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| Because this is only the tip of the degrading iceburg. |
(Sorry for the wonky font, if anyone knows how to get fix this, please let me know. I'm Blogger challenged.)
Slutwalk 2011 was the first time I'd ever heard of anyone reclaiming the word "slut" formally. I'd heard it said amongst my friends in high school as a term of endearment, but also as a put down for anyone who was generally disliked. According to dictionary.com, a slut is a dirty, slovenly prostitute. According to etymonline, the definition is similar, but there's a small note that the term was used affectionately for a brief period. Despite a small amount of positivity, this word has been around since the late 14th century, and has since been used as a tool for shaming sexuality and degrading women. Until last year. July 31, 2011 Portland hosted its first annual Slutwalk. This was part of an effort started in Canada in response to a police officer's statement, "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order to not be victimized." Supporters, activists, guest speakers, sex workers, and performers of all ages gathered together to protest both victim blaming and sexual violence, some dressed provocatively, in the imitation of the picture "slut" brought to mind. And the message was wonderful, inspiring, educational, and unfortunately, not widespread enough. Today, February 22nd, 2012, slut is still an ugly word.
My mother would use the word "crude" to describe the way "slut" rolls off the tongue. "Slut" is synonymous with promiscuity. The number one definition on urbandictionary.com, a popular slang dictionary site, is "A woman with the morals of a man." The second definition describes a woman who will sleep with anyone, no matter how unattractive or pathetic, "she just has to {have sex with} everyone she knows." The author of the definition praises "sluts" as though they prevent more sex crimes from happening by being willing to have sex with anyone, suggesting that sluts are women who cannot be raped. Only on the third definition is it suggested that a slut is merely a sexually promiscuous person, though usually a woman. Looking at these definitions, it is clear that to thousands of people who voted positively for the definition a "slut" is decidedly female, though she is engaging in or thought to be engaging in behavior that as a society we encourage in men. There is no word you can call a man the has the same connotation, the same bad taste. Calling a man a slut is insulting his masculinity, which is why so often we seen "man slut" as a joke, or something associated with feminine or queer men. One of my friends continually states he does not like to be grouped with Portland gay men because, "Portland gays are sluts, and I'm just not… I'm too androgynous." Even within deviant groups, we pick each other apart.
In "What's Up, Slut?" by Marueen Dowd, the New York Times columnist explores the word briefly, calling it a word that was once a "summary judgement that a woman is damaged goods" but has become a slang employed by teenage girls and young women who are latching on to a fad. And from that, there's stemmed the movement to take back the word as a joke among friends. But what is the joke? I've been told a joke is only funny because it either ridiculous, or it's true. Applying that logic, it's funny to call a girlfriend a slut because she either would never have promiscuous sex, or because she's comfortable with her sexuality with or without promiscuity and that makes her friends uncomfortable so they tease her about it. "Social groups create deviance by making rules whose infraction constitutes deviance" according to Becker's Labeling theory (p39). In our society, labeling women as sluts has been our way of keeping women in line and making examples of women who have broken these rules by exploring their sexulaity in the same fashion that is encouraged in men. In "A few words about reclaiming Slut"author "Chloe" writes for feministing that women have been trying to reclaim the word "slut" since the Riot Grrrl movement involving Bikini Kill's Kathleen Hanna scrawling the word across her bare stomach to make a statement. The battle to take the sting out of the word that has been on the forefront of the new movement that is "Slutwalk" is not, in fact, new. Slutwalk Seattle responded that slut should be able to be used as a "sex-positive term" that would empower self-proclaimed sluts of any gender identity. Unfortunately, the problem with the word is not with "self-proclaimed sluts" it lies with those who choose to label others, and continue to bring others down with its use. Until we can rid the word "slut" of the connotation of a deviant woman, a woman who should be ostracized and ashamed of herself.
I am embarrassed as a human being hearing anyone use that word, though I am more embarrassed for the person using it. It angers me in my identity as a woman, especially to hear another woman use the word so carelessly. Just as the word "cunt" was originally a word meaning "sheath for a sword", "slut" was associated with another word: mud. And in the hundreds of years these words have been in use, the majority of their time has been spend degrading women. "Slut" is a word I think should be stripped of its ugliness, and left to wither away into a word that will no longer be used. I think Slutwalk is a fantastic idea, in it's message and practice, but I don't want to reclaim such a vile word and use it as my own. I don't want it to be ok to degrade women because of my identity as a woman. Words may be only as powerful as the power we give their meaning, but I think this is one of the many words that there's no loss in taking out of our mouths.
Word count: 1290
Becker, Howard S. Thio, A., T. Calhoun, and A. Conyers. Readings in deviant behavior. 6th. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 2010. Page 39, Print.
CHLOE. "A Few Words about Reclaiming "slut"" Feministing. 16 May 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. <http://feministing.com/2011/05/16/a-few-words-about-reclaiming-“slut”/>
Dowd, Maureen. "What's Up, Slut?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 July 2006. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/15/opinion/15dowd.html>.
Harper, Douglas. "Online Etymology Dictionary." Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. <http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0>.
Muscio, Inga. Cunt: A Declaration of Independence. 1st ed. Seattle: Seal, 1998. Print
"Portland Events, Music, Art, Entertainment, Sustainability | PDXPIPELINE.com." July 31: Slutwalk Portland. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. <http://www.pdxpipeline.com/monthly-event-list/slutwalk-portland/>
"Slut." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/slut>.
"Urban Dictionary: Slut." Urban Dictionary. Urban Dictionary. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=slut>
Credits:
A few words about reclaiming Slut
Class Notes (2.23.11)
Cunt: A Declaration of Independence (I love this book, it taught me a lot, personally)
Dictionary
Etymonline
Portland Slutwalk 2011
Slutwalk 2011 was the first time I'd ever heard of anyone reclaiming the word "slut" formally. I'd heard it said amongst my friends in high school as a term of endearment, but also as a put down for anyone who was generally disliked. According to dictionary.com, a slut is a dirty, slovenly prostitute. According to etymonline, the definition is similar, but there's a small note that the term was used affectionately for a brief period. Despite a small amount of positivity, this word has been around since the late 14th century, and has since been used as a tool for shaming sexuality and degrading women. Until last year. July 31, 2011 Portland hosted its first annual Slutwalk. This was part of an effort started in Canada in response to a police officer's statement, "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order to not be victimized." Supporters, activists, guest speakers, sex workers, and performers of all ages gathered together to protest both victim blaming and sexual violence, some dressed provocatively, in the imitation of the picture "slut" brought to mind. And the message was wonderful, inspiring, educational, and unfortunately, not widespread enough. Today, February 22nd, 2012, slut is still an ugly word.
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| Mean girls are mean... |
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| Every man is not a master key, let me throw that out there. |
On an episode of the popular comedy/sitcom, Scrubs, the main female doctor has a one night stand, and walks the halls realizing everyone knows and is talking about her sexual experience. The rumors get outrageous. Her friends even join in the teasing and gossiping. After being understandably devastated, the character finds power in her "label" because people see her as knowledgeable about sex, and are paying attention to her where she previously felt invisible. Her friends apologize for not standing up for her, and she responds with a new attitude. "I'm not sure. I mean, I was mad at you at first, but it's actually kind of empowering, you know, to have this...persona -- this identity. I mean, I'm not just some, you know, nameless, faceless white doctor -- I'm Elliot Reid: Tramp"
As a woman in a workplace that has been dominated by men for so long, it takes a lot to stand out for being anything other than a token hire. As we've discussed in class, most members of deviant groups have to work twice as hard to prove they are just as capable as the normative heterosexual white male employee. While it's admirable that a person can turn something so ugly and negative into a seemingly positive label or view, the situation points to the bigger issue. On February 23rd, we discussed the ideal of masculinity, and as Professor Williams said, loosely paraphrased, when we are telling people to "man up", we are also devaluing women and femininity. As people greet each other with, "Hey slut!" I believe we are devaluing sexuality, women, sexual experiences and there's little respect left for the person being greeted.
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| The reality hurts. A lot. |
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| Think about it. Please. |
Becker, Howard S. Thio, A., T. Calhoun, and A. Conyers. Readings in deviant behavior. 6th. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 2010. Page 39, Print.
CHLOE. "A Few Words about Reclaiming "slut"" Feministing. 16 May 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. <http://feministing.com/2011/05/16/a-few-words-about-reclaiming-“slut”/>
Dowd, Maureen. "What's Up, Slut?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 July 2006. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/15/opinion/15dowd.html>.
Harper, Douglas. "Online Etymology Dictionary." Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. <http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0>.
Muscio, Inga. Cunt: A Declaration of Independence. 1st ed. Seattle: Seal, 1998. Print
"Portland Events, Music, Art, Entertainment, Sustainability | PDXPIPELINE.com." July 31: Slutwalk Portland. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. <http://www.pdxpipeline.com/monthly-event-list/slutwalk-portland/>
"Slut." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/slut>.
"Urban Dictionary: Slut." Urban Dictionary. Urban Dictionary. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=slut>
Credits:
A few words about reclaiming Slut
Class Notes (2.23.11)
Cunt: A Declaration of Independence (I love this book, it taught me a lot, personally)
Dictionary
Etymonline
Portland Slutwalk 2011
Chill Out Slut (Originally from Bluntcard.com, the second link)
Your boobs are hanging out
Enlightenment
Scrubs Screen Shots: My New Coat
Have you ever looked at yourself
DC Slutwalk 2011 Photo
Your boobs are hanging out
Enlightenment
Scrubs Screen Shots: My New Coat
Have you ever looked at yourself
DC Slutwalk 2011 Photo
Agree/Awesome
ReplyDeleteFirst side note: the font is off through out the blog post. One thing that I noticed was what you said in your first paragraph. You spoke about your high school experience and the word Slut. This word is used is the younger adolesent years as endearment and in policing eachother. In your second paragraph I liked how you compared the definitions and how you expained that a slut is a woman that has morals like a man. You followed this by adding the term 'man slut' which is used so much in society. A term that is generally used by women calling men this term.
This was a well written blog and I feel that all the pictures really backed your writing. The last picture was very powerful. Thank you!
Disagree/Do better
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your pictures and your choice of word! I learned a lot about where the word comes from as well as activist movements to change the power behind the word. I think you could have done better comparing the label to more in class readings and in class videos than you did. I would have personally like to have seen some tie in to what members in different deviant groups face such as Kelly Osbourne's blog on the word tranny and her push to remove that word from our everyday slang. Especially since you brought up Slutwalk that would have been a great tie in. Also, what the label does long term to the person's labeled. If a girl is labeled a slut in high school the damage it does long term? Or tie in to the masculinity epidemic and how that ties into how we value women in this society like in the article Shame, Guilt and Violence.
Overall good use of photos and wording.
Amber
Agree/Awesome
ReplyDeleteSo I thought this was a totally excellent post. I had never heard of Slutwalk 2011 or the activism that goes along with the word. I myself have been guilty of using the word slut, however your post has convinced me to try and avoid using it all together. I thought it was important to discuss the social construction that our society has about gender and sex, and you did that very well when you explained that males are encouraged to sow their wild oats but women are labled deviant when they want sexual gratification. I do think you missed a good section that I read in the book called "Everyone Knows who the sluts are" on page 207 which discusses the stigma that women have to overcome. But sice we havent had to read it yet I wont really knock you for that. Keep up the good work!
John consiglio