What is a “slut”? Have you ever been called a “slut”? Have you ever called someone a “slut”? What does a “slut” look like? These questions along with many more were posed to a vigorous audience of Hofstra University students and faculty during the school’s sixth annual Day of Dialogue on October 26, and raised both tempers and awareness about women’s sexual rights.
Hofstra’s Day of Dialogue, the lecture and discussion series concerning community, national and global civic issues, welcomed organizer Holly Meyer of SlutWalk NYC, a fledging sexual rights coalition devoted to fighting rape culture and women’s sexual oppression. The discussion was moderated by Mary Anne Trasciatti, Associate Professor of Speech Communication, Rhetoric and Performance Studies and featured Hofstra Professors Lisa Merrill and Amy Baehr along with Meyer as panelists.
SlutWalk, the offspring of a movement that began in Toronto, Canada in April of this year has sparked global protests. As Meyer explained, the movement began when a police officer warned female coeds on a Toronto campus that in order to not become sexual assault and rape targets, they should stop dressing so “slutty” when they go out.
One comment led to mass protests in seventy cities. The most recent demonstration, SlutWalk NYC, occurred on October 1, 2011 in New York City’s Union Square with 3,000 supporters, chanting slogans like “blame the system not to the victim.” Protesters were mostly women and created a media stir because some chose scantily clad attire such as bra’s and swimsuits to emphasis the importance of freedom of dress.
During the Dialogue discussion, Meyer explained rape culture to be the “she was asking for it” mentality as justification for rape and Professor Baehr, Associate Professor of Philosophy, further defined it as a “violation of bodily integrity.”
“These words were associated with the poor, working class women and women of color” said Merrill, Associate Professor of Speech Communication, Rhetoric and Performance Studies, when noting the historical aspect of words such as ‘whore’ and ‘slut.’
Addressing the stereotype that women are targeted in dark alleys because they are wearing short skirts, Professor Baehr presented rape statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Baehr reported that according to the statistics, 17.6% of women have reported being victims of rape in their lifetime.
“More surprisingly,” Baehr added, “most have reported being rape by a friend, family member or acquaintance. Only 25.9 percent of victims were raped by a stranger.”
When the discussion opened up for audience involvement, participants, both male and female, took to the microphone with feverish enthusiasm. Subtopics debated over included the meaning of a ‘slut’, the double standard between men and women, sex in relation to social class and, of course with Halloween around the corner, girls dressing in “slutty” Halloween costumes.
“You have to know that you’re going to judged by the way you dress,” said Aaron Sarfo, 20, a junior Radio major. “If I came in here in all black baggy clothes, wearing a bandana, I’d get judged.”
“But you wouldn’t get raped,” said Benetta Standly, a visiting speaker and director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.
“But I might get arrested,” answered Sarfo in quick response.
The topic of women calling other women “‘sluts” as a way of demoralizing sexual integrity seemed to bring an ashamed hush over the exuberant crowd. Like a scene out of Mean Girls, Trasciatti asked how many women in the room had ever called another woman a “slut”; almost every young woman raised her hand.
Putting the notion of in perspective, Trasciatti said “we have to look past the currency of chastity” as a way to define ourselves as women.
“We live in such a hyper sexualized culture,”said Baehr “but we need to start expanding the sexual dichotomy beyond good girl verses bad girl.”
For more information on SlutWalk NYC, including upcoming events and media coverage, visit www.slutwalknyc.com