Slut-shaming

Slut shaming (also hyphenated, as slut-shaming) is a concept in philosophy on sexuality. It is a neologism used to describe the act of making any person feel guilty or inferior for certain sexual behaviors or desires that deviate from traditional or orthodox gender expectations, or that which may be considered to be contrary to natural or religious law. Some examples of behaviors over which women are said to be "slut-shamed" include: violating accepted dress codes by dressing in sexually provocative ways, requesting access to birth control, having premarital or casual sex, or being raped or sexually assaulted.

Overview

Slut shaming is defined by many as a process in which women are attacked for their transgression of accepted codes of sexual conduct, i.e., of admonishing them for behavior or desires that are more sexual than society finds acceptable. Emily Bazelon says that slut shaming is "retrograde, the opposite of feminist. Calling a girl a slut warns her that there's a line: she can be sexual but not too sexual."

Many have stated that slut shaming is used against women by both men and women. Jessica Ringrose has argued that it functions among women as a way of sublimating sexual jealousy "into a socially acceptable form of social critique of girls' sexual expression." Some also use this term to describe what they call victim blaming for rape and sexual assault, e.g. by stating that the crime was caused (either in part or in full) by the woman wearing revealing clothing or previously acting in a forward, sexual manner, before not consenting to sex, and thereby absolving the perpetrator of guilt.

Men and women alike are culprits of "slut-shaming": The study "Birds of a feather? Not when it comes to sexual permissiveness," published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, notes that sexually lenient individuals are judged more negatively than non-permissive peers, which places those who are more permissive risk of social isolation. The researchers from Cornell University found that similar sentiments appeared in nonsexual, same-sex friendship context as well. The researchers had college women read a vignette describing an imaginary female peer, “Joan,” then rate their feelings about her personality. To one group of women, Joan was described as having two lifetime sexual partners; to another group, she had had twenty partners. The study found that women—even women who were more promiscuous themselves—rated the Joan with 20 partners as “less competent, emotionally stable, warm, and dominant than the Joan who’d only boasted two”.

An article in the New York Daily News described yet another mode of "slut-shaming": in meme-dorm. Young girls, and increasingly boys, have begun to generate memes on Tumblr and Facebook to offer mock – and often insulting – advice to their peers. For example: "Hey Girls. Did you know? That you spread Nutella...Not your legs," reads one such viral post.”

In the media

Two women protesting about victim-blaming and slut-shaming at New York City's SlutWalk in October 2011.

The SlutWalk protest march started in Toronto in response to an incident where a Toronto Police officer told a group of students that they could avoid sexual assault by not dressing like "sluts".

The term has since been used when describing the comments of Rush Limbaugh during the Rush Limbaugh–Sandra Fluke controversy. It is speculated that the controversy that erupted may have long-term effects on the incidence of slut-shaming in broadcast media.

James Miller, editor-in-chief, for the Ludwig von Mises Institute of Canada wrote a controversial article defending slut shaming. The article was later taken down, but still received criticism from some libertarians, such as Gina Luttrell of Thoughts on Liberty, an all-female libertarian blog.

Additionally, the performance apparel and dance-moves of pop-star Miley Cyrus at the 2013 VMA Awards created "slut-shaming" uproar. Her performance of "We Can’t Stop," which was performed as a duet with Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines," was called "lewd, grotesque and shameful." Notably, the Washington Post notes the lack of criticism towards Robin Thicke: "While Cyrus was condemned for grinding on Thicke, very little criticism has been laid on the singer himself for his role in the performance."

In literature

Slut-shaming also occurs in the literary realm as well. Such an example includes Hester Prynn, forced to wear a scarlet letter "A," which stands for Adultery, in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter." Yet another example includes Anna Karenina, from Leo Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina," who has a highly public affair with the affluent Count Vronsky: Anna Karenina is rejected by her friends, while the reputation of Count Vronsky remains more or less untarnished. In these novels, the author of the article notes that the men—while some experience personal setbacks—are never shunned publicly in the way that their female counterparts are for engaging in the relationships deemed socially inappropriate.

Stopping slut-shaming

Members of The Arts Effect All-Girl Theater Company have developed a play, "Slut," in which they address the damaging impact of slut shaming and slut culture. The creators note that their play "is a call to action – a reminder" that slut-shaming is happening every day, almost everywhere. "Slut" is inspired by real-life experiences of 14-17 year-old girls from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. The play was shown at the 2013 New York Fringe Festival.

In her statement on the production, and of slut-shaming in general, author of Slut! Growing Up Female with a Bad Reputation, Leora Tanenbaum writes: "A teenage girl today is caught in an impossible situation. She has to project a sexy image and embrace, to some extent, a 'slutty' identity. Otherwise, she risks being mocked as an irrelevant prude. But if her peers decide she has crossed an invisible, constantly shifting boundary and has become too 'slutty,' she loses all credibility. Even if she was coerced into sex, her identity and reputation are taken from her. Indeed, the power to tell her own story is wrested from her. The Arts Effect's SLUT written by Katie Cappiello vividly represents this irrational, harmful, terrible circumstance...This play is the most powerful and authentic representation of the sexual double standard I have ever seen."

See also

• Sexual bullying
• Victim blaming