that are placed on them. Now I’m not saying that everyone should start wearing their underwear to the library, but if that’s what it takes to show that behaviour and dress doesn’t denote being a ‘slut’, then bring it on.
exeposedev 