This past Saturday, Amber Rose hosted her 2nd Annual Slutwalk. Although she isn’t the originator of slutwalks, she definitely stirred up conversation about its purpose and slutshaming. Both men and women criticized Rose. People thought she was saying it was okay for women to sleep with a lot of people and that she was making a mockery of the original Slutwalk that was centered on empowering rape victims. Critics don’t realize the purpose of Rose’s Slutwalk— to liberate women and end rape culture.
The first Slutwalk was created in 2011 in Canada to help fight the belief that what a woman wears can cause her rape. Rose, a model and former stripper, is often slutshamed by people in the media, including her famous exes Wiz Khalifa and Kanye West. Rose has tried to desensitize words like “slut” and “hoe” by putting them on clothes and using them in her everyday speech. She had become a known feminist to her 12 million plus Instagram followers. Last year, she reached out to the creator of the first Slutwalk and received her blessing to create her own. Without having enough big companies to support such a large event, Rose’s first Slutwalk was primarily funded on donations by her social media followers and other celebrities.
Since the model’s first Slutwalk was such a success, many different businesses sponsored this year’s event. One worth mentioning is Flirt Cosmetics, they made free admission possible this time around. Celebrities in attendance this year included Blac Chyna, Joanne the Scammer, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, and Kendra Wilkinson. Rapper Trina, who is also a known feminist, took the stage to perform some of her biggest hits. Events included sign making, pep rally, fashion show, and presentations by experts.
Amber Rose should be commended for working her butt off to spread her message. Women’s bodies are their own and they shouldn’t be chastised for how they dress or what their sexual acts are. They deserve the same freedom and respect that men receive for doing the same things.