SlutWalk, or Taking Responsibility For Your Appearance
Cover photo by Duncan Cumming
Let’s talk about SlutWalk. A few short months ago in Toronto, Canada, a policeman was speaking to a university audience about the dangers of sexual harassment. During his speech he blurted out: “I’ve been told I shouldn’t say this, but I feel I must. Ladies, you will be subject to less sexual harassment if you don’t dress like sluts.” Almost poetic, isn’t it?
Everyone in the audience was so offended that they created an event called SlutWalk, protesting that… I don’t really know what. Re-claiming their right to dress however they want to without fear of being called “slut” by police officers. Claiming that rape is already a shockingly under-reported crime and by making girls feel that it was their fault they were raped is just making the problem worse.
So naturally when I first heard of SlutWalk, I thought it was a great idea, allowing women to feel more confident to dress however they choose, and to be confident in their sexuality. When I thought about it a little more deeply though, I realised I could not attend this event because of a critical flaw in their philosophy. When I read their manifesto, I distilled it down to these precious words: “I should be able to dress like a slut and there should be no consequences!! SO I’ll dress how I want!”
In an ideal world, dressing in a provocative way wouldn’t increase the likelihood of sexual harassment, but we don’t live in that world. Women dress in a provocative way for many reasons, however one of the main reasons is to get attention from guys – the good kind of attention. Of course it’s inevitable that when you get attention, you get the good and the bad.
When I step into a club wearing a gold jacket, I know that there will be some girls who will like me for it, some girls who hate me for it, and a group of about three guys who would like to beat me up if given the opportunity. I don’t ignore these facts – I embrace them, and I’m prepared to deal with the consequences when they happen. To go out dressing in a manner that attracts attention, thinking you won’t attract negative attention, is to be in denial.
I wrote a little about this on my Facebook status, and it got a few people upset, just as I’d anticipated.
What I didn’t anticipate was someone being so livid that they ended up deleting me from Facebook. It’s unfortunate for me, because, even though I have lived in a culture where roughly half of the population are Women, I still don’t speak Womanese fluently, and when I try to say:
“We don’t live in an ideal world,” it gets translated as “It’s a woman’s fault if she gets raped.”
“We don’t live in an ideal world,” comes out as “I condone sexual assault.”
So I made a little faux pas in the end when, speaking in Womanese, I said “Go masturbate in a cup, and mail me the results.” What I meant to say was “All I’m really saying is, take care of yourself.”
I’m quite sure the message the constable was trying to convey in the first place was similar – that girls should be aware of how the way they dress affects how people behave around them, and how it might even get you into trouble. I do wish he was more tactful about it, as it still seems that people would still prefer to ignore the reality of it. Though I feel that those people would have been offended no matter how the constable said it.
I can think of an apt analogy. Recently, I was in Medellín, Colombia. I’d go to the centre of town, which is a rough area. My friends told me not to take large amounts of money, or my phone, out in public. I heeded their advice. I could have taken my phone out and made a call like a foolish gringo. If that phone got stolen as a result, of course the thief should be held responsible legally. However, I would have made my choice not to follow sensible advice.
So, my friends. Dress however you want. Express yourselves. Just be aware of the risks, and be safe.
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Comments (2)
I would recommend a quick read of the below:
http://clubtroppo.com.au/2011/05/17/does-provocative-clothing-protect-women-against-rape/
Turns out slutty clothing may not be as risky after all.
[Reply]
Kurt Robinson Reply:
May 24th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
That’s a good point Lindsey. I still hope I’m wrong so women can start dressing hotter and going to clubs half naked.
Someone mentioned a similar study to me the other day. I don’t have a reference for it, but it went something like this: 20 men diagnosed as psychotic looked through a one-way mirror at women and they all chose who they would most like to rape (not really sure about the ethics of this one). They all chose the same woman, who did happen to be a rape victim. The woman was of low self-esteem and obviously not comfortable within herself, and not dressed provocatively at all. One conclusion you can draw from this is that rapists deliberately seek out women who dress conservatively. Or, that the clothes have nothing to do with it.
I know that bullies will always choose the easy target, but imagine this: If there are two women of equally low self-esteem and confidence, and one is dressed provocatively, who do you think is more likely to be targeted? Of course, the answer seems obvious to me, but I suppose that might never be proven conclusively.
The other thing is, it’s not just rape that is the issue. It’s a whole range of other behaviours that some classify as sexual harassment, wolf-whistling and hollering, groping, tit cricket, the words “Hi, my name’s Kurt”, etc. We’re not always talking about convicted rapists or people with anti-social personality disorder, but regular drunk men.
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