Slut Shaming

Any sensible, God-fearing and morally righteous person is familiar with the countless events of havoc and misfortune caused by the slut. Just ask Iranian cleric Hojatoleslam Kazem Sediqi, who attributed the tragic occurrences of recent earthquakes to the baneful temptresses of contemporary fashion, or even our neolithic Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, who declared that virginity (not love, loyalty or companionship, but rather the preservation of one’s hymen) is the greatest gift a woman could give to her husband.

Since the dawn of time, when Eve plucked that apple and doomed us all, women have been blamed for much of the world’s problems. The Egyptian Queen Cleopatra employed an irresistible charm to snake her way into the hearts of great men and subsequently to dynastic rule, various faiths forbid the presence of women at sacred rituals and ceremonies, often to prevent vulnerable men from becoming distracted, and on the pages of our beloved tabloid magazines, the devastating breakups of our favorite celebrity couples are viciously ascribed to callous, man-eating home wreckers like philanthropist and mother, Angelina Jolie. Throughout history, it seems that mankind (no literally, mankind) has crumbled miserably at the feet of ruthless and manipulative vixens, causing entire empires to fall with the coquettish flutter of the eyelashes. But let’s forget the men for a moment. Women love to hate other women. The catty though evidently self-satisfying occupation of slut-shaming is hardly new, but despite all of its ugliness, attacking the respectability of otherwise respectable individuals and gripping feminism mercilessly by the throat, shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.

Whether as an unfortunate recipient or a righteous proponent, we can all recall an incident of slut-shaming; the cheap and easy way for women to feel powerful. If a woman feels threatened by the sexuality of a female rival or feels insecure or ashamed about her own sexual desires, all she has to do is call a woman a slut and suddenly she wears the beaming halo of superior virtue, resting safely at the top of the social pecking order. From the sexual habits of a woman simply to the height of her stiletto heels, friends, strangers and enemies are constantly labelled as whores and sluts as either playful bantering, spiteful insults, or casual observations.

The countless fan pages dedicated to promiscuous women on social networking site Facebook display this bizarre behavior, with hundreds of thousands of women publicly subscribing to pages labelled, “I hate sluts“, “Relationships = a guy, a girl and one slut that gets in the way“, and “You’re a slut, get hit by a car“. The habit of attacking one another in an already oppressed group with such bold and public conviction demonstrates the unfortunate reality of an internalized sexism, encouraging women to distrust each other and ultimately to fight for male approval. In this patriarchal society, which constantly defines a woman’s worth by her physical appearance and sexual availability, the ability for a woman to distinguish herself by any other means is consequently thwarted. We learn from an early age that women must dedicate themselves to the noble pursuit of garnering male approval, which we feel, with miserably irony, translates into a form of power.

If the blatant betrayal of feminist values fails to set off any alarm bells, recent comments like the ones made by sociology professor and anti-porn activist Mary Anne Layden might. Layden explaines, with no empirical evidence but rather simple causation, that “the more pornography women use, the more likely they are to become victims of non-consensual sex.” She also goes on to explain that “the earlier males begin using pornography, the more likely they are to become perpetrators of non-consensual sex.”

The victim-blaming, perpetrator-excusing reasoning echoes earlier rationalizations that women, as ”uncovered meat”, are “asking for it”, and since almost all men confess to using pornography in their more private occupations, this means that they are excusably robbed of “themselves”, shifting the burden of avoiding bad behavior onto women, and essentially arguing that some women are good enough to resist turning themselves into rape victims. This severe form of slut-shaming (or more specifically, slut-blaming) demonstrates the absurd and potentially harmful effects of a seemingly innocent social practice. The set mentality breeds a more sinister development of female oppression, which we would like to believe exists only outside the developed sanctuary of Western culture.

So if the sexually liberated woman is condemned with such harsh, prevailing attitudes, what then explains the popularity of crotchless panties, hyper sexualized media and casual sex among women today? Although this phenomenon directly conflicts with the nature of slut-shaming, the primary motive appears to be the same: garnering male approval. Sex is almost exclusively sold to men, and women, as depicted by our media, should always appear “up for it,” but to never actually act upon it, because that of course would be slutty. With a culture that simultaneously glorifies both modesty and promiscuity, it’s no wonder that women begin to struggle with the internalization of two opposing ideals. Perhaps this explains the popularity of one particularly amusing Facebook fan page, boasting over 800,000 supporters and counting: “When sluts hate other sluts for being sluts“.

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