Next weekend is DC's SlutWalk, part of an international movement to end what the organizers call "rape culture." Basically, that whole "she was asking for it" mentality.
It started in Toronto when a police officer said women should refrain from dressing like sluts in order to prevent rape. Essentially saying that if a woman goes out dressed provocatively, then it is her fault if she gets attacked.
So the SlutWalk was organized to "reclaim the word 'slut'." I think the organizers fouled up on that one. March to end victim blaming, yes. March to say women should be free to do and wear whatever they want without risk of rape, yes. March to "reclaim" a word that has never had any positive connotations? Not so much. You can't reclaim something that was never yours to start with.
That is the issue many people had with the SlutWalk that took place last week in Delhi. That's right, a SlutWalk in India. When I first saw the headline, my immediate reaction was something along the lines of "WTF?"
If ever there was a country that needed a movement to end victim blaming and sexual harassment, it's India. What India does not need is a movement to reclaim the word "slut." That word is not common in India, and most people don't even know what it means.
More to the point, though, is that the way women dress in India is not really the issue. You could be wearing a burka and men would still leer at you and try to fondle you. This article explains the harassment culture of India, something that is inexplicably (to me) called "eve-teasing."
So Delhiites jumped on the SlutWalk bandwagon. On event day, Indian women turned up to march dressed in salwaar kameez with dupattas demurely covering their chests. Foreign women showed up in their underwear. Way to represent, ladies!
This is the topic of most of the debate surrounding the Delhi SlutWalk. Some people say that the women dressing so conservatively (more conservatively than they would normally, according to some accounts) actually supports the opinion that women who dress scantily are asking to be raped. Others say that the foreigners' dress adds to the impression that western women are easy.
Nearly everything I've read has expressed the thought that either the conservative dress of the Indian women defeats the purpose of the SlutWalk, or that holding this event in the same vein as the SlutWalks takes the focus away from the real problem in India.
Many bloggers drew comparisons to the Blank Noise project, a movement that has previously swept through India. Blank Noise was also conceived to draw attention to the plight of women in India. Instead of being told to make a point of dressing provocatively, as is seemingly the point of SlutWalk, women were told to wear any dress that they have been harassed or attacked while wearing. Sure, some of the outfits could be considered provocative, but more importantly, there were many conservative everyday outfits as well. The point being that women in India are harassed and attacked mercilessly no matter what they are wearing.
SlutWalk is essentially trying to make the same point. However, as many bloggers pointed out, use of the word "slut" seems to bury that message. It's seen as a gimmick to attract the media. As one woman put it, "How many of the reporters you saw today would've turned out if it had been billed as a march against sexual harassment (which is what, it seems, it really was)?"
I will be marching in next weekend's SlutWalk DC. I won't be marching in just my bra or my swimsuit, as photos from other SlutWalks around the world show women doing. I won't try to dress like a slut. I will be wearing whatever I'm comfortable in. Saying to the world "This is what I wear when it's 100 degrees outside. It is not an invitation."
Here are some really interesting articles about Delhi's SlutWalk:
Coverage of the controversy leading up to the SlutWalk.
A first-hand account of the march.
A very good piece about the march, which inspired this blog.
An opinion piece about the end result
It started in Toronto when a police officer said women should refrain from dressing like sluts in order to prevent rape. Essentially saying that if a woman goes out dressed provocatively, then it is her fault if she gets attacked.
So the SlutWalk was organized to "reclaim the word 'slut'." I think the organizers fouled up on that one. March to end victim blaming, yes. March to say women should be free to do and wear whatever they want without risk of rape, yes. March to "reclaim" a word that has never had any positive connotations? Not so much. You can't reclaim something that was never yours to start with.
That is the issue many people had with the SlutWalk that took place last week in Delhi. That's right, a SlutWalk in India. When I first saw the headline, my immediate reaction was something along the lines of "WTF?"
If ever there was a country that needed a movement to end victim blaming and sexual harassment, it's India. What India does not need is a movement to reclaim the word "slut." That word is not common in India, and most people don't even know what it means.
More to the point, though, is that the way women dress in India is not really the issue. You could be wearing a burka and men would still leer at you and try to fondle you. This article explains the harassment culture of India, something that is inexplicably (to me) called "eve-teasing."
So Delhiites jumped on the SlutWalk bandwagon. On event day, Indian women turned up to march dressed in salwaar kameez with dupattas demurely covering their chests. Foreign women showed up in their underwear. Way to represent, ladies!
This is the topic of most of the debate surrounding the Delhi SlutWalk. Some people say that the women dressing so conservatively (more conservatively than they would normally, according to some accounts) actually supports the opinion that women who dress scantily are asking to be raped. Others say that the foreigners' dress adds to the impression that western women are easy.
Nearly everything I've read has expressed the thought that either the conservative dress of the Indian women defeats the purpose of the SlutWalk, or that holding this event in the same vein as the SlutWalks takes the focus away from the real problem in India.
Many bloggers drew comparisons to the Blank Noise project, a movement that has previously swept through India. Blank Noise was also conceived to draw attention to the plight of women in India. Instead of being told to make a point of dressing provocatively, as is seemingly the point of SlutWalk, women were told to wear any dress that they have been harassed or attacked while wearing. Sure, some of the outfits could be considered provocative, but more importantly, there were many conservative everyday outfits as well. The point being that women in India are harassed and attacked mercilessly no matter what they are wearing.
SlutWalk is essentially trying to make the same point. However, as many bloggers pointed out, use of the word "slut" seems to bury that message. It's seen as a gimmick to attract the media. As one woman put it, "How many of the reporters you saw today would've turned out if it had been billed as a march against sexual harassment (which is what, it seems, it really was)?"
I will be marching in next weekend's SlutWalk DC. I won't be marching in just my bra or my swimsuit, as photos from other SlutWalks around the world show women doing. I won't try to dress like a slut. I will be wearing whatever I'm comfortable in. Saying to the world "This is what I wear when it's 100 degrees outside. It is not an invitation."
Here are some really interesting articles about Delhi's SlutWalk:
Coverage of the controversy leading up to the SlutWalk.
A first-hand account of the march.
A very good piece about the march, which inspired this blog.
An opinion piece about the end result
