As one of the organizers of next month’s SlutWalk Los Angeles, I’ve noted with some sadness that this movement has been met with misunderstanding from many. How, the question is asked over and over, is it liberating for women to co-opt a hate-filled word like “slut”? Is this really the best way to fight against sexual violence?
The latest pushback against SlutWalk comes in today’s Guardian, and it comes from two renowned feminists, Gail Dines and Wendy Murphy. In their op-ed SlutWalk is Not Sexual Liberation, Dines and Murphy assert that
… 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.
Dines and Murphy should know better. There is a long and well-documented history of how slanderous epithets are transformed by the very people who were their targets. Think of “Bitch” (now the name of one of the most respected feminist magazines on the market) or “Cunt” (the title of Inga Muscio’s brave and groundbreaking modern classic.) Think too of the complex use of “nigger” (or “nigga”) in African-American pop culture, and of the way in which a younger generation of gay and lesbian folk have embraced “Queer.” All of these words began as cruel insults; all have been “reclaimed” by those whom the words were intended to wound.
The word “reclaim” itself is misunderstood. In the SlutWalk movement, we talk often about reclaiming the word “Slut”. Critics ask if there ever was a time when the word was using approvingly. How, they ask, can you “reclaim” as empowering something rooted in judgment and hostility? But as the dictionary will tell you, “reclaim” has multiple meanings. It’s rooted in the Latin reclamare: “to cry out” in protest.
SlutWalk is a public “crying out” in protest against sexual violence. SlutWalkers reject the madonna/whore dichotomy that Dines and Murphy rightly decry. SlutWalk stands for the principle that no matter how short the skirt, no matter how high the heel, no matter how promiscuous the past, every woman is entitled to freedom from verbal or physical sexual assault. SlutWalk began in response to a Toronto constable’s suggestion that women “should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized.” When Dines and Murphy denounce women’s reclamation of the word slut, when they question the validity of young women’s sexual agency, they’re closer to the constable’s views than they realize.
What Dines and Murphy share with the Toronto cop is a sense that women are fools for demanding a level sexual playing field with men. Like so many of my colleagues on the “anti-porn” wing of feminism, Dines and Murphy tend to mistrust (or ignore) young women’s efforts to pursue pleasure. Their concerns about premature sexualization are legitimate, and I share them. But I think they seriously underestimate young women’s potential to negotiate their way from unwanted sexualization to healthy, empowered sexual agency. That kind of journey can’t take place alone, of course. And that’s part of what the SlutWalk movement is about: creating a safe space for women to come together in public defiance of those who would define their sexuality for them.
The Toronto constable and his sympathizers want to tell young women that miniskirts, fishnets, and bustiers are an invitation to rape. Dines and Murphy imply that those garments are oppressive. SlutWalk suggests that the reality is more complex than that.
As we organize for SlutWalk LA on June 4 (the same day as SlutWalk London), I note the tremendous enthusiasm among many of my students who don’t have a history of feminist activism. We’re not just preaching to the feminist choir, or using a clever gimmick to draw in the media. We’re fusing activism with performance while demanding both the right to pleasure and the right to safety. By inviting men and women, young and old, the virginal and the experienced alike to claim the name “slut”, we’re bringing in new recruits to do vital justice work.
Dines and Murphy are absolutely right that we live in a culture in which far too many women are forced to perform sexually in ways that they don’t want. Countless women are forced into sex work against their will (even pro-sex advocates acknowledge the reality of coerced prostitution). Far too many girls and women are forced to feign a sexual persona that is not only inauthentic but oppressive. But we don’t undo the damage of forced sexualization by demanding that women cover up. We do it by working relentlessly to expand options for women — both the right to and the right not to be sexual in public or private. That’s very much part of the SlutWalk message.
At the end of their piece, Dines and Murphy opine:
Women should be fighting for liberation from culturally imposed myths about their sexuality that encourage gendered violence. Our daughters – and our sons – have the right to live in a world that celebrates equally women’s sexual freedom and bodily integrity.
I couldn’t agree more. And one of those “culturally imposed myths” we need to reject is that the word “slut” must always be saturated with shame.
UPDATE: For more on SlutWalk, see this response to Dines and Murphy by the great blogger Ray Filar: SlutWalking is rooted in riot grrl attitude.
And if you have the time, I highly recommend this video from Canada’s TVO newsprogram, featuring a 30 minute debate about SlutWalk. Gail Dines is in it, as is the great Jaclyn Friedman, whose great post about reclaiming the word “slut” is a must-read.
See also this report on this past weekend’s Boston SlutWalk from Chloe at Feministing, which includes a transcript of Jaclyn’s moving keynote address. Terrific stuff.
I’m not a big fan of the idea of “re-claiming” stigmatized words. Re-claiming “queer” worked. Saying you are queer is a way of identifying yourself as outside the gender and orientation “normative”. I love the term gender queer. On a side note I also think using “gay” negatively will pass over time, just like we stopped using “retarded” which was popular when I was younger. “faggot” on the other hand is still a massive insult. “Nigger” is also a reclaiming fail. Most female pejoratives lie somewhere between the two.
Slutwalk, for me, was not about re-claiming the word “slut”. I’m not ever going to call a woman a slut. I am insulted if someone calls me a slut, even in a “nice” way, even in a joking way. Its a word that is used to shame women into or out of certain behavior. The answer in my opinion is not to say “yes I am a slut, see me own it” but to say “there is nothing wrong with this thing I’m doing, don’t try to shame me”.
To me, slutwalk was the backlash against a police officer saying if you don’t want to get raped don’t dress like a slut. It was saying look at us, we are human beings and you cannot shame us out of our sexuality and you cannot use the fear of rape to keep us from doing what we want to do, dressing how we want to dress, and expressing our sexuality. We are women, hear us roar.
It has, of course turned into more than just that. It’s turned into a sexuality pride parade, a political protest, a stand against rape, and a show of feminist strength and solidarity. In the march against “slut” as a tool of shame, some people are trying to re-claim it, and turn it into a positive word, but I think its not just the stigma of a word that makes it powerful, the entire history of the word gives it its meaning. You can’t just say a word has a new meaning, but you can say a word doesn’t apply to you.
I happen to love that you guys are using the word “slut.” There is something defiant about it, something wonderfully “in your face” to all of those who would shame us for being a sexual person. I love that the word “slut” is associated with “cheap.” Both have them are designed to remind us women that if we have too much or enjoy it too much, we will lose our value. News flash, my fellow feminists, my value does not lie between my legs, so I cannot devalue myself by what I do sexually.
Too many feminists turn into Kathy Lee Gifford around the subject of sex, primly asking young women, “Why don’t you respect yourself more?” It just so happens that respecting myself can involve flipping up my skirt and saying, “Now, I want it now!” There is nothing feminist about agreeing with patriarchy’s judgment that a woman is devaluing herself if she has sex when, where, how and with whom she damned well pleases.
This week someone jokingly called me a bitch, and I responded with the now standard, “you say that like it is a bad thing.” I would love for us to have the option of responding similarly to slut-shaming. Maybe we could start with: “You say that like enjoying my sexuality is a bad thing.”
That is really, REALLY obtuse to claim that a subset can ‘reclaim’ a hateful epithet when that certain epithet is still in use as a pejorative today. There’s something very telling about a white man writing about the reclaiming of ‘nigger’ by some forms of black culture when that in reality is still one of the most hurtful and hateful words to direct at someone, and still hotly debated among those in the black community as to whether it is acceptable or not.
Reclaiming a word like ‘slut’ (or ‘queer’, or ‘nigger’) isn’t just about taking ownership of a meaning, it is about redefining an identity. When culture-laden words are lobbed, they are a way of labeling, of assigning a socially pre-defined identity to a particular person or group. Once that identity has been assigned it is hard to shake. One of the most effective ways to counter the stigma of the word, as you put it, is to take the wind out of its sails, not by ‘making it a positive thing’, but by grinding off its sharp edges and removing its power as a weapon.
Fantastic work and response!!! We need a slutwalk in every town and city in the world!
“You can’t just say a word has a new meaning, but you can say a word doesn’t apply to you.”
So… to whom does it apply then? Saying “*I* am not a slut, not like those other women over there” implies that all the negative implications of sluttiness – including an implication that rape is acceptable in certain cases – are still valid. It’s divisive and othering of women who, for whatever reason, are self-identified or identified by others as “sluts”.
Pingback: so what’s a Slut Walk? « hahayourefunny
@lovesick – I have been called a slut or slutty or trampy or cheap or whatever, because somehow, to other people, the way I dress and the fact that I’m hot and I like to rave and make out with strangers “makes” me a “slut”. But I am not a “slut”, I am a person. And every other PERSON who has ever been called a “slut” is also, in my mind, not a “slut”. To me prostitutes aren’t even “sluts”. I will never call a person a slut, because slut is a hateful word. It is used, as I said, to shame people. I reject the word, as applied to me, as applied to anyone.
Because I reject it, I am of the opinion that it can not be “re-claimed”, but women who want to self-identify as sluts are perfectly within their rights to do so (to themselves, not other women). My only defense is to continue to share my perspective and hope people catch on.
Also, I just re-read my post to make sure there wasn’t anything I said that could be misconstrued, and I’m not really sure where you got the idea I was okay with OTHER women being labeled as sluts but not me.
For the record, it should maybe say “You can’t just say a word has a new meaning, but you can say a word doesn’t apply to you, and you, and you, and you, andyouandyouandyouandyouandyou andyouandyouandyouandyouandyouandyouandyouandyouandyouandyou x’s the entire population of the planet.
I’m trying to figure out how to get to the LA SlutWalk; one way or another I’ll do my best to be there.
I like Thomas Miller’s take on reclaiming the word ‘slut’. We should be fighting it from both sides. Saying “Yes, I’m a slut” is a great way of loudly refusing to be shamed by the word. Going on to say “there’s no such thing as a ‘slut’ as you understand the term” seems to me to be more of a clarification than a contradiction of the previous statement.
Eh, shocker here…as a self-identified slut, I sure as shit have issue with thinking the word will ever be reclaimed and made into something “okay” without a serious section of the world getting a mssive attitude adjustment- and while I recognize that is part of the effort here…..sometimes I think it is real easy for guys who would technically be sluts without question to speak of how snazzy reclaiming that word is because no matter HOW slutty THEY are, they are never, ever gonna take the same shit for BEING a slut that a woman is. Period. Not in our life times if EVER. The word doesn’t bother me, hell, people can call me whatever the fuck they want and generally I am just gonna snark on ‘em, but a girl or woman who is labelled a slut, with or without reason, is gonna pay for it. I can appreciate calling it a Slut Walk for the in your face factor, but saying its gonna help reclaim it or lessen the bullshit that goes with being a slut is a HUGE< HUGE freakin' stretch. And sometimes I think the men of the world do not understand just how being branded a slut can wreck a woman….I mean really- take me and a guy who has the exact same sorta lifestyle I do and has done the same sorta shit I have and say, oh, he rapes me. Trial comes. Whose history is gonna be splattered all over the place? Who is gonna be labelled the slut and punished for it even AS the victim of the crime? Ayep, me….or any other woman who it ever happens to who can be called or made into "the slut". There is a lot of ugly that goes with that word…a lot…and those of us who do not give a shit rank in small fewer numbers than those who have been really fucked up and fucked over due to those four letters and the connotations that go with it.
and Gail Dines…pfft….that womans career rests on finding bad feminists and bad feminism to get all up in arms about- if you don't do it her way, well, you're wrong and she wont hear of it! Agree or be utterly discounted seems to be her MO.
oh…and I have discovered the KEY for dealing with the “don’t wear short skirts if you don’t wanna get raped” bullshit…
Don’t tell me how to dress and think its an invite for rape unless you wanna get shot. I mean come on, thinking fishnets is an invite? Attitudes like that? Those folk are just BEGGING to get shot.
Yep, this is why it is breaking my heart that I probably won’t be able to hit SlutWalk DC when it comes around this summer.
waah!
I think surrounding myself with sluts will do me SO much good, too, psychologically…well, maybe the baby won’t have arrived yet! and I will feel up to dragging my enormously pregnant self down to DC in the full heat of summer on the Metro–okay, probably not.
dammit!
@Twister I don’t think reclaiming ‘slut’ is about redefining the term so much as it is about reducing its capacity to shame and disempower. In that sense, reclaiming ‘slut’ by using it in the context of things like SlutWalk is like an innoculation against it. The fact that there’s such a visceral reaction against the use of the word means it still has a lot of power in people’s minds, and i think the solution is to use it, embrace it, and reduce its power.
Pingback: What We Missed
There’s another meaning of the word ‘slut’, an older meaning. A slut can also be a woman who doesn’t feel compelled to clean her house every day, who may have dusty tables and crumbs under her cushions, and dishes piled in the sink. ‘Slut’s wool’ is the fluffy stuff that gathers under the bed.
When girls and women are called sluts for expressing their sexuality, I seethe. When people caution them to dress modestly in order to avoid being raped, that’s like saying the dust in the house is my exclusive responsibility because I’m female. So whether or not I like the word ‘slut’, I agree with the statement that is being made here. If there were a SlutWalk near me, I’d join.
@Monmunk – I think re claiming the word slut will work about as well as re-claiming the word nigger. I.e. in my opinion not at all. Two black people might call each other niggers, two women might call each other sluts, but if a white man were to call a black person a nigger or a woman a slut it would still be a BIG FUCKING DEAL.
Just because SOME people decide they are going to use a word in a positive way, doesn’t make it any less of a big deal when someone uses it in a negative way. If I were to call myself a slut, I would still know that this other person calling me a slut was doing it to demean me. I don’t suddenly forget the history of a word just because I decide one day *I’M* going to use it differently.
Having power against being called a slut is to know you are not a slut. I KNOW I am not a slut. I could walk around naked, rub myself all up on strangers, and have sex 200 times a day and still not be a slut. Slut is a word that was created to oppress me, and I know I am not that word.
I think the problem is that there is no such thing as agency in the sphere of commercial sex…
We like to think that sex work can be ‘liberating’ but the truth is that that ‘empowerment’ is an only ILLUSION of power…
That that ‘power’ is conditional and GIVEN by the truly powerful- the men. That women only feel powerful if men allow it…
To better understand this concept and the anti-porn argument in general, I suggest people first read this article titled “The Sword of Power”- http://archiveofthebitingbeaver.wordpress.com/2008/04/19/sword-of-power/
It’s not fair to discount an argument without first fully understanding its stance.
Hugo,
Much respect for your work, but I totally disagree with you here. If you call women sluts, you simply reinforce the sexual hierarchy that is built into the English language. Certainly some women find empowerment by pushing that meme, but I don’t think it works for most women.
Bringing up the n-word actually supports the opposite view of the stance you are taking. The NAACP “buried” the n-word a couple years back. You’ll never hear a black politician or black CEO using it. Black comedians use it a lot, but it has done little to promote serious discussion of black humanity.
Forget the “n” word: the much better examples are “Bitch” and “Queer”. For heaven’s sake, we now have Queer Studies departments — talk about the redemption and reclamation of a word.
And we need to remember: it was the Toronto constable who used the word “slut.” The name is in response to his shaming tactic.
A gender neutral example, although political, is the Republican Party’s use of the term “Democrat Party” as a put-down. The only reason this worked is that the Democrats got all ticked-off and tried to insist that the Republicans call them by the correct “Democratic Party.” Well, that didn’t work very well, as you can imagine. Insisting that Republicans be respectful? Seriously? If the Democrats had embraced the term “Democrat Party” as a joke, and laughed at themselves, used the term to poke fun of Republicans, then the Democrats would have gained the upper hand in the whole affair.
Hugo- I apologize first for the potential thread jack.
Nicole:
“I think the problem is that there is no such thing as agency in the sphere of commercial sex…”
You SURE about that? I mean, No Such Thing is a pretty freakin’ huge universal asumption….and I just KNOW how much folk who believe this hate it when some pesky sex worker shows up and says no, reality is far different than anti-porn theory…but hell, its like a talent of mine…so here I am saying it: Guess what, reality is far different than anti porn theory. And the “empowerment” discussion is Done To Death, Really. That Horse is Dead, quit Hitting It. Sex Work (not forced prostitution, there IS a difference) is a job. I seriously wonder if folk spend all this time discussing whether or not being a mechanic, or a golf instructor, or a body builder is !empowering!, or if folk truly wonder who has the Power in a Client/Catering Business relationship…for some reason I doubt it. Sex Work as empowering? Well, ya know, if a sex worker tells me they feel empowered and how it has been for them…I’ll take ‘em at their word….but mostly, like any job, I think its about being “empaychecked”. AND THAT is where a whole lot of empowerment can come from for anyone- that whole “Empaychecked” thing, which allows them to live, possibly improve or round out their lives, so on so forth. Yes, I know, I am a dirty capitalist….but money (and not the job it comes from) can go a long way towards empowering oneself. And really, anti porn theory and its fans deciding How It Is for All Sex Workers without even talking to THEM about it? Thats actually kind of the exact opposite of empowering…
I am very conflicted about the word. I hate it. I hate its original meaning– a “dirty slovenly woman” (because it presumes that women must never ever be dirty or slovenly) and I hate its more recent meanings; “A woman who has no agency in her own sexuality” (because a slut can never say “no” to a sexual advance) and I really detest the secondary meaning “A woman who has had more partners than the shamer approves of” (as in, a teenager who has dated three boys)
At the same time, I use the word slut in the title of my blog, Dharma Slut. By which I mean that I have no agency, cannot say ‘no’ to the path that I walk.
I know that you mean well, Hugo, and I know that this sounds like some female trying to squash discussion, but I do not like it when men talk about redeeming or reclaiming a word that is never used against them with anything like the malice that women experience. Most white liberal or hipster men are secretly pleased when they get called ‘nigga’ because they think it means they’ve been accepted by their black friends– and indeed, that is the message. In the same way, for a feminist or sex-positive man to be called ‘bitch’ or ‘slut’ is a back-handed compliment. It says that you’re an honorary sister, you understand what we go through…
except– this can only be true in very limited venues. In the larger world, men never been persistently labelled as passive sex objects, from the moment they began to grow breasts onward.
You have never had the experience, let’s face it, of having your sexual autonomy ignored. Of having to argue with some insistent person to convince them that you really did say no even though “everyone knows you’ll go with anyone.” Or having to argue with someone that because YOU want them– and you made the approach– doesn’t mean that you are tarnished goods that “will go with any man.”
The walk itself? I’m very pleased about that. We all could use the exercise.
@ Hugo, I do think Queer is a win for the reclaiming team. But I think faggot, which meant something else when queer was an insult, has taken its place. Queer has also come to mean deviation from “normative” for both sexuality and gender, making it more inclusive to bi and trans persons than simple “gay studies”.
But when your college has “faggot” studies…get back to me.
The word Bitch is a funny one, because it has two paradoxical meanings.
1) Assertive or Rude i.e She’s such a bitch
2)a subordinant person like S/He’s my bitch or Check out those Bitches (when referring to women)
Is it even possible to label yourself as your own subordinate? Am I my own bitch?
That dominant/submissive paradox, plus how moderately salacious things will attract more attention, makes Bitch a perfect name for a feminist magazine.
But you’re not going to catch me calling my friends “my bitches”
I would also like to point out that people reacted to the police constable implying women can be complicit in their own rapes. The use of the word slut was just gas for the fire of women who are tired of
the victim blaming mentality, and how society teaches women “don’t get raped” vs teaching men to not rape.
Seriously, white women need to stop using the “n” word in examples of reclamation. Seeing the word over and over again just perpetuates the pain and reinforces white supremacy. Especially without a complete understanding of the nuances and history of the “n” word, nor of the movement which has led to the use of the word “queer” that has brought us queer studies.
Kebo Drew, you are right. I used the ‘n’ word in exactly the same assumptive way I am complaining about, and I have no right to do that.
I apologise and will try not to make that mistake again.
Kebo Drew – Can you elaborate on that?
@Twister I still think that the best way to reduce the power of the word to shame is to use it in an empowering context, to proclaim that women will not be shamed for their sexuality. No-one is suggesting that we redefine it as a positive thing or forget the history of the word, only that we face it down to show how bankrupt of meaning it it truly is.
It sounds like you’ve already come to grips with this, that the word doesn’t have any power over you, and that is fantastic! How would you suggest we most effectively pass that on to others?
The concept of reclaiming a word is not a new one, and I would differ with the response that many reclamation attempts have “failed.” The process of a subculture reclaiming words used derisively by the general public begins – and sometimes ends – with that subculture re-defining and re-utilizing the word to meet the new sociological needs of that subculture. Whether that new use makes its way into the general vernacular is beside the point. If Black folks use the n-word amongst themselves, and gays and lesbians use “queer” and “fag,” why should feminists using “slut” or “bitch” be any different? If I use the word with my compatriots, they know what I mean, and the same concept holds for many subcultures. And there’s a reason we can’t all go around using all these reclaimed words regularly – we don’t all know what they mean in the context of their own subcultures, and really, isn’t that kind of the point?
@ Monmunk …no idea…
Although I will say that I wish I had had the internet when I was younger. I think there is a world of intelligent dialog out there and while I had the drive to read it I know a lot of people don’t. But internet access changed my life for sure.
So education? Proper sex education? Leadership training? Counseling?
I don’t know if there is a one size-fits all solution but I think we can all pick out a handful of things we think could help.
Also @Hugo thanks for posting that TVO debate that was really really good.
This sounds about right for UK feminism; I’m surprised the Guardian was willing to publish a piece in support of the slut walks. Even worse is how sex workers get treated… or indeed reseachers that dare to listen to them.
Ren: but of course sex work is different because it’s dirty and involves using your body in ways society has decided are shameful. What’s more, obviously the solution to this is to make sex work more difficult – even more dangerous – in order to fix the economic pressures leading sex workers to choose it over jobs we’ve already decided are better for them, even though many of them disagree. (Paraphrase of the usual position taken by commenters and editors on The F-Word, our main feminist blog here.)
I thought I’d like this article better but I have to disagree that you can reclaim a word like “slut”. The other words mentioned- bitch, cunt, nigger, queer.. they haven’t been reclaimed.. they’re all still common and very hurtful insults. bitch and cunt are still sexist and are still used as a way to degrade women specifically. Nigger is still used as racist hate speech and fag or dyke are still used by homophobes regularly… it’s not really “reclaimed” if only one group is allowed to say it.
Now- I get the point of the slut walk.. and to me it’s less about reclaiming the words as it is about throwing it back in people’s faces and educating people on why slut shaming is wrong.. but can we just stop with the “reclaiming” thing? It doesn’t work. It never has.
“What Dines and Murphy share with the Toronto cop is a sense that women are fools for demanding a level sexual playing field with men.”
I think this is completely untrue and completely missing the point. Talking about the uselessness of “reclaiming” derogatory words is not the same thing as saying that women shouldn’t enjoy themselves sexually or have active sex lives…. it’s more saying that women who do shouldn’t have a label placed on them. Comparing them to the slut shamer that started all of this is really just underhanded and a little despicable.
Pingback: this n that | What's that you said?
Pingback: SlutWalk Worldwide | The Flying Salmon
Ren: You must not have read the article in the link I attached…
Because that ‘empowerment’ is conditional and only power because it is GIVEN to them by the truly powerful (the men)
It is not power at all- it is an ILLUSION of power.
Let me put it this way…
I think we all agree that women are oppressed right? That the patriarchy exists and there is oppression to many groups of people, not just women, right? (maybe i shouldn’t assume we’re all on that same feminist page)
…But there are many women that think they aren’t oppressed as women- that women are somehow equal to men. Does that mean then that they are not oppressed???
Of course not!
Because first off, the best way to keep any group of people oppressed is to not have them RECOGNIZE that oppression in the first place. (because then they will not fight against those forces that are keeping them oppressed)
I think it’s great to listen to people’s feelings and understand their experiences- absolutely that is important… but just because they think a certain way about that experience does not necessarily make it true.
Anyone who thinks this is empowerment has been viciously fooled by the patriarchy and unfortunately that line of thinking not only hurts women in that industry but the rest of us as well (to further perpetuate the notion that women are sex objects).
I could go on but in any case- here’s another copy of that link to again explain that concept…
http://archiveofthebitingbeaver.wordpress.com/2008/04/19/sword-of-power/
Really, Hugo? “Cunt”? The n word? Drive-by swipe at a Straw Gail Dines? This is the best you can come up with to defend your right to keep using the word “slut”? Men still remind women that they are nothing more than their body parts by calling them “cunts”, white people still enforce violent oppression over black people by calling them the n-word. “Queer” is neutral in certain circles, but “faggot” is still there for straight people to use to terrorize gay people. And I wonder if you read Dines’ entire article if what you got out of it is that women must continue to associate shame with the label “slut”.
Reclaiming words has never removed oppression. It has only served to support the entitlement of privileged groups to use slurs. Rather than clinging to this word slut, why don’t we advocate to stop using labels which define women according to how many men they have had sexual contact with? How is it liberating to define myself by the number of penii I have touched? (And let’s face it, “slut” is a heteronormative term.) Has wearing a bustier and writing “slut” across one’s stomach ever caused a single person to reflect upon their (possibly internalized) victim blaming tendencies and/or possession of privilege with respect to wardrobe choices and bodily agency? Unlikely. Does it provide eye candy for a bunch of knobs who think to themselves “Slut, huh? Yeah, I’d like to meet her walking alone at night, har har.” Absolutely. And the power relationships remain unchanged.
Nicole:
I think the whole thing has to do with a “radical” difference of stance when approching the issue. I am quite familiar with the almost all of BB’s writings and i can absolutely see how they echo true for a lot of women, but the attitude professed there, and by a lot of folk who agree with them, are very narrow and allow for only ONE view of things.
Simple truth is shit ain’t that simple. Do I agree that overall women are in fact still oppressed as a class? Yes. Do I think sexism is alive and well? Absolutely- it can be seen on a daily basis. Do I think radical feminists have a very, very narrow view of empowerment that has added so many qualifiers onto what the word actually means? A yep, I do. The actual word empowerment can and DOES apply to so many things above and beyond what radical leaning feminists ALLOW it to mean in their own circles that it is almost funny. Further more, many also have an absolutely crappy track record when it comes to even considering views other than their own, even the views of women actually working in the sex industry. For instance, I have seen and heard SOME radical feminists, from Gail Dines to those right here in blog world assert the notion-as if it were absolute fact- that any and every woman who has ever performed in pornography was raped on the set…regardless of what the woman performer herself says regarding the matter. Those who disagree do not fit in with the view of porn and the women in it these people wish to present (and in Dines case, make money presenting), thus they are discounted and their actual lived experience on the matter is disregarded. Now, this flat out pisses me off, because i do not think ANYONE has a right to tell a woman when she has been raped, just like they have no right to tell her she hasn’t been raped. The actual authority on raped or not raped is the person directly involved, not any bystander in the peanut gallery, especially when they are spouting this BS to push an agenda. Its the same sort of no disagreement allowed oh U R WRONG crap that comes about when “empowerment” is discussed. If the narrow approved view is not the one that is offered, it is shot down and the person disagreeing is seen as either deluded, lying, or ignorant….but that in no way truly means the dissenter is wrong nor their opinion invalid. One persons horror and enslavement and disempowerment cannot expected to be a universal truth. There is no such thing as universal truths, and empowerment is far more than what it is described as by you, BB, or countless other people- and no amount of refining, qualifying, and redefining will change that.
Pingback: To Reclaim Slut or Not To Reclaim Slut: Is that the Question? : Ms Magazine Blog
Pingback: A difficult time to be a woman? Or just a difficult time for us all? | dorkymum
Pingback: Thoughts on the Slutwalk and reclaiming the word “Slut” « Cherryblossomlife
Pingback: (White) Sister Outsider: Why These Boots Were Not Made for SlutWalking « Postcards from Factasyland
Pingback: SlutWalk news round-up | HerLinked
Pingback: Why a SlutWalk in India needs to happen « the mad period woman