Should feminists be embracing the word 'slut'?

12 April 2012

Anyone who has ever declared the death of feminism should go to Trafalgar Square on June 4. Women will be marching and chanting Seventies-style - the sisterhood certainly isn't sleeping any more. Next month's SlutWalk is intended to challenge victim-blaming rape culture, its message: miniskirts don't cause rape, rapists cause rape.

It is part of a global movement launched after a policeman in Toronto told students that, to protect themselves from sexual assault, women should avoid "dressing like sluts". Yes, not only do these dinosaurs still roam the planet, they are given positions of influence. No matter that one of the most prolific sex attackers of recent years - London's "night stalker" Delroy Grant - preyed on the elderly. When Constable Sanguinetti was thinking of "slutty" clothes, I am guessing he didn't mean compression stockings, bobble cardies and Zimmer frames.

Blaming the victim is still a frighteningly common response to sexual assault - it even creeps into newspapers. In March, the New York Times was guilty of rapist-friendly reporting. In an article about the gang rape of an 11-year-old, the journalist quoted residents who declared that the girl "dressed older than her age, wearing make-up and fashions more appropriate to a woman in her twenties. She would hang out with teenage boys at a playground." A bit of lippie, a crop-top and some older friends? She clearly got what was coming to her, then. One neighbour also said that her attackers would "have to live with this the rest of their lives" - no such concern was shown for the girl.

So anything that helps promote the message "a dress doesn't mean yes" should be welcomed. But what stops me from embracing SlutWalk entirely is its name. Most of the event's founders say they want to reclaim the word "slut", but trying to turn a sexist slur into a badge of honour is a mistake. Rather than take it for ourselves, we should want to annihilate it along with the other patriarchal taunts - slag, slapper, ho - that are so common in the teenage lexicon. It is telling that the only male-equivalent, "man-whore", is a female insult post-sex change.

Calling yourself a slut doesn't reduce its stigma; it is like doing business with an evil regime. You are accepting a label that is intrinsically misogynistic, one that defines women by their sexual relationships and stilettos.

Even if the intention is subversion, as others see it, the event is still open to misunderstanding: not everyone will see that "slut" is meant to be ironic. It also shuts out a large number of women.

Already, a few feminists who agree with its aims have said they will be no-shows because they don't see walking under this banner as empowering. Others think dressing for a night out in Newcastle simply isn't for them. This is especially sad because it is a strength-in-numbers movement.

There is a more important message beyond the name. But words are powerful - just ask our Canadian copper. So on June 4, I will be donning my Wonder Woman costume and chanting alongside my SlutWalk sisters at the concurrent No-Such-Thing-As-A-Slut Walk (attendees: me). It may not sound quite so catchy, but it is a march I can wholeheartedly support.

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