The practice of “slut-shaming” seems to be growing in popularity in society. Especially after Miley Cyrus’s performance on the VMAs, slut-shaming has been very prevalent in the media. Though many “slut-shamers” believe they are just promoting modesty, this form of bullying is dangerous and needs to be stopped because it aims to restrict women’s prerogatives, stereotype females and it contributes to rape culture.
Slut-shaming is found nearly everywhere in today’s society; it is a semantic contagion. Slut-shaming is found in high schools via text messaging, twitter, facebook, youtube, and the internet in general. Because of how prevalent slut-shaming is on the internet, more people are engaging in this practice. If you can think of anything that relates to a “slut” it will most certainly be found on the internet (such as porn) or it can be found in public. Slut-shaming is increasing in prevalence so quickly that Dr. Phil even had a segment on his television show dedicated specifically to this type of bullying. www.drphil.com/shows/show/1957/
On his show, he had youtube personality Laci Green discuss what the term “slut-shaming” really means. Laci Green says, “Slut-shaming is when we insult a woman because she expresses her sexuality in a way we don’t like or approve of.” Basically, slut-shaming is a way to make women feel inferior based on their sexual activity. However, women can be victims of slut-shaming even if they are virgins, solely based on the way they dress or behave. The way girls dress by wearing short skirts and flaunting their chest, wearing high heels, using make-up everyday are some of the discourses that lead society to labeling someone a “slut.” Wikipedia defines slut-shaming as “a type of discrimination targeting individuals, specifically women, for sexual behavior deemed excessive.” This definition presents a problem specifically because of how vague it is. What is “excessive” and who decides?
Historically, men were the people responsible for deciding the boundaries on what is and what is not acceptable sexual behavior for women. This was one of the many ways the patriarchal society would control women. Now that women have also adopted this practice of determining what is acceptable for other people, it demonstrates that this discursive practice of constraining women and the ideology of telling women what they can and cannot do with their body have been inscribed in society. Finally, a Feminism 101 Blog writes in an online blog, www.finallyfeminism101.wordpress.com/2010/04/04/what-is-slut-shaming/, “The first thing to realize when talking about women slut-shaming each other is that infighting among oppressed groups is a necessary part for keeping those groups oppressed.” This shows how, in order to escape oppression, women especially need to disregard the practice of slut-shaming. The movie Mean Girls is significantly influenced by the topic of slut-shaming.The character in the movie Ms. Norbury states the idea that women, especially, need to show each other more respect flawlessly in this clip:
This quote describes accurately why it is so important to stop this practice. Ms. Norbury alludes to the fact that slut-shaming is commonly found among high school females.
In high school, females are more likely to greet even their best friends as “hey slut” or “what’s up whore.” Though they may be playfully joking, when they do this, other people notice. They will notice that, because the girl did not react negatively, it is acceptable to demean her in that way. Slut-shaming is so prevalent in today’s society that it even is shown on the facebook page called “Hey Girls, Did You Know.” This page allows females to make fun of other girls who let their boobs fall out of their shirt, apply too much make-up or sleep around. This is becoming more common in today’s society and needs to stop because it is bringing the self-esteem and self-worth of the female gender down
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Slut-shaming is also offensive because it stereotypes the female gender. Rarely do you hear a man called a slut or degraded for his sexual activity. If he were to dress provocatively, one may jump to other assumptions. If a man were to have promiscuous sex with multiple partners, there is no stigma or negativity attached; he is seen to only be having fun. This topic was discussed in the article written by Charlie Glickman and Angelica Alvarez ( http://feminspire.com/why-are-girls-called-sluts-but-guys-are-just-having-fun/ ). They explain that “slut shaming collapses the complexity of another person onto a single dimension.” This essentializes the person and is used to control and shame all women regardless of their sexual practices. This concept demonstrates a double-standard and lack of respect for women. The discursive practice of slut-shaming also connects to Stuart Hall’s assertion that problems arise when classification comes together with power. By classifying a woman as a slut combined with the connotation of inferiority associated with the term, the woman becomes unworthy of respect. If the woman is labeled a “slut,” any of her other characteristics become irrelevant and she becomes an unrespectable, classless female. Instead of judging women by their outward expression such as “sleeping around,” the inward expression is what people need to try to understand. There may be an etiology to being a “slut.” It may be that they have regret, depression, obsessions, or other disorders that cause them to do what they do, or they may just be embracing their right to choose what they want to do with their bodies. However, only applying the term to women is degrading, disrespectful, sexist, stereotypical, and needs to be stopped. Slut-shaming should not be used on any person, regardless of gender.
This practice of slut-shaming in society is problematic, also, because of its contribution to “rape culture.” Rape culture is the normalization of rape in society, or the toleration of it. This can manifest as victim-blaming, as it does in the case of slut-shaming. It is becoming much more common to analyze what rape victims were wearing for clothing and, if the victim was dressed more revealingly, claim that if the victim had not been dressed so provocatively, the rape may not have occurred. Many people today are asking, is this a fair assertion? Would the rape still have occurred if the victim was dressed more modestly? We argue that the victim’s attire is completely irrelevant when placing blame; the only person responsible for the crime is the aggressor. The practice of victim-blaming suggests that the victim was provoking the aggressor. This attitude in society is completely unfair and largely due to the ideology of slut-shaming. In order to stop this concept of blaming victims of rape, the discursive practice of slut-shaming needs to stop, as well.
In an age where social media is ruling a large portion of society, it is becoming a semantic contagion to bash women from behind a computer screen. It makes cyberbullying and slut-shaming via the Internet much easier, which is making this behavior much more common. The type of bullying known as slut-shaming is a dangerous practice due to its effects on the attitudes of society. It aims to restrain and stereotype women as well as hold rape victims accountable for the horrible attacks they experienced. Slut-shaming degrades women as a whole and makes it appear to men and other women that slut-shaming is okay. If you want a world that respects women and all human-beings, the practice of slut-shaming needs to stop altogether .
So this is a concept I have seen happen before but never been aware of the concept in a broad perspective. The idea that this very negative practice has become appropriated is crazy. I know girls who say these things to their friends, and seeing what it can do and how its integrated shows how culture can get inside us. Your connection to a "Rape Culture" I feel may be a little strongly opinionated because I'm sure not all cases turn into an ok thing if the women was wearing provocative clothing. Other than that you descriptions of the different social circles this can happen in was good. The way you differentiated the social media realm and human to human interaction was key to show how people use this in different social spheres. I do agree that this does need to stop but how does this construct sexuality or define it? Does this mean that male dominance and sexual practices of the past have been passed on to women? That males and females are all trying to become sexually dominant? Are the lines of the two sexes sexual practices starting to blur? These are questions that this concept really makes me think about. Answering them may take a lot of data but would be worth looking into for a solution.
ReplyDeleteEver heard of Slut Walk? It's basically a campaign where plenty of women dress provocatively on the street to debunk the notion that rape happens because of the victim's clothes. I personally feel that the cause of rape can be fully blamed on the perpetrator's side and has little (to nothing) to do with the victim's clothes. But your post and Aaron's comment has made me wondering about the concept of Slut Walk and whether its provocative strategy is effective or not. I mean, Slut Walk does make the intention to look slutty.... and then turn everything around by saying that that is just one of the ways for women to express themselves and thus they shouldn't be judged, blamed, and eventually.. raped. They invert what seems to be women's weak spot to be something that empowers them. And it seems to me that Slut Walk is the exact opposite of slut shaming (if not the extreme opposite). But is it? Is it truly effective? Or is it just addressing one issue of a bigger problem? Can power be truly inverted by a one-sided idea? To relate this back to slut shaming, how far can we allow 'provocative clothing' to happen without slutshaming them? To slutshame them is indeed a male-dominated idea, but does to not slutshaming them make it a female-dominated idea? (I'm sorry I'm kinda rambling here)
ReplyDeleteYou mention that slut shaming happens to women and that men don't face the same stigma. I would actually say that men can often face the opposite situation. If a guy can get with a girl and doesn't then he is often considered to be gay by his peers. While people may not actually feel that a man is homosexual just because he declines to have sex with an attractive woman it is still seen as unmanly because society views men as creatures who can't overcome their basic instincts and are only focused on sex. It's interesting that the two actually have the opposite situations because it takes a both to have heterosexual sex.
ReplyDeleteYour blog raises a lot of important issues about the issues faced by women, as well as men, in the area of sexuality. A common idea I seen in your blog is the difference between women and men in the way their actions and appearance are view and judged. It reminds me of the concept of double standards. Often times, women's actions and appearance are critiqued in a particular way, but if a man was to do the same thing, he would face no criticism. But this could go vice versa as well. Double standards have existed in our society early on, seen in older times when women were expected to take on domestic duties and remain home, while men were expected to do "manly" things, like hunt and work. Although an extreme example, these gender roles still exist today, except in more subtle ways. Ultimately, we are faced with these continuous double standards, shaped by gender roles, but most importantly, by gender expressions. The ideas of "masculinity" and "femininity" are the basis for these standards to grow. For example, a girl who dates a lot of guys is considered promiscuous and sometimes a "slut", but a guy who does the same is praised, because it is "manly". It exemplifies how gender expressions have built the double standards we live through today. The ideas you bring up, such as "slut shaming" and "rape culture" are important topics, like double standards, that are all deeply rooted in the area of sexuality.
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ReplyDeleteThis is a something that I have been learning more and more about because I honestly didn't know that people saw encouragement of "modesty" as "slut-shaming". I was a camp counselor this summer and there are rules about modesty as in what you can wear and what you aren't allowed to. This rule applied to both guys and girls, but some of the girls got very upset with the restrictions because they saw it as slut-shaming. I didn't understand it at first, but after talking with the ones who felt like they were being degraded, I began to understand more where they were coming from and how it made them feel. On the other side, they got to see where I was coming from and it wasn't at all to shame them or "disapprove" with hate, it was out of love - for both the boys and the girls. We came to an even ground and understood each side and they understood why we had these rules and they were actually to love each other and be mindful of the other gender... not to "excuse" rape by any means at all, but to respect each other. And with that, the guys also got to see their side and were taught to respect these women, regardless of what they're wearing or what they think about them. It was an awesome learning experience. I think a huge aspect of life today in our culture is the prevalence of labels and tolerance - our culture tends to define tolerance alone as "love", which I personally don't agree with. This is a powerful quote I have been grabbing onto lately: “Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws. Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it." -Tim Keller. I think that is so powerful! And especially important for our generation... there is such a fine line between toleration and respect; truth and love are always infused, hand in hand. With "slut-shaming", a lot of girls can be bullied in this way either unintentionally or purposefully, and many girls who I know have faced horrific experiences with rape, which brings the issue a lot deeper. You're totally right when you said, "They explain that 'slut shaming collapses the complexity of another person onto a single dimension.'" It is absolutely intolerable to make someone feel shamed because of what they wear or how they perceive themselves with regard to their sexuality, but I think there is a deeper level of grief that attaches to their identity, that they are now labeled as a "slut," which brings a whole new dimension to the issue. These are real people that are being scorned, and it is terrible. The term "slut" replaces the true identity of these women - beautiful, valued, intelligent, respected, strong, and world-changers. It diminishes women down to one dimension. It's absolutely important to spread awareness about this issue because some people simply don't know about it, they may have no idea that it's going on or even that they're participating in it, but out of love for both women and men involved.
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