So I know I’ve been
very into my own opinion with this project, and lacking in my scholarly sources
and what I actually wanted this blog to be about (well, sort of). So today I
have one: “My Body is My Manifesto: SlutWalk, FEMEN, and Feminist Protest” by Theresa
O’Keefe.
Apparently, a bunch
of women in Toronto had had enough with people blaming victims for their
traumatizing experiences, and therefore created SlutWalk. “The subtext of his
instruction is that there is a causal relationship between clothing and consent
and that, ultimately, victims are themselves responsible when raped and
sexually assaulted. Four Toronto women, enraged by the comments, sent out
a call to women to flaunt their ‘inner slut’ and publicly denounce the police
officer’s remark.”
FEMEN was a protest
done by Ukrainian women going topless.
This is something
that bothers me a lot. Clothes are the reason women get raped? How does that
even work? People forget two very important things: Men get raped. Children get
raped. Is it ever about what they
were wearing? Here’s my personal experience with clothes calling attention:
Comments I get from guys while showing
leg and/or cleavage:
1) …
Comments I get while wearing a
turtleneck and dress pants:
1) “You’re
fucking hot. Does the naughty librarian thing actually work for you?”
2) “You
look like the real live naughty librarian fantasy.”
3) “I’m
going to have to get new clothes if I want to be seen in public with a classy
lady like you!”
Revealing
clothing provokes, my ass. I once got a comment just walking across the street
to Albertsons, and a guy called out: “I wish that light would have stayed green
so I could run you over. That way I'd have to call the paramedics and go to the
hospital with you.” Wow, not only leered while just trying to get to the
grocery store, but threatened with getting hit by a car first?? WTH???
The worst part is people don't think saying stuff like that is wrong. They can catcall, make grabs and all that, and then still get all: "I didn't do anything" when they're called out on it. Why does no one want to believe someone was sexually harassed and/or assaulted? I was on Facebook
reading something Planned Parenthood had posted, and came across this comment:
Ugh. Really? Someone
tell this idiot to get an education. Thankfully, someone did. They replied
with: “Only eight percent of rape reports are false. Meanwhile, ten percent of
reports by children who claim to be molested are false. However, no one is
going to go on a psychotic tirade on how children are liars and use to system
to screw men over. That's because, unlike women, we don't live in a culture
that hates children. We don't live in a culture which paints stereotypes and
myths of them being liars and manipulators. Your vitriol says more about you
and the society we live in than it does about women and rape.” Another added: “Obvious
guy who didn't get laid is obvious.”
This SlutWalk sounds
like a great idea and I want to participate!
Maybe. I have a hard
time showing my body off.
O’Keefe ends her
introduction with: “I situate my analysis in the broader context of gendered
body protests — protests that make explicit the use of the female body to call
attention to issues that pertain to women’s bodies, or simply protests where
the gendered body is both subject and agent. I argue that this is a useful lens
to examine such protests as it can clarify and build our knowledge on how
gendered bodies might best be used as sites of resistance.”
No one should have to suffer that way. ^
