Slutwalk

Slutwalk is the result of women fighting back against the idea that what you wear will determine whether or not you are raped.

It all started with Toronto Police’s lecture to women, saying that “…women should avoid dressing like sluts” to prevent being raped. Women of Toronto fought back by organising a protest which they named “Slutwalk” as a hit-back to say that it doesn’t matter what you wear – if a man is going to rape you, he will do it regardless of your attire.

The concept is multifaceted and has cause a disturbance with feminists and non-feminists alike with the idea that we are to reclaim the word “slut” in order to take it’s power away as a slur on women. I’m going to discuss fully why I think this is a good and feminist idea, and healthy debate is welcome in the comments. (Misogyny will just be deleted though. So no stupit folk, plx)

Toronto's Slutwalk

Okay. What’s the deal with the event? The even itself is a march. It’s purpose is to all say the same thing, which is to reject the idea that a woman can bring rape upon herself. Particularly through means of the way she dresses, which is one of the most common scapegoats for why rape happens.
Slutwalk aims to bring attention to the fact that men rape because they want power. Sexuality and attraction does not even come into it. A man will rape whomever he feels he needs to teach a lesson to or beat down. It is a tool of war and abuse and should be seen as nothing less.

To call a woman a slut is to imply that she should be ashamed of her sexual behaviour. Why is this an issue to anyone other than her? The simple fact of the matter is that it is not. A woman should be free to have sex with whomever she chooses and not be judged for it. It is a product of nation-wide misogyny that a woman should be “Slut-Shamed” for enjoying sex and having it when she likes. Sex is not a bad thing, and it’s just a way of keeping us miserable that it should ever be deemed a bad thing. But the freedom in it should be choice. Not doing it only a certain way, or with certain numbers or certain people. Slut, and all it’s variations (Whore, ho, cow, slapper, tart…) are words that have been put into play to beat women down. To put a woman lower than all the other woman. Everyone knows that the best way to oppress a group is to make lots of in-fighting happen. Women call other women these names because they have been told to, as a mechanism for creating levels of shamefulness and hatred.

We as women need to see that if you are called a slut, it is because you are a woman who is not living up to the male expectation of how you should live your life. Slutwalk aims to bring women together to say that if someone calls a woman a slut, they are calling all women sluts.

This brings me seamlessly onto the concept that’s got everyone talking – reclaiming the word ‘slut’. History has shown success in oppressed groups taking words back off the privileged and robbing them of their power. Black people in America were branded with the word “Nigger” as a way to dehumanise people, and thus making it much easier in people’s minds to treat them less than human. The same goes for the word “slut”. If a woman is thought to be less than a human, someone who makes bad decisions and deliberately puts herself in harm’s way, it makes it easier for people to accept that someone has raped her and that she somehow brought it on herself and to treat her badly.
However, Black Americans took back the word “nigger” and began to use in in their own way, as a word to refer to a peer and thus disabling in in it’s use against them.
The same goes for examples such as the word “queer”, while it’s still early days and there’s a huge amount of work still to be put itno LGBT issues and gay rights, the word “queer” has it’s own meaning within the LGBT community. People use it to in a sense, non-describe their sexuality, to say that they do not conform to straight ideas of a “normal” gender binary.

A lot of people have raised issues about the word “slut” being reclaimed, and this is not to be taken lightly or disregarded. Women have been harmed by this word, their lives destroyed and their reputations been stomped into the gutter by vindictiveness about their sexuality. That is an issue to be respected. However, the reclamation of the word does not mean that we’ll simply use it in the same way, to describe promiscuity or even immediately start using it. The de-powering process is long and will take a lot of work from people who care about women’s rights and want to stand up for those who are oppressed. The starting point for this reclamation can in fact be, the simple act of protesting in Slutwalk. Showing that women cannot be singled out as being shameful, if one of us is a slut, then we sick together and all take the insult.

Another point made by Slutwalk is that what the Toronto Police Force say and what the opinion of the sexist majority think about rape – it happens late at night in dark alleys. This is a huge misconception. These things do happen, but rape is overwhelmingly happening in people’s families and homes. The statistics show that around 80% of cases are by someone the victim knew well, such as a friend, family member or partner. It is important to highlight this fact and stop dwelling on the idea that rape is something that happens to someone, comitted by a bogey man and start looking up to the reality that men rape. These men are husbands, sons, brothers, uncles, friends, grandfathers etc. Rape is committed by men who want to over power women. The reason that the media portrays rape as a bogey-man is that people raped by men close to them will be less likely to report it for many complicated reasons, and this must be respected.

If you agree with what Slutwalk aims to do, then find out if there is one near you and step up to protest the continuing abuse and oppression of women everywhere. Slutwalk Glasgow will be happening on the 4th of June, from 1pm to 4pm hopefully starting at George Square. Bigger numbers mean louder voices, and we need all the noise we can get to uproot this deep seated hatred of women.

25 Comments

Squeak says:

May 12, 2011 at 7:09 pm

I think the societal myth that bogey men are the ones who rape isn’t just about less women reporting violence from those that know, but because it is convenient for men who hurt the women in their lives to avoid responsibility, and for men as a social group to avoid the responsibility and realisation that should follow from knowing that women are mostly being hurt by the men who supposedly care about them most. People want to avoid it because it’s an unpleasant reality, but the fact is that it IS a reality, one that many of us must live with every day. I don’t want it to be reality any more.

Yer Granny says:

May 12, 2011 at 8:58 pm

I am quite taken aback about the amount of women getting involved in this and this is brilliant and to campaign against rape is much needed. Men who rape choose to rape, as I have said other places the rape old women, young women, babies, prostitutes, nuns, wives, sisters, women fleeing soliders, women in parks, women in their own homes, women in mini skirts and boob tubes, women with burkhas on…..nothing but nothing can protect a woman from a man who chooses to rape her perhaps some self defence (and then only if you are lucky).

So the positives of Slut Walk is that lots of people around the globe are discussing this.

For me I just don’t get the “slut” part of it – I would prefer “no one is a slut”. I think there has been unnecessary confusion and division over the “reclaiming” bit – i abhor the idea that the word slut can be reclaimed. I never want to be called a slut, its horrible and nasty. I have worked in the field of violence against women for nearly 2 decades and the word “slut” is used by many of the abusers towards their victims – when they shout at them, put them down, beat them and rape them. It is used to shift the blame from his misogynistic power on to her. I would rather we no longer have the word slut.

I don’t really want to go on the marches because I can’t identify with it however I really hope the energy can be kept to build a wider movement against violence against women.

I also have issues with Reclaim the Night marches too as they marches first came about when women were attacked in the evenings in streets, university campuses etc but we need to be aware that violence against women is not about stranger danger but atleast I don’t find myself slightly offended by it and its quite easy to take up the issues about violence from intimate partner violence, violence from family memebers, vilence from men we know

Tom C says:

May 12, 2011 at 11:19 pm

I understand the taking of the word “slut” the same way we would take any piece of conspicuous power. I’m perfectly happy with people torching expensive cars (demonstrating: I am dangerous, I don’t value material wealth, I don’t value your system of justice). And I’m comfortable with women shouting the the word “slut” in a “what if I am! What does it mean that you call me [all these things you wish to define me as], what does your need to control me say about you?]” sense.

It’s taking the toys and putting them on a bonfire. Who is speaking is more important than what the word means. “the word “slut” is used by many of the abusers towards their victims”… surely there is something powerful about using the word in the opposite direction?

Stuart says:

May 13, 2011 at 7:38 am

As I said on the facebook page I’m uncomfortable with this and will not be taking part no matter how positive the intentions may be. ‘Slut’ is a hateful, contemptuous term which has been used throughout history to shame, condemn and negatively categorise women and I’m not all happy about the concept of reclaiming it just as I hate to hear words such as ‘nigger’ and ‘poof’ and wouldn’t ever like to see them being embraced or normalised. A truly free and liberated society will have no need for words which judge or characterise people based on their gender, ethnicity or sexuality in any way whatsoever.

I have seen some people describing the message of Slutwalk as being “you have no right to assault me even if you think I’m a slut” which is fair enough but why not go further and say that men have no right to think of women as sluts in the first place? That in my view would be a far more radical and far more powerful goal and would do much more to challenge men’s power and sense of entitlement.

It’s absolutely encouraging to see women standing up to and expressing outrage about rape myths and other misogynistic attitudes but it would be wrong to ignore or dismiss the many objections and concerns which have been raised by feminists about the tactics and message in this case and the potential consequences which Slutwalk may have in making it even harder for women to develop an authentic sexuality outside of narrow, male-defined terms.

Let us also not forget the way in which Slutwalk events in other cities have been hijacked by the pro-porn, pro-prostitution lobby and used in order to attack and further marginalise radical feminists. I am by no means saying that this will necessarily be the case at the Glasgow event but it’s definitely something people should be aware of.

The following blog posts are worth reading for a critical feminist perspective on the march:

http://www.feminisms.org/2585/were-sluts-not-feminists-wherein-my-relationship-with-slutwalk-gets-rocky

http://rmott62.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/the-ultimate-slut

Squeak says:

May 13, 2011 at 12:59 pm

I don’t know where people get the idea that we want to keep the word slut in its current form at all. It’s not mandatory to let anybody else call you one, or to call yourself one, or to turn it into a positive. It IS about taking the power out of it and saying guys don’t have the right to denigrate women as sluts in order to enforce their power, and I still don’t understand where people are getting the idea that the march is saying otherwise. If we didn’t think it was a horrible word used to exercise power over women then we wouldn’t be marching against rape off the back of a police officer using “sluts” as a weapon against a group of young women.

The whole concept is one of solidarity with every woman who has ever had it used against her, and frankly I feel a lot of people are taking the focus off the main purpose THEMSELVES by focusing in and insisting that we are somehow “marching for the right to be called sluts”. There are more than a thousand people coming on this walk in Glasgow, in order to stand up against rape, rape myths, and a word that’s used as a weapon against victims, survivors, and any woman who steps beyond the ill defined line. I find it totally disheartening that some people can outright dismiss that, especially when they’re doing it on the basis of something that hasn’t actually been said.

fitta says:

May 13, 2011 at 2:01 pm

Yer Granny: i think the thing that all sides of the ‘reclamation’ argument have to bear in mind is that words in themselves are not abusive; abusers are abusive. simply trying to reclaim the word slut isn’t going to stop it from being used abusively, but by the same token, trying to get rid of the word slut is not going to do anything whatsoever to stop the abuse that it encodes. i’m strongly of the belief that trying to censor or eradicate oppressive words, while we still live in an oppressive world, can only ever have the effect of consolidating their power as the untouchable property of oppressors, as a weapon, as something filthy and obscene and shameful. trying to reclaim words, on the other hand, can to some extent succeed in undermining that power. that obviously doesn’t mean that reclaiming words is anywhere near an adequate response to oppression, or that it’s going to dismantle power altogether, but it can at least have the effect of weakening some of its weapons, rather than simply trying to shield ourselves from them.

further to this, the entire weight of ‘slut’ being a ‘horrible and nasty’ word rests on patriarchal attitudes to what it denotes. ‘slut’ isn’t just a meaningless slur. it’s used a slur *because* patriarchy thinks women being promiscuous or displaying their sexuality is ‘horrible and nasty’. presumably, the point of trying to reclaim the word is to make people think about what it actually means, and to say, actually, we DON’T think these things are horrible and nasty at all, so why should we be using them as insults? i think the danger of taking the angle of ‘no one is a slut’ – even though i totally understand your reasoning, that no-one should be shamed for their sexuality – is that it can easily be twisted and read as a defence of women’s virtue, instead of a rejection of the entire patriarchal notion of virtue. for the majority of people, the word ‘slut’ is not obscene because it’s abusive and manipulative; it’s obscene because it denotes something shameful and nasty. on the other hand, to say ‘well yeah, some of us are sluts, and so what?’ is to force people to confront the actual meaning of ‘slut’ and the attitudes to women’s sexuality it encodes, and hopefully to realise how ridiculous and horrible it is that ‘slut’ should be seen as something filthy and demeaning. i think the comparison with ‘queer’ is a good one. the ‘insult’ behind calling someone ‘queer’ is that it says they are weird and odd and not conforming to society’s model of sexuality; the point of reclaiming it was to say, well, actually, we think it’s perfectly okay not to conform to society’s model of sexuality, so why should we see ‘queer’ as an insult? that doesn’t mean that both ‘queer’ and ‘slut’ won’t continue to be used abusively and hurtfully by people who still think the things they denote are dirty nasty things, but i think it’s positive to keep emphasising to ourselves and to others that the ‘insult’ behind them is all in the abuser’s head. that’s not going to eradicate the harm they do, but surely it can at least somewhat diminish it.

LydiaTeapot says:

May 13, 2011 at 2:03 pm

I’m inclined to disagree with the “what if i am” part, because it makes it seem like there IS a reason to define a woman by who she sleeps with. But i get your general point.

Sarah says:

May 14, 2011 at 4:51 am

I am very uneasy as well about straight white males saying that we shouldn’t reclaim words because they are horrible to hear. I can understand it – for straight white males to hear gay/black/female people using the words invented by straight white males to oppress them to describe themselves is a reminder of the status of traditional oppressor that they (hopefully) want to get away from, and of their privilege. But it’s really not for them to tell oppressed people what they can and can’t call themselves. If you understand the world in terms of privilege, it’s your responsibilty not to shy away from confronting yours where it exists.

I don’t want all of our energies to be focussed on ridding the world of the words that have been used to oppress people. We could be doing things that grasp towards this goal but do so in an illuminating, noticeable, powerful and *fun* way like the Slutwalk aims to do. It is ultimately a noble pursuit to wish that the words would cease to exist, and yes one day which won’t be for a long time I hope that people can be born not knowing or using the language of oppression. But for people who live with oppression every day, reclaiming a word used to oppress them can be a very powerful thing for the fact that it is a reminder of what they are fighting and trying to overcome, as well as asserting agency over those words that have previously been the exclusive property of their oppressors. I think just wanting words to disappear lets the privileged off too easy. Force them to think about it, about what it means, to talk about it and to deconstruct it – like others have said, this is how you take away its power. Sticking your fingers in your ears or criticising Slutwalk for opening the debate on the word in a pro-woman, anti-judgement, active way isn’t helpful. Get involved in the debate yes, because all of the voices that have legitimate and non-abusive views on the word slut have their points to make and can learn from each other. But I don’t see how encouraging people not to go on the Slutwalk advances the position of women in relation to the judgement and blame they face for being raped, or in terms of the power of the words used to keep them down.

Sarah says:

May 14, 2011 at 10:20 am

And the thing about pro-prostitution people etc being involved in other areas. That’s not really got anything to do with the Slutwalk. That’s because the Slutwalk is an expression of feminist ideas, organised on a franchise style basis. In some areas, pro-prostitution/porn feminists are the most vocal ones who do the most organising. Luckily here, radical feminists do the most organising. There’s nothing inherent in the Slutwalk that makes it link better with those feminists than feminists like us. It’s just like all other mass expressions of feminism – sometimes you have to be prepared to argue with the pro porn ones, in all corners of it.

Stuart says:

May 14, 2011 at 10:33 am

I understand your point Sarah that as a straight, white male (no matter how much I might sometimes wish not to fall under that category) I can’t speak with any experience about what it feels like to be at the receiving end of terms such as ‘slut’. In that sense I clearly do possess a degree of privilege and it’s always important to recognise that. I’m not sure though that it necessarily disqualifies me from at least expressing scepticism about the concept of reclaiming words. As I said I think such attempts will always pale in comparison, and are in some ways a distraction to, the genuinely radical struggle of eradicating, once and for all, all of the terms which are used to characterise and demean people based on their position within certain social groups. As someone with a disability I have no desire to reclaim terms such as ‘spaz’ or ‘retard’ and would be offended if anyone tried to do so.

I agree that we can’t simply wish away the language of oppression but I fail to see personally how Slutwalk is going to force misogynistic men to, as you say, think about and deconstruct the term ‘slut’ or to stop using it in a demeaning way. You can just as easily argue that the embracing of the term will lead to it becoming even more normalised and harder for women to object to. I’m not denying that some individual women may well feel a sense of power or agency in using the word in a different way from how it is used by their oppressors but there are lots of valid reasons for believing, from a feminist perspective, that it is perhaps not the best or most effective way to eradicate misogyny and male domination. It is concerning also to see the way Slutwalk has further divided feminists and led to the marginalisation of those (usually radical feminist) women not comfortable identifying in any way with what they consider to be terms of violence and abuse.

I wouldn’t say, nor would it be my place to, that people should not take part in the Glasgow march. Many of the aims are, as I have argued, absolutely sound and it is always good to see people mobilising against sexual violence and against the attitudes and myths which promote and uphold today’s rape culture. I feel unable though to participate personally and feel it would be better if it hadn’t included those aspects which both offend and divide feminists and risk drawing attention away from the common struggle of defeating and destroying patriarchy.

Anyone seen this by the way: http://www.feminisms.org/2703/feeling-uncomfortable-a-response-to-slutwalk-dcs-fundraiser-at-a-gentlemens-club

Slutwalk DC are, believe it or not, holding a fundraising event in a strip club which I think very much proves the point about how the marches in other cities (again not necessarily Glasgow) have been co-opted by anti-feminists and sex industry apologists. It perhaps also raises the question of why we can’t have a protest against the three or four strip clubs that currently exist in Glasgow. We should take the fight directly to the enemy.

LydiaTeapot says:

May 14, 2011 at 1:15 pm

Yes. I want it to be clear also that I’m rather unhappy with the role some males think they need to taken in the feminist movement. The role is supporting women and arguing on women’s behalf. Men are never to be in the forefront of the women’s movement. It would be inappropriate for a white man to try and lead a black movement, so it’s not happening here.

I despise the notion that a man can ever have a proper standpoint on this issue anyway. When have men ever heard the word slut being applied to them? So how can they decide with any kind of gravity what they would like seen done with the word. The point of reclaiming the word isn’t just so it can be banded about with the same meaning to it, it’s about turning it into a word that DOESN’T mean the things it does now. That’s much more powerful than just covering your ears and hoping it goes away forever. It’s also actual activism. I feel that feminism is more of a protective bubble right now, which is good and a good thing to have, but we need to get our arses in gear to start doing stuff, and this is a really strong and positive way to do so.

I don’t know how much more of this I can explain. I’ve reconstructed the arguments against it time and time again over the last few days, but it feels that people aren’t being receptive and open to the idea – or indeed even thinking about the real efficacy of this strategy, they’re just saying they don’t like it so no. This should never happen. That is VERY disheartening. The movement to take the word ‘slut’ back and change it’s meaning is in no way a movement towards the pro porn/prostitution side of things, because I still vehemently oppose both issues.

If you don’t want to involve yourself, I think fair enough, no one can force you to get involved, but I’d prefer it if we weren’t treated like we’re stupid. Especially by straight white men, might I ask.

john l says:

May 14, 2011 at 4:24 pm

I don’t agree with the notion that we should, or even can reclaim the word slut. But that won’t stop me, an shouldn’t stop anyone attending their local march. I’ll be at the one in Glasgow on the 4th.

Springtime for the womens movement. Exciting times.

Liz says:

May 14, 2011 at 9:42 pm

I accept that redefining the word slut can be a positive experience for some people. My difficulty with using it as a call for solidarity underlining the message that no one ever deserves to be raped is that some women find this word triggering, and are not able to reclaim it, any more than someone who is traumatised by nudity is in a position to enjoy the sight of a naked body. I’ve read Rebecca Mott’s note, and while I don’t think her response takes away your right to choose to use the word (or to dress in any way you choose), I find it problematic that an event intended to offer support to women in similar positions is one she finds offensive. I understand that it’s a response to the Toronto policeman’s horrifying comment, but I feel that the drawbacks to using it outweigh the positives.

Yer Granny says:

May 14, 2011 at 11:39 pm

I wouldn’t discourage anyone from going on the Slutwalks in Edinburgh or Glasgow or indeed anywhere I think action to increase women’s agency and fight against men’s violence against women is fantastic. I only have a problem with the name I suppose and the “reclaiming” bit of the word slut. I don’t think the word can be reclaimed however I know in Ethical Slut : A Guide to Infinite Sexual Possibilities (ISBN 1-890159-01-8) abook written by Dossie Easton and Catherine A. Liszt (a pseudonym of Janet Hardy) they do discussing reclaiming the word “slut”.

In Ethical Slut they define the term “slut” as “a person of any gender who has the courage to lead life according to the radical proposition that sex is nice and pleasure is good for you.” Wikipedia explains it as “The term is reclaimed from its usual use as a pejorative and as a simple label for a promiscuous woman Instead, it is used to signify a person who is accepting of their enjoyment of sex and the pleasure of intimacy with others, and chooses to engage and accept these in an ethical and open way — rather than as cheating”. I don’t think you need to use a misogynistic word to define a person who enjoys sex and thinks it is good for them.

The Toronto action and other actions in North America anywaay have talked clearly about reclaiming the word “slut”, if SlutWalk isn’t about reclaiming the word why is it called SlutWalk? My own honest opinion is that I think using the term “slut” is divisive and has exclused a group of women (myself included) who don’t identify with this word however if new women and women who haven’t been involved in action are taking action it seems to be a mute point to make. My gut instinct tells me it is a mistake to go down this road as I think the patriarchs and misogynists will love that women are now calling themselves sluts – even though that is not what is happening

Anyway I hope some movement comes out of this – we can march seperately but strike together – this will be a long battle. The issue isn’t rape convictions which are only 3% of all reported rapes in Scotland (though that is a disgusting statistic) the issue is that some men choose to rape women and this must stop. The low rape convictions are based on values and attitudes of investigators, prosecutors, judges & sheriffs but mostly of the juries, we have a world to win.

Sarah says:

May 15, 2011 at 1:08 pm

“I agree that we can’t simply wish away the language of oppression but I fail to see personally how Slutwalk is going to force misogynistic men to, as you say, think about and deconstruct the term ’slut’ or to stop using it in a demeaning way.”
Slutwalk, like ALL feminist campaigns, isn’t aimed at misogynistic men! These things are usually aimed at women, and men in the middle ground who are either casually sexist or just don’t like to think about women’s issues. I’m pretty sure all feminists are realistic in knowing that we can’t change misogynist men’s attitudes with our actions – they think it’s funny that women are shouting essentially. But we do aim to change wider society’s perceptions of women’s issues, and aim to have the effect of making it unacceptable for misogynist men to act, which in turn aims to lower the number of men who grow up to be misogynists. We as socialists know not to aim our campaigns at the powerful. We aim them at the ordinary because they are the ones with the power and will to change society if they come together en masse.

“You can just as easily argue that the embracing of the term will lead to it becoming even more normalised and harder for women to object to. I’m not denying that some individual women may well feel a sense of power or agency in using the word in a different way from how it is used by their oppressors but there are lots of valid reasons for believing, from a feminist perspective, that it is perhaps not the best or most effective way to eradicate misogyny and male domination.”

You can argue that, but it is completely out of tune with historical example. Has the use of the word nigger in the black community or the use of the word queer in the LGBTQ community seen a rise in the use of the words as insults? No, they have continued to lose prominence as racist & homophobic insults. Do they still get said, and do some vocal idiots pull the argument that “well if the blacks can call each other niggers then so can I”? Yes, but people are roundly able to understand the reasons why it’s not okay for white people to call black people niggers – and you’ll often hear non-politicised people challenging the use of the word – and absolutely nowhere other than in conversations with racist & homophobic people (who are still going to be racist & homophobic regardless of any arguments surrounding words) do you hear them – you don’t hear the words in everyday conversation, nor do you hear them in the media. You DO still hear slut in the media and in pretty much everyone bar feminists’ everyday conversations , and I think it’s an advantageous position for feminists to be in if there’s a growing number of people willing to challenge that and say “hey, you don’t have the right to call women sluts”. I don’t see how anyone can say that Slutwalk encourages the use of the word in the perjorative, whether that’s amongst the people on the march or amongst other people, as it’s creating a layer of young women & men ready to challenge the modern use and meaning of the word.

There is not a SINGLE historical case of the reclaiming of a word by an oppressed community leading to it becoming harder for them to object to when used by their oppressors or in a demeaning way. Seriously, not one. If you think there is, you are considering your experience of the word now, as someone who has never been called those words and as someone who never saw the prevalence of those words as perjorative terms in the past. With the word ‘slut’, we are still at the starting stage – but that doesn’t mean we won’t get to the end stage, and I think it’s pretty offensive to the experiences of black & gay people to try to say that the instances of the uses of the words nigger & queer as insults hasn’t gone down – when they have worked very hard to *make* the instances go down, through a multi-faceted approach that includes both reclaiming, denying the right of white & straight people to use those words, and through campaigning hard to get closer to equality. And there are plenty of insults that have grown and grown over time, but those are just insults, they have not been reclaimed. And I think it’s a display of white & heterosexual privilege to claim that the efforts of the black and queer communities which *have* reclaimed words haven’t done it succesfully and it’s still offensive even when they say it. Yes there are people in those communities who aren’t comfortable using those words and that’s okay. But it’s still pretty offensive to say that the experiences of those people who have positive attachments to those words are invalid.

I still don’t really want to call myself a slut just because I don’t feel the need to label my sexuality, but I’m totally fine if someone else wants to and think it’s a positive thing. But seriously, the amount of reclaiming-denying (denying that it exists, has been done and can be done – denying that it’s desirable to do it is a valid argument that I’ve been happy to have but I’m sick of hearing privileged lies about the existence of reclaimed words – IT’S OFFENSIVE, STOP IT) that has gone on around this issue seriously offends me and only makes me want to work harder to ensure that the Slutwalk pulls off and that what is *clearly* the will of young feminist women across the city is not dampened by non-sequiteur arguments from older feminists. There is a clear age divide on the issue and I’d ask older feminists to be aware of your privilege in that regard when speaking to us.

“Slutwalk DC are, believe it or not, holding a fundraising event in a strip club which I think very much proves the point about how the marches in other cities (again not necessarily Glasgow) have been co-opted by anti-feminists and sex industry apologists. It perhaps also raises the question of why we can’t have a protest against the three or four strip clubs that currently exist in Glasgow. We should take the fight directly to the enemy.”

I will repeat the point I’ve already just made:
And the thing about pro-prostitution people etc being involved in other areas. That’s not really got anything to do with the Slutwalk. That’s because the Slutwalk is an expression of feminist ideas, organised on a franchise style basis. In some areas, pro-prostitution/porn feminists are the most vocal ones who do the most organising. Luckily here, radical feminists do the most organising. There’s nothing inherent in the Slutwalk that makes it link better with those feminists than feminists like us. It’s just like all other mass expressions of feminism – sometimes you have to be prepared to argue with the pro porn ones, in all corners of it.

Also, I think we should have protests against Glasgow’s stripclubs (with sensitivities to the women who work there and making it clear that we support them and are not judgemental of them but rather are protesting the abusive industry and the men who control it and use it). Let’s do it. It’s just a non-sequiteur to say that Slutwalk is distracting people from doing that. If we want to do it, let’s! It’s totally unfair to say ‘it’s distracting from all this other feminist activity’ – feminist activity which HAS NOT BEEN ORGANISED. We are not responsible for organising all feminist activity, so don’t tell us that the activity we are organising is distracting for all that other feminist activity we could be organising. If you want something done organise it yourselves. And we will be involved. And we will organise many other activities in future. None of that has any bearing on whether it’s okay for us to organise a Slutwalk.

I also have to say that I was pretty upset yesterday to see feminists I have long respected and worked with going out of their way to congratulate a man for agreeing with them.. whilst simultaneously actively scorning all of the young women in the party who have organised a 1200 strong demo against rape and attitudes to rape. It’s just fucked up, and is part of the reason why none of us feel particularly welcome in the party and at party events at the moment. Oh and don’t accuse me of being a post-modernist elitist either. I hate postmodernism. Reclaiming words is very much rooted in our experiences of oppression and in class. Denying its existence and the possibility of its success is elitist privilege denying pish.

Squeak says:

May 15, 2011 at 2:28 pm

“I also have to say that I was pretty upset yesterday to see feminists I have long respected and worked with going out of their way to congratulate a man for agreeing with them.. whilst simultaneously actively scorning all of the young women in the party who have organised a 1200 strong demo against rape and attitudes to rape. It’s just fucked up, and is part of the reason why none of us feel particularly welcome in the party and at party events at the moment. Oh and don’t accuse me of being a post-modernist elitist either. I hate postmodernism. Reclaiming words is very much rooted in our experiences of oppression and in class. Denying its existence and the possibility of its success is elitist privilege denying pish.”

THANK YOU.

I don’t know how many times I can say it; this is not about calling anybody a slut, or encouraging the use of it as an insult. We get called sluts all the time to justify sexual violence against us, and then this powerful polis uses it, and people snap. They’ve had enough, so they go out on the street to show SOLIDARITY and challenge the idea of what a slut is, and the use of the idea to denigrate women, by being out in public saying “What does this word even mean? Does it mean that I like sex? That I like dressing a certain way? That I once wore a top that you could see my breasts in? Does it actually mean that I like sex but wont sleep with YOU? If I’m a slut and she’s a slut then we’re all sluts, so fuck off with that description because it means nothing except showing your weakness and need to drag women down with slurs.”

I would find it easier to take the argument that this isn’t about misreading intentions or reading in stuff that is just not there if people weren’t consistently positing arguments at us like that we’re somehow promoting prostitution, or that we’re promoting promiscuity and that that’s OMG a terrible thing (at least five different ‘feminist’ women on the FB event page), or that we’re encouraging the use of slut as an insult, or that we’re getting too wrapped up in one word and not focusing on the ‘real’ issue.

The event is about rape, rape myths and rape culture. The event is about trying to dismantle the ideas about women that act as enablers for, and are part and parcel of, a culture where groping, harassing and assaulting women is considered just a-ok. Quite frankly, it’s other folk who are EXHAUSTING people by demanding that we spend all our time justifying the use of the word. It’s this which takes focus off what it’s about. It’s a political tactic to say “If my sister is a slut, then so am I.” It’s about saying “We will not take this justification, that a woman is a slut, any more.” It’s about saying that people can use that word, but we will not shut up. Now, does ANY of that sound like it’s A) pro-prostitution B) Denigrating women or C) not about sexual violence? This is about saying that this word is used against ALL women to justify a culture of sexual violence against us, and so we stick the label on the walk as an expression of solidarity, and we have in fact forced a shitload of people to consider exactly what they think a slut is and how it’s used. That is one of the big things we want to do; get people to consider the meaning behind the word, and the ideas it embodies, and how people use it to excuse men raping us. Frankly it depresses me that people can get so in to denigrating a feminist march that is now HUGE because of things that we haven’t even said. I really, really object to people coming on and saying “Well, not saying this about Glasgow but LOOK AT THIS!” If you’re not saying it about Glasgow, why are you bringing it up in a debate about Glasgow? As far as the DC event goes, I, and THOUSANDS of other feminists, lots of us involved in organising SlutWalks, have formally complained to the organisers. I’d like to see the ACTUAL evidence that there is this plague of pro-prostitution, pro-porn industry lobbying going on at Slutwalks around the world. Before you gather any you might have, here’s a hint: women who are involved in prostitution, porn, webcam work etc. coming out on the march and saying that they’re not ashamed of themselves, and that people do not have a right to assault them does not count.

Of course I understand that some women find the word triggering, and so don’t find themselves in a position to come on the march. I have never had a problem with that. What I do have a problem with is people trashing the whole march based on things we haven’t even said, and not appreciating that a lot of women also have found the marches to be an empowering, emotional experience of walking the streets with other women, all standing together and saying “We will not take this violence and the excuses for it any more.” Yes, I get angry when I talk about this (as I see people have a problem with) but that’s because seeing activists you have known and worked with for years basically dismissing your anti-rape march as a misogynist exercise is more depressing than I can tell you.

As a last note, I very much object to being told by guys that I am doing feminism wrong, and as a survivor of sexual violence I particularly object to them telling me I’m doing anti-rape activism wrong. That is not your call to make.

Coming on the march doesn’t mean everybody wants to self-identify as a slut; I do not identify as it. But what I AM doing is saying “If she’s a slut then so am I” as an attempt to say that I do not care about the excuses people use to justify sexual violence, it will never make it ok. When we say we want to reclaim it, we want to take it out of the hands of those who wield it as a weapon.

Stuart says:

May 15, 2011 at 5:38 pm

I was responding to the bit Sarah where you wrote:

“But for people who live with oppression every day reclaiming a word used to oppress them can be a very powerful thing for the fact that it is a reminder of what they are fighting and trying to overcome, as well as asserting agency over those words that have previously been the exclusive property of their oppressors. I think just wanting words to disappear lets the privileged off too easy. Force them to think about it, about what it means, to talk about it and to deconstruct it – like others have said, this is how you take away its power.”

I assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that by this you meant that Slutwalk would force men who oppress and demean women to ‘deconstruct’ the word slut and to rethink and reconsider their use of the term. I agree that no single protest is ever going to stop men from being vile misogynists but the aim should always be very clear in holding such men, and in fact all men, to account and condemning their actions as appalling and unacceptable. Many feminists believe that the message promoted by Slutwalk can in some ways serve as a diversion away from that goal although I certainly understand if people here see things differently. Personally I can sympathise with those feminists who have expressed unease over the thought of men being happy to hear women calling themselves sluts and who have been wary about the apparent championing of Slutwalk by large numbers of men online who have often never been active previously within the feminist movement. We should perhaps consider why Slutwalk has got so much more attention from the patriarchal media than, for example, Take Back the Night or OBJECT.

The experiences of the ‘reclaiming’ of the word ‘nigger’ among members of the black community and of ‘queer’ among gays and lesbians has been far from universally positive and has caused discomfort among many. Their usage as terms of abuse has indeed diminished although it can’t be said with any certainty that it is their ‘reclaiming’ which has primarily brought that about, rather it was decades of often violent struggle by oppressed groups which forced society to change and to take a stance against discrimination, racism and homophobia. If a desire to reclaim words was to draw people away more concrete political struggles against oppression and against those individuals who abuse and oppress then I would certainly feel that to be step in the wrong direction. Absolutely I agree that it’s great and encouraging for women to get together and say “hey, you don’t have the right to call women sluts” but that is not what many feminists have experienced as the prime message of Slutwalk. I agree with them that if that is indeed the aim then “No Women Are Sluts” may perhaps have been a better title for the march.

I accept that Slutwalk is being organised by different people in different cities and it’s great that the pro-porn, pro-prostitution lobby has (so far) had little or nothing to do with the Glasgow one. To see the whole phenomenon as some kind of patriarchal plot to attack and destroy radical feminists is clearly wrong but there has certainly been a worrying trend of organised pro-sex industry activists (not just women in the industry speaking out against abuse at an individual level) co-opting the marches or being warmly welcomed and embraced by some of the organisers of them at the same time as radical feminists are marginalised and kept at a distance. Radical feminists are, I feel, absolutely justified in being alarmed over this and some people have perhaps been a bit too quick to dismiss or disregard their concerns. I’m not saying that Slutwalk is necessarily distracting people away from other forms of activism and, especially if the concerns of radical feminists were taken into account, it could of course potentially serve a positive role in raising people’s consciousness around all of the diverse forms which patriarchy takes within today’s society.

Sarah says:

May 15, 2011 at 9:30 pm

I am a radical feminist. Being pro-Slutwalk isn’t un-radical feminist. Please don’t try to strip me of my identity as a radical feminist just because some other radical feminists don’t agree on this issue.

mhairi mcalpine says:

May 15, 2011 at 9:45 pm

I entirely support the premise of “SlutWalk”, but at the same time I can see and share some of the concerns expressed, links with the sex industry (both in the use of the term itself and formally in organisations supporting it); the promotion of female sexuality within a context where this has been highly commodified and the cultural imperialism which has surrounded the organisation of a “SlutWalk Tehran” are serious issues. But finding yourself in uncomfortable company isnt new, feminists organising against the sex industry have often rubbed shoulders with religious elements keen to promote “female virtue”; feminists organising for pro-choice have rubbed shoulders with eugenists; feminists in ethnic subcultures have rubbed shoulders with racists. It is good that those of us supporting SWs are reminded of its perils and dangers from people who have encountered similar before.

At first I was disappointed by the heat that this issue has created, however after a few days to think about it, I’m actually quite encouraged by it – this is being discussed and critiqued in Scotland at grassroots level far more than in the rest of the UK from what I have seen. Moreover, some of the mainstream commentators are bringing up issues of why exactly its so necessary to move beyond RtN.

Stuart says:

May 16, 2011 at 4:59 am

I’m sorry if you feel that’s what I’m doing Sarah and I should obviously have phrased it as “some radical feminists”. Of course I’m not saying that supporting Slutwalk in any way diminishes people’s right to call themselves radical feminists or that there aren’t large numbers of radical feminists who support the event. I used the term simply because it is primarily from radical feminists where most of the opposition or objections to it have come from. I also used it because many radical feminists have felt both marginalised and excluded from various Slutwalk event around the world. That the Glasgow event is more inclusive is definitely positive and commendable.

Another Granny says:

May 20, 2011 at 10:41 pm

Well I’m a bit unsure now of what type of feminist I am. I’m a woman, an older one, a feminist, trying to be a marxist, and I’m unhappy about this walk. But hey ho, as I have said, I’m an older woman. But I get the message. Well almost. I’m commenting here. Stuart, you get it.

Lucrece says:

May 24, 2011 at 1:57 pm

Hi,

I am one of the organisers of Edinburgh Slutwalk. I can say that, from our perspective, this is about denying the right of others to judge and shame us, by taking the word slut for ourselves. It is also about denying the notion that any woman dressed any way is somehow inviting assault. We completely understand the mixed feelings that people have. I have personally observed a few men online saying ‘yay sluts’ and the like, and been aware that they are not entering into the spirit of the thing, and yes it does give me mixed feelings. But I believe that it can give us a sense of power over our bodies and our destinies to deny others the ability to shame and ridicule us by taking that word from them.

By no means do we expect everyone to agree with us regarding the reclaiming (or, more accurately, claiming) of the word slut. But we hope that everyone can agree with the other message: we *always* have the right to say no.

Capital punishment is key says:

June 26, 2011 at 2:41 am

Words are not powerful it is foolish and childish to somehow reclaim a word. If I was to say fuck you to any of you you wouldn’t say i’m going to reclaim that word by calling yourself a fuck. It is an offensive word so you don’t call yourself it. In fact it sounds like some playground bully is some how some great mindfucker by somehow making thew bully victim bully himself. The words are demeaning and will continue to be recognised as demeaning. Just like when a white person( thats person because unlike yous I am not being historically inaccurate by excusing white women from their equal share in the blame of being white) calls a black person a n….. its still insulting regardless of black people saying it to themselves.

Lastly and most importantly I would comment that you are living in a word of good and bad what you realise from studying humanity in any detail is that there are no such thing. Perfect example of this is Rome and Carthage. Rome and Carthage the two were powerful but at the end of the day one was victorious and there people went onto rule. And from the slaves taken from Africa from the Ottoman Empire and the africans that sold their ‘Brothers’ into slavery you quite quickly realise that to blame the white man is infinetly childish and not looking at a very complex issue.

But alas I know you deal in childish thoughts and can not gaze into the mind of a man who leads and why often he doesn’t do it to be a prick but does it to rule and get a fuck load of money.

Meghan says:

June 26, 2011 at 8:07 am

Language is a social construct. This means that words meanings change over time, as society changes. This isn’t something we’re making up, this is something that happens. Furthermore, structuralist theory has proven that the relationship of a word (signifier) to what it means/refers to (signified) are completely arbitrary. This means that we always have the power to change the meaning of a word: all it takes is time and social consensus.

I find it a bit ironic that you say in the first half of your comment that ‘It is an offensive word’, implying that it is inherently bad, and then later you make an existentialist point that there is no such thing as good and bad. I agree that there is no inherent good and bad, only positive and negative attributes, which like words are socially constructed and therefore changeable and fluid.

Also, nobody on this website is denying their white privilege (except perhaps for those of us who are not white). There is no part of this post that tries to claim that white women are exempt from any sort of historical crimes.

I love that you assume we are childish and have no knowledge of humanity. This is a grossly unfounded claim. Please do not continue to barrage this website with abuse. We welcome debate and queries, but not trolling or flaming. Future trolling will not be tolerated.

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March 18, 2012 at 11:57 pm

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