Who you callin’ a slut?
A sign at the original SlutWalk in Toronto.
By now, you’ve probably heard that last January, a Toronto police officer told students that that they should avoid dressing like sluts in order to prevent being victimized. (Oh, yes he did.) Since then, “SlutWalks” have taken place in over 80 cities worldwide including New York, Boston, Dallas, Melbourne, and London to publicly protest the notion of victim-blaming (particularly their style of dress) when it comes to rape and sexual assault.
Overall I support the message and goal of this new movement (although perhaps not some of the strategies being used. And for more on that, check out this great piece by Leora Tanenbaum, the author of SLUT: Growing Up Female With A Bad Reputation, who told the Huffington Post that reclaiming the word “slut” might not be the best idea.) What baffles me is the tone of the media coverage SlutWalk has received: every single news report I’ve read has highlighted the “scantily-clad” protesters who were “dressed in nothing more than undergarments.” In other words, the reports focus on the most titillating detail (that’s funny, that pun) and play it up as shocking and scandalous.
Of course, these are the same media outlets that publicize ad nauseum the ads, TV shows, videos, etc. that promote and condone undergarments and sexy outfits as appropriate for young girls, teens, and other women.