SlutWalk is not sexual liberation
SlutWalk has really been bugging me lately. Aside from the fact that it doesn’t take into account any of the views of women of color or women who are forced into working in the sex industry, it aims to appropriate the word “slut” into some sort of positive, empowering term. I really don’t think that’s ever possible and do we really want to make “slut” a positive word? Women’s empowerment and ending sexual violence are all necessary issues for our generation, but I think there are other avenues to go about it. The fact that people think its cool to use irony and satire to dress up as “sluts” and prove some sort of point about sexual autonomy irritates me to no end. It’s just another example of how people use irony to lighten a serious issue up and marginalize people who don’t think it’s funny. And practically speaking, the last thing a man (or woman) will think seeing a bunch of women marching in “slutty” attire is women’s empowerment.
The organisers claim that celebrating the word “slut”, and promoting sluttishness in general, will help women achieve full autonomy over their sexuality. But the focus on “reclaiming” the word slut fails to address the real issue. The term slut is so deeply rooted in the patriarchal “madonna/whore” view of women’s sexuality that it is beyond redemption. The word is so saturated with the ideology that female sexual energy deserves punishment that trying to change its meaning is a waste of precious feminist resources.
Advocates would be better off exposing the myriad ways in which the law and the culture enable myths about all types of women – sexually active or “chaste” alike. These myths facilitate sexual violence by undermining women’s credibility when they report sex crimes. Whether we blame victims by calling them “sluts” (who thus asked to be raped), or by calling them “frigid” (who thus secretly want to be overpowered), the problem is that we’re blaming them for their own victimisation no matter what they do. Encouraging women to be even more “sluttish” will not change this ugly reality.
