Slut-shaming
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Slut-shaming is the practice of criticizing women and girls who are perceived to violate expectations of behavior and appearance regarding issues related to sexuality. Examples are violating dress code policies by dressing in perceived sexually provocative ways, requesting access to birth control,[1][2][3] having premarital, casual, or promiscuous sex, engaging in prostitution,[4][5] or when being victim blamed for being raped or otherwise sexually assaulted.[6][7]
Definitions and characteristics
Slut-shaming involves criticizing women for their transgression of accepted codes of sexual conduct,[8] i.e., admonishing them for behavior, attire or desires that are more sexual than society finds acceptable.[9][10][11][12]
Slut-shaming is used by men and women.[13][14] Slut-shaming functions among women as a way of sublimating sexual jealousy "into a socially acceptable form of social critique of girls' sexual expression."[8] The term is also used to describe victim blaming for rape and other sexual assault. This is done by stating the crime was caused (either in part or in full) by the woman wearing revealing clothing or acting in a sexually provocative manner, before refusing consent to sex,[6] thereby absolving the perpetrator of guilt. Sexually lenient individuals can be at risk of social isolation.[15]
Researchers from Cornell University found that similar sentiments appeared in nonsexual, same-sex friendship context as well.[15] The researchers had college women read a vignette describing an imaginary female peer, "Joan", then rate their feelings about her personality.[15] To one group of women, Joan was described as having two lifetime sexual partners; to another group, she had had twenty partners.[16] 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".[15][16]
History
There is no documented date of origin for the term “slut-shaming” nor the act of it. Rather slut-shaming has grown out of social and cultural relations and the trespassing of boundaries of what is considered normative and acceptable behavior. According to Webb (2015), slut-shaming can be traced back to the Roman Republic. Webb (2015) explains
It was dangerous for a woman to be labeled or accused of being a “slut”, “prostitute” or “adulteress”; the semantic overlap in our ancient sources between “adulteress” and “slut” or “prostitute” is indicative of the shame attached to women engaging in extra-marital sexual activity. Women who engaged in such activity could face serious consequences, including exile or death, as we shall see. Needless to say, there was a sexual double standard; men were able to engage in such activity (with some limits) (n.p.).
[17] The sexual double standard that Webb analyzes is synonymous with the double standard that is visible in social relations today. Webb (2015) gives an example of the behavior that contributes to slut-shaming in quoting the well known Roman orator and politician Marcus Tullius Cicero. In his speech titled Pro Caelio, which took place in 56 BCE at a public trial, Cicero proclaims [18] If an unmarried woman opens her house to everyone’s desire and openly sets herself up as a prostitute (meretricia vita) and decides to enjoy parties with men with whom she has absolutely no connection, if she does this in Rome, in her gardens, in the crowds at Baiae, if in short she behaves loosely not just in the way she walks (incessu) but in what she wears (ornatu) and who her friends are (comitatu), it’s not just her flashing eyes (flagrantia oculorum) and loose language (libertate sermonum) but her hugs, her kisses, her beach parties, her boat trips, her carousals that make her seem not only a prostitute but a prostitute who solicits men shamelessly (proterva meretrix procax) (n.p). [19] Cicero’s slut-shaming proclamations at the public trial are similar yet different than modern day slut-shaming. The difference between the two rests on the channel of communication. Webb (2015) concludes
Women in both time periods have been shamed in public spaces, namely in public in Republican Rome, and on the Internet on platforms with significant Web traffic; the focus of this slut-shaming has been sexual virtue, namely women’s conformance or non-conformance to normative sexual behaviors; women have participated in some of the slut-shaming cases; and, the outcomes for victims have been severe, including legal inequalities, withdrawal from public life and exile for victims of Roman slut-shaming, and psychological trauma and suicide for victims of Internet slut-shaming. Women and their sexual virtue were put on trial in all of these cases, both literally and metaphorically (n.p.). [20] Cicero and other Roman orators would use public forums to document the shame, praise, and condemnation of behavior whereas slut-shaming today has both the public element as well as the digital/technological yet the consequences of either channel and time period is severe.
Further into the historical timeline, the second wave of feminism contributed significantly to the definition and act of slut-shaming. Tracing back to the Industrial Revolution and the second World War, men’s gender roles were that of the breadwinner. Men made up a majority of the labor force while women were socialized and taught to embrace the cult of domesticity and homemaking (Poole, 2014). Emily Poole (2014) explains this further in stating “It was not until the 1960s and 1970s that the modern women’s sexual liberation movement finally emerged.With strong feminist writers and leaders like Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, and Kate Millett, women began to embrace their sexuality openly and in public. Birth control use increased, as did the number of women who had sex outside of marriage” (p. 231). With increased rates of sexual intercourse without the necessity of marriage came public outcry. Sexual virtue has historically been a topic of social concern (Webb, 2013) and the 1960s and 1970s were not an exception. The radical activism that took place during this time propelled women’s rights and roles within society to great lengths, breaking barriers and rewriting gender scripts. However, women’s sexuality, although not as historically taboo, is still held to a different benchmark than men. Poole (2014) explains, “…we still expect women’s sexual behavior to be tied to feelings of love. In other words, a female can have sex with a man she has emotional feelings for, but casual meaninglesss sex is still taboo” (p. 232). [21] Today we are left with the phrase “slut-shaming” for a marginalizing act that has existed for centuries. Whether it was having sexual intercourse with people outside of marriage, rape victims, or dress codes, the condemnation of females bodies has existed and is represented with the communicative action of “slut-shaming.” However, the Slut Walk movement has embraced “slut shame” scarlet letter and has engaged in an act of resignification. Ringrose & Renold (2011) state “the SlutWalks [are] a collective movement…attempting to turn the blaming the victim of sexual violence for attack on its head! One of the goals is to push the gaze off the dress…and back upon the perpetrator, questioning the normalisation and legitimisation of male sexual aggression” (p. 334). [22]This act of resignification comes from the work of feminist scholar Judith Butler that states in her 1997 work, “One is not simply fixed by the name that one is called. In being called an injurious name, one is derogated and demeaned. But the name holds out another possibility as well: by being called a name, one is also, paradoxically, given a certain possibility for social existence” (n.p.). [23]Today, both the phrase and the act of “slut-shaming” exists but so does the counter-response of the Slut Walk.
In the media
The SlutWalk protest march had its origins in Toronto in response to an incident when a Toronto Police officer told a group of students that they could avoid sexual assault by not dressing like "'sluts'".[6][24][25][26] Amber Rose's second annual walk in Los Angeles in 2016 had "several hundred" participants.[27] A similar event occurred in Washington DC in 2014.[28]
Krystal Ball characterized the comments of Rush Limbaugh during the Rush Limbaugh–Sandra Fluke controversy as follows: "If you are a woman who stands up for your rights, you are a slut and your parents should be ashamed of you and we should all have the right to view your sex tapes online. This type of despicable behavior is part and parcel of a time-worn tradition of Slut-Shaming. When women step out line [sic], they are demeaned and degraded into silence. If you say Herman Cain sexually harassed you, you are a slut. If you say Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas sexually harassed you, you are a slut."[29][3]
Slut-shaming has been used as a form of bullying on social media, with some people using revenge pornography tactics to spread intimate photos without consent. In 2012, a California teenager, Audrie Pott, was sexually assaulted by three boys at a party. She committed suicide eight days after photos of her being assaulted were distributed among her peer group.[30]
James Miller, editor-in-chief, for the Ludwig von Mises Institute of Canada wrote a controversial article defending slut shaming.[31] 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.[32]
Comedians Krystyna Hutchinson and Corinne Fischer of Sorry About Last Night host a podcast entitled “Guys We F****d, The Anti-slut shaming podcast”.[33] This podcast has over 200,000 listeners on each episode that is on SoundCloud.[34] iTunes originally did not make the podcast available and "...would not comment on whether the show is subject to an official ban," [35] but has since been made available on iTunes. [36] The podcast exists to de-stigmatize discussing sex so that slut-shaming becomes less of an issue, Hutchinson explains in an interview with The Huffington Post: “We want to make people feel more comfortable in their own skin. We just got a message from a girl from New Delhi, India, about how she loves the podcast because it makes her feel like it’s OK to be comfortable with your sexuality and enjoy sex. And that made me so happy.” [29]
In culture
Slut-shaming is prevalent on social media platforms, including the most commonly used: YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. “[T]he medium [of YouTube] is increasingly being used to attack and malign female reputations and criticize female sexual behavior.”[37] Slut-shaming has occurred on Facebook in controversial exchanges between users that have resulted in convictions to menace, harass and cause offence.[38][39] School dress codes can be a form of slut shaming.[40]
It has been reported by The Pew Research Center[41] that the most common targets of harassment on the internet are often young women. Citing that 50% of young female respondents have been called offensive names and or shamed online. A researcher documented a hashtag on Twitter #mencallmethings, where participants would tweet examples of the online harassment they have received from men.[42] This kind of harassment includes rape and death threats, i.e., "slut shaming," and insults related to appearance.
One example of a character in literature has been described as being a recipient of 'slut-shaming' is the character Lily Bart in Edith Wharton’s “House of Mirth”[43]
Activism
Activism against slut-shaming takes place worldwide. Participants have covered their bodies in messages reading "Don't Tell Me How to Dress" and "I am not a slut but I like having consensual sex" and march under a giant banner with the word slut on it. Activism has occurred in Vancouver, New York City, Rio, Jerusalem, Hong Kong and others.[44]
In 2008, hundreds of South African women protested the local taxi rank wearing miniskirts and t-shirts that read, "Pissed-Off Women" after a taxi driver and multiple hawkers confronted a young girl about wearing a short denim miniskirt and penetrated her with their fingers, calling her "slut" repeatedly. Protesters wanted to make their message clear; they wanted men to stop harassing women no matter how short their skirts were and that no matter how short it may be, it is never an invitation.[45]
After the gang rape of an unconscious sixteen year old girl in Steubenville, Ohio, August 2012, football players spread videos of the assault to other classmates whom some of which posted the videos to Twitter and Instagram. The pictures and video were later removed by authorities, however that did not stop people from hash-tagging "Whore status" or "I have no sympathy for whores" in their tweets. Members of the collective Anonymous reported names of the rapists and classmates who spread the footage to local authorities. They took to the streets and internet requesting help from the community to bring justice to the Jane Doe who was raped.[46]
Members of The Arts Effect All-Girl Theater Company have developed a play, Slut: The Play, in which they address the damaging impact of slut-shaming and slut culture.[47][48] The creators note that their play "is a call to action – a reminder" that slut-shaming is happening every day, almost everywhere.[48] "Slut" is inspired by real-life experiences of 14- to 17-year-old girls from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.[48] The play was shown at the 2013 New York Fringe Festival.[48][49]
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."[48]
After experiencing slut-shaming first-hand, Olivia Melville, Paloma Brierly Newton and approximately a dozen other Australian women founded the organization, Sexual Violence Won’t Be Silenced, on August 25, 2015. The association seeks to raise awareness of cyber-bullying and online sexual violence. The founders also launched a petition to the Australian government, requesting that they better train and educate law enforcement officers on how to prevent and punish violent harassment on social media.[50]
Among men
Some[who?] gay rights activists have said that environments which have bottom-shaming are more likely to lead to gay men engaging in practices which lead to increased rates of HIV infection.[51]
One opinion on slut-shaming in men is that calling a man a "slut" is not as pejorative as it is in using the word against women, and that the term has more of a positive connotation with men.[52]
See also
- Honor killing
- Madonna–whore complex
- Post-assault treatment of sexual assault victims
- Sexual bullying
- Victim blaming
References
- ^ Lamb, Sharon (27 June 2008). "The 'Right' Sexuality for Girls". Chronicle of Higher Education. 54 (42): B14–B15. ISSN 0009-5982.
In Dilemmas of Desire: Teenage Girls Talk About Sexuality (Harvard University Press, 2002), Deborah L. Tolman complained that we've 'desexualized girls' sexuality, substituting the desire for relationship and emotional connection for sexual feelings in their bodies.' Recognizing that fact, theorists have used the concept of desire as a way to undo the double standard that applauds a guy for his lust, calling him a player, and shames a girl for hers, calling her a slut.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Albury, Kath; Crawford, Kate (18 May 2012). "Sexting, consent and young people's ethics: Beyond Megan's Story". Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies. 26 (3): 463–473. doi:10.1080/10304312.2012.665840.
Certainly the individualizing admonishment to 'think again' offers no sense of the broader legal and political environment in which sexting might occur, or any critique of a culture that requires young women to preserve their 'reputations' by avoiding overt demonstrations of sexual knowingness and desire. Further, by trading on the propensity of teenagers to feel embarrassment about their bodies and commingling it with the anxiety of mobiles being ever present, the ad becomes a potent mix of technology fear and body shame.
- ^ a b Legge, Nancy J.; DiSanza, James R.; Gribas, John; Shiffler, Aubrey (2012). ""He sounded like a vile, disgusting pervert..." An Analysis of Persuasive Attacks on Rush Limbaugh During the Sandra Fluke Controversy". Journal of Radio & Audio Media. 19 (2): 173–205. doi:10.1080/19376529.2012.722468.
It is also possible that the Limbaugh incident has turned "slut-shaming", or other similar attacks on women, into a "Devil-term". It may be possible that Limbaugh's insults were so thoroughly condemned that he and others (such as Bill Maher) will have a more difficult time insulting women who are not virgins, or attacking them in other sexist ways.
- ^ Tesla, Carrasquillo, (2014-01-01). "Understanding Prostitution and the Need for Reform". Touro Law Review. 30 (3). ISSN 8756-7326.
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: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Chateauvert, Melinda (2014-02-07). Sex Workers Unite: A History of the Movement from Stonewall to Slutwalk. Beacon Press. p. 49. ISBN 9780807061398.
It encouraged women to be angry about whore stigma and slut shaming for pursuing sexual pleasure or trading sex for money
- ^ a b c McCormack, Clare; Prostran, Nevena (2012). "Asking for it: a first-hand account from slutwalk". International Feminist Journal of Politics. 14 (3). Taylor and Francis: 410–414. doi:10.1080/14616742.2012.699777.
- ^ Chateauvert, Melinda (2014-01-07). Sex Workers Unite: A History of the Movement from Stonewall to SlutWalk. Beacon Press. ISBN 9780807061404.
Slut-shaming implies that victims of sex violence "asked for it" because they were sexually promiscuous or dressed provocatively.
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- ^ Denise Du Vernay. Feminism, Sexism, and the Small Screen. pp. 163–182. in Joseph J. Foy; Timothy M. Dale (24 April 2013). Homer Simpson Ponders Politics: Popular Culture as Political Theory. University Press of Kentucky. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-8131-4151-0. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ^ Emily Bazelon (19 February 2013). Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy. Random House Publishing Group. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-679-64400-2. Retrieved 16 May 2013. Emphasis in original.
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- ^ Tolman, Deborah L. (2005). Dilemmas of desire teenage girls talk about sexuality (1. Harvard Univ. Press paperback ed.). Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674018563.
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- ^ Webb, L. (2015). Shame transfigured: Slut-shaming from Rome to cyberspace. First Monday,20(4), n.p.
- ^ Webb, L. (2015). Shame transfigured: Slut-shaming from Rome to cyberspace. First Monday, 20(4), n.p.
- ^ Webb, L. (2015). Shame transfigured: Slut-shaming from Rome to cyberspace. First Monday, 20(4), n.p.
- ^ Webb, L. (2015). Shame transfigured: Slut-shaming from Rome to cyberspace. First Monday, 20(4), n.p.
- ^ Poole, E. (2014) Hey girls, did you know? Slut-shaming on the internet needs to stop. University of San Francisco Law Review, 1, pp. 221-260
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- ^ Ringrose, Jessica; Renold, Emma (May 2012). "Slut-shaming, girl power and 'sexualisation': thinking through the politics of the international SlutWalks with teen girls". Gender and Education, special issue: Making Sense of the Sexualisation Debates: Schools and Beyond. 24 (3). Taylor and Francis: 333–343. doi:10.1080/09540253.2011.645023.
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- ^ SlutWalk Rally Against Sexual Violence Draws Huge Crowd of Feminists, Rebecca Nathanson, The Village Voice, October 2, 2011
- ^ Lecaro, Lina (2016-10-03). "Amber Rose's SlutWalk Was Reality TV Ready". Retrieved 2016-10-05.
- ^ O'Brien, Cortney. "Cortney O'Brien - This Weekend, 'Sluts' Will March Through DC". Townhall. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
- ^ a b Ball, Krystal (3 February 2012). "Boycott Rush". HuffPost. The Blog. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
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- ^ "Editor-In-Chief of Mises Institute in Canada Advocates "Slut-Shaming" – Kate Andrews". Townhall.com. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
- ^ Robinson, Elizabeth (5 September 2013). "Misogynists Gonna…Misogynate? (or, More Issues with That Mises.ca Post)". Thoughts on Liberty. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
- ^ Editor, Emma Gray Executive Women's; Post, The Huffington (2014-03-13). "This Is The Sexiest Podcast You'll Ever Hear". HuffPost. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
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