Manhattanville Sl*t Walk 2015 hosted by Breaking the Silence
The posters publicising the Manhattanville’s ‘Sl*t Walk’ turned a lot of heads in the hallway. You could see people’s confused and shocked faces as if they had seen the most offensive thing ever. Of course there were others with some common sense, who were excited to make a change, to stand together for what they believed in. Although, the name change from the ‘Sl*ut Walk’ to Manhattanville’s ‘Solidarity Walk’ raised some anger within the hardcore feminist army, lots of girls could be seen in front of the Tenney Hall on Friday, September 25. ‘Breaking the Silence at Manhattanville’ held the event in protest of Rape Culture and Sexism in the 21st century, especially on college campuses. It was refreshing to see guys join along the way, not fearing the patriarchal standards of what men should and should not do. The posters would make one want to be in a revolution. Some of my favourites read: “A dress is NOT a yes!”, “Shame Rapists not Victims” and “What do you call a woman who has a lot of sex? -Her name”.
The power we as women felt as a group was outstanding. Who said Social Justice Activism was only for large universities? None of the girls really knew one another, although the strong bond between them was astonishing. There were women dressed in mini-skirts, dresses, long sweaters, jeans, v-necks. There were women in all shapes and sizes, skin colours, with makeup and without it. There were women with heels, and sneakers, with long hair and short bob cuts. But never did someone make a comment about another person’s appearance. Because we knew that none of us was ‘asking for it’. It was now for us to prove it.