Slut Shaming

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I chose this topic because it was something that I had seen growing up and continue to see now at the university level. Women are treated as sexual objects but when they decide to empower themselves and embrace their sexuality, they are looked down upon. I wanted to know how in depth I could get on this idea and the research I did helped clarify how deep this phenomena ran. It goes beyond gender and expands into race and class, components I hadn’t considered before.

I think this research is important in showing how widespread slut shaming is and how it expands beyond gender. Women are quick to assume that men are the enforcers of this system of oppression but women are just as guilty of perpetuating the cycle. Females cannot expect men to respect them if they do not respect each other.

I’m hoping this blog will at the very least inform people of how serious the practice of slut shaming is, especially in regards to its connection to the promotion of rape culture. If women are not allowed to wear what they want and be empowered by their sexuality without fear of some sort of assault, they will not truly be free. This is more so the reason for researching this topic. If people become more aware of how serious of a practice this is, maybe it’ll prevent them from being so quick to judge. A woman’s body and how she chooses to present it is not for the entertainment or judgment of others. As the photo shown above explains, women are taught to be ashamed of their bodies. They have to cover themselves for fear of how others will react. Instead young girls should be taught to be proud of their bodies and it is there that liberation can commence.

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Additional sources for those interested in further researching the idea of slut shaming are posted below as well as the topic it falls under.

Below are some scholarly sources that further research the phenomena of slut shaming, particularly with teenage girls and “sexting”:

1. http://fty.sagepub.com/content/14/3/305.full.pdf+html

Teen girls, sexual double standards and ‘sexting’: Gendered value in digital image exchange - Jessica Ringrose

2. http://tcr.sagepub.com/content/18/3/282.full.pdf+html

Policing ‘sexting’: Responsibilization, respectability and sexual subjectivity in child protection/crime prevention responses to teenagers’ digital sexual expression. - Lara Karaian

Below is a link to The Huffington Post and The New York Times search engines, which shows pages of articles all relevant to the topic of slut shaming

1. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/slut-shaming/ 2. http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch/?action=click&contentCollection®ion=TopBar&WT.nav=searchWidget&module=SearchSubmit&pgtype=Homepage#/slut%20shaming

Below is a blog where women are able to write quotes about slut shaming, whether its about their personal experience or just common beliefs

1. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/slut-shaming

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Some suggested solutions for stopping/alleviating slut shaming (which in turn will hopefully have an effect on rape culture) are:

1. Instead of teaching girls and women not to dress a certain way in order to avoid negative sexual attention, boys and men should be taught not to teach females as sexual objects. This is an idea that goes back to ancient times, but it does not mean that it has to continue into the future. Similar to the idea that women are property is outdated, so must the idea that a woman’s value is in her purity and sexual repression. If men are taught that women are worth more than their physical aspects, it may create change with the prevalence of rape culture. This core belief that women are objects instead of people is what allows men to treat women in whatever way they please. If they are taught at a young age to believe otherwise, there would not be such a widespread dislike for females to be proud of their bodies.

2. At the same time, in order to stop the use of slut shaming by men to oppress women, women must stop slut shaming each other. By using the label of slut to oppress other women, it only reinforces the idea that it is acceptable for men to do the same. Women use slut shaming as a way of competing with one another, but this action only prevents women as a whole from advancing. If women were to empower one another instead of oppressing others based on race and class, it would be easier to create change with males. This is a core idea that would take time to really address.

3. Additionally, institutions must stop limiting how females are allowed to dress because it is deemed “inappropriate.” Often times schools especially are guilty of saying that females cannot dress a certain way because it is “distracting” to their male classmates or instructors. Instead of expecting men to be mature enough to not objectify women, those females are expected to fit certain regulations. This only works to reinforce a cycle of sexual oppression and misogyny. A woman can display her body for fear that men will not be able to control themselves. This idea is what fuels a society that supports rape culture. Women should be able to wear what they please without fear that they will be attacked. This begins with having more leniency in clothing at a younger age.

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The problem of slut shaming is a result of the over sexualization of females in many societies. Women are valued for their physical aspects, but when a woman is shows pride in her sexuality, she is shunned. Women are expected to be pure and this starts at a young age. Young girls are not allowed to wear certain clothing because of fear of how males will react. This only continues the cycle that women should not be allowed to be proud of their bodies, they should instead be ashamed to be anything but pure and chaste.

With the trend of #shirtlessshamers2016, men often mention that they desire a pure woman who doesn’t show half naked pictures as this is not what a woman “should” dress like. They are not allowed to display pride in their bodies. The university study shows that if a woman is proud and in a position of power, she is less vulnerable to be attacked. But women of color and lower class may be considered slutty without having ever had a sexual interaction. But this idea goes beyond class, as celebrities, people who are adored by the pubic cannot escape this stigma. Women in higher education are not allowed to dress in a way they desire as it is inappropriate and some excuse will be found to punish them.

This belief can be dangerous. If a woman is sexually empowered, she is a threat to the misogynist patriarchy that is prevalent in many countries. If a woman dresses a certain way and is sexually assaulted, it is believed that she was “asking for it.” This connection between slut shaming and rape culture is undeniable. Women will not be fully liberated until they are able to dress the way they want without fear that a male with use it as an excuse to attack her. The photo above speaks volumes with the idea that a woman is only a “slut” because her sexual liberation causes fear. This is because liberation implies empowerment, and empowerment challenges systems of oppression.

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As explained in earlier posts, slut shaming is intersectional issue. Based on the college study, class is an important factor in slut shaming. Women from higher social status are less likely to be vulnerable to the phenomena of slut shaming, even if the are more sexually active. The same goes for race, women of color are considered to be be more sexually promiscuous. Although there is no real evidence to support that one race is more sexually active than another. At the same time this is an important factor with gender. Most would believe that men use slut shaming as a way of oppressing women, but this idea of shaming women because of the way the display their bodies is also a form of oppression that women exercise on other women. There’s no way for women to unite in a feminist movement if they are practicing an idea of putting other women to shame because of the way they present themselves and the pride they show in their bodies.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-outfit-that-got-this-woman-kicked-out-of-her-schools-gym_us_56b4f11ce4b04f9b57d97572

The picture above shows the outfit worn by a Grace DiChristina, a female student at Santa Clara University on January 20th. She was asked to leave the facility because of the risk of spreading MRSA (a staph infection) and the fact that Santa Clara University is a Jesuit institution. This shows a clear bias in both fitness centers as well as places of higher education. 

DiChristina addresses both institutions and how their reasoning for kicking her out are not valid. The fitness center pointed out that her bare midriff was putting her at risk for MRSA. But she challenges that she not at any more risk than the dozens of men who wear muscle tees. These men sweat directly on the equipment, but they aren't made to feel unsafe. She mentions that one of the rules is “to wipe down equipment after use,” but “women are being singled out and punished because other people can't follow the rules.” She also mentions that the university’s standing as a “Jesuit” institution is not a valid reason for her having to leave. She argues that she does “not go to the gym to be sexualized or looked at by other people-- [she goes] to improve [her] health and [her] self confidence.” 

The fitness centers are affected because enforcement of rules such as this will decrease female attendance to those gyms. If women aren’t allowed to dress a certain way, but men are undiscouraged, there is a feeling that women are welcome or wanted. With the university, this over sexualization of female students is also discouraging. They promote fitness and a healthy lifestyle but criticize the clothing women wear. Women’s bodies should not be put under such a microscope.

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http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20055380,00.html

Vanessa Hudgens (pictured above) was a star on Disney’s High School Musical. In 2007, Hudgens was dating High School Musical costar, Zac Efron. On Thursday September 6th, a nude photo of the actress were leaked on the internet. It is important to note that these private photos were released without her consent. But the public began to judge her for these intimate photos that were clearly meant for her boyfriend. Her representative stated that the photo was “taken privately. It is a personal manner and it is unfortunate that this has become public.”

The following day more photos of the star were released, again without her consent. Instead of recognizing the issue as an invasion of privacy, Hudgens was quick to apologize to her fans and to the public in general. She said, “I want to apologize to my fans, whose support and trust means the world to me. I am embarrassed over this situation and regret having ever taken the photos...” Afterward, a Disney Channel spokesperson released a statement mentioning that “Vanessa has apologized for what was obviously a lapse in judgment. We hope she’s learned a valuable lesson.” The article ended with a mention that the studio was in talks about bringing Hudgens back for any High School Musical sequels.

This is related to my topic of slut shaming because Hudgens was scorned publicly for the way she choose to display her body. The photos she took were meant for her boyfriend, and were released without her consent. Yet so many were quick to judge and although she was not guilty of any serious offense, she and the studio apologized because of her choice to take such photos. But no one came forth to take responsibility for leaking such photos. She was a female adult but was not allowed to display her body in a way that showed pride. This happens to average people all the time, photos meant for significant others are shared without consent. But celebrities are especially vulnerable to this phenomena with the release of pictures, sex tapes, etc.

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http://jce.sagepub.com/content/44/1/84.full.pdf+html

Jo Reger described her experience as a participant in a 2011 slut walk in Northampton, Massachusetts. A slut walk is a march that is meant to protest sexual violence and celebrate sexual empowerment. This was sparked by a comment made by a police officer who said that women who do not want to be victimized should not dress like sluts. This sparked a movement to empower and own women’s sexually through ending “slut shaming” and “sexual profiling.” This movement was renamed to “stomp and holler” after women of color had trouble with reclaiming the word slut. The stress was a result of a history of oppression, rape, and sexual exploitation.

The author pointed out a discrepancy with age and race when attending the march. The differences between present second and third wave feminists was described to a mother-daughter relationship, where the daughter did not want to listen to the mother’s advice or stories. Each separated from the other as a way of retaining their own identity. Younger participants screamed themselves hoarse and dressed with “provocative” clothing such as having bras as outerwear and visible garters. A statement to be able to public display themselves as sexual without fear of backlash.When a girl of 8/9 was seen in attendance, the author wished that she would not be exposed to such open sexuality. Then realized that there was an over focus on preventing girls from being exposed to depictions of sexuality that would continue the cycle of oppression.

There is an intersectionality to race and age when considering the slut walk. Women of color have suffered more than those who were able to take advantage of white invisibility. Younger feminists are more willing and able to take radical means of expression that may create an uneasiness in older generations of feminists. But unity is still found to teach girls that they do not have to silence their sexual desires and needs in order to accommodate males. The closing scenario of the march depicts a woman yelling into a megaphone, “It is still happening. We are still protesting this shit and this is why we are her today. We are not going to take it anymore. The words cunt, bitch, slut are still used against us-- against our bodies, against our dignities, and against our identities. It is unacceptable” (Reger 107).

The author pointed out a dividing line between age groups, or different waves of feminists. Similar to the influence of race and class, the division between ages would not be an aspect that many would consider with sexual liberation. But it became clear when Reger detailed the difference in dress as well as overall attitude. Both waves were walking in an attempt to take back the word, but younger generations were more out loud and open about doing so. She also mentions the importance of race when claiming the word slut. Women of color were not so willing to take it with pride because of their mistreatment, similar to the college study. I believe those are all valid and important points to make. I do not agree with the authors idea that some young girls should not have been present at the walk. She believes that they should not be exposed to so much sexual openness, but if these girls are not able to experience it at a walk that is celebrating female empowerment, they will only be victims of the same cycle of oppression. The only questions that it might raise is about considering the importance of age as well as race. White feminists are quick to try to reclaim a word without considering the effect it might have had on other races or the lack of importance in older generations.

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http://spq.sagepub.com/content/77/2/100.full.pdf+html

There was an ethnographic and longitudinal study at a large, moderately selective Midwest university. It believed that women take part in slut shaming as a manner of internal oppression. Women are only permitted to be sexually active when in a committed relationship or being “in love.” In this study, slut shaming was a result of women violating the above social standard and they would be victim to status loss and discrimination. This support the idea that slut shaming is a way to continue sexual inequality and reinforce male dominance with female subordination.

This study shows that slut shaming is not only a gender issue but one that relates to status. In this university, status was tied to looks, social skills, popularity, and athleticism, all of which are loosely related to social class. Her the high status group tended to by sorority members who saw their manner of femininity as classy, found the slut discourse to enable their sexual freedom, and managed to assert dominance over lower status women. Lower status women were resentful of the higher status groups, which encouraged the use of the slut label on higher status women because of their wealth, exclusivity, and casual participation in sexual activity. But these lower status women were the ones who were more vulnerable to public shaming. This unfair balance brought forth the idea of sexual privilege where women with high status are able to explore their sexuality with fear of social repercussions.

There is a connection of the slut stigma to the “fag epithet” with adolescent boys. Boys are expected to conform to hegemonic masculinity to avoid the “fag label,” which could encourage hyper masculinity. Similarly, women do not have to be sexually active to be labeled as sluts, some are still virgins when they receive the backlash. Women are competitive of men’s attention and other women’s esteem so they label each other without reasoning. The status goes into other dimensions of inequality such as class and race although they are not necessarily connected with sexual behavior. It supports the idea that although men are given more sexual freedom than women and are thought to be the ones oppressing women, it is also other women who are doing the sexual oppression.

I never recognized the connection between the slut stigma and class. It does seem that those of a higher class are free to act in ways that are more sexually open without fear of social repercussions. It also briefly touches on the importance of race, which is also an idea that I hadn’t considered. The connection of that to slut shaming is an idea that would reinforce that men are not the only ones who take part in this system. I do think that the study is a bit too focused. There was more of an emphasis on the Greek community, so there is a failure in examining how prevalent this phenomena is in other social circles. The questions that could be raised are the relevance of class and race. This is oppression on the basis of gender but those two factors are undeniable. Which would raise a question of whether gender is the only basis of oppression in this system.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/woman-calls-out-shirtless-men-who-shame-shirtless-women_us_56a0fdb3e4b0d8cc1098e364

According to an article in the Huffington post, women have been taking to social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to fight against online harassment. A Minneapolis based women’s advocate named Lindsey has decided to fight against the double standard of women being harassed for showing skin by males who do just the same. Women are told to have more respect for themselves by men who post shirtless and sometimes half naked photos of themselves. Hence the beginning of a movement called #ShirtlessShamers2016. Men who make posts, tweets, status updates, etc. about women’s bodies and the freedom in which they express it are then screen shot and pictures of them doing the same are included (as shown in the picture above).

In a way, the movement is opening the door to conversation about the double standards of between men and women in terms of clothing and the acceptance of nudity. Men use photos to show off how masculine they are with images of how muscular and fit they are. It is a way of showing pride for one’s body. But women aren't allowed to be proud of their bodies. Instead that sexual pride is shamed because they don’t fit the idea of a pure women, someone who is “wife material.” 

Lindsey touches on the more serious effects of this mindset. That this sexual harassment is a doorway to sexual violence. Misogynists believe that if a woman were to dress “appropriately” she would in turn be respected. But if a woman were to dress “inappropriately” she would be welcoming any violence and disrespect that they receive. She also mentions that men who shamed women for how they portrayed themselves, often had a “likes” list full of porn and images of naked women. This means that men are not against nudity or sexuality, but with women showing pride in their bodies and reflecting it in their own way. 

There’s a lot that I personally support with this movement. I like that women are finding a way to show the hypocrisy and double standards that are present. It’s an active way to bring attention to the subject without personally attacking anyone, and it does have an appeal of humor. With the growing use of social media, this is a great way to get people to notice that this is an issue that must be worked on. She also explains the dangers of continuing this cycle of oppression. If men are allowed to shame women for how they present their bodies, then there will be a continuation of victim blaming in more serious situations. It focus on equality on the basis of sexual freedom in presentation of oneself.

There isn't much that would disagree with this movement besides that it might be an invasion of privacy. Men are judged by people all over the world and I’m sure that it comes with it’s own harassment.  But they sort of bring it upon themselves to be judged when they actively choose to judge other people. 

Is there a way to go beyond social media, as in, is there a way to make more concrete changes?

It would be difficult to say. Change starts when people become open to discussion about a topic. This twitter hashtag is bringing to light some double standards in terms of sexual expression and highlighting the hypocrisy that is so widespread. Drawing awareness to an issue is the first step towards changing and ending oppression through slut shaming. This in turn would, hopefully, lead to a time without victim blaming, and a place with equality in terms of sexual freedom and its expression.

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The topic of my blog project is based on the phenomenon of “slut shaming.” This is the action of criticising a woman for not fitting the social expectation of being pure in the sexual sense. Women who display any kind of sexual liberation are looked down upon and labeled as “sluts.”

This occurrence is relevant because it is a blatant oppression of women. As shown in the image above, men with a high sexual prowess are considered studs, players, manly, etc. All of which have a positive connotation of power and dominance. But if a woman is even thought to have a sense of sexuality she is considered dirty, easy, slutty, etc. These are all negative adjectives that promote a sense of inferiority and submission. Women are not expected to have sex, much less enjoy doing so. So if a woman dress a certain way or acts in a way that would leave one to assume she is sexually free, she is looked down upon. Women do not have the same sexual freedom as men and therefore they are sexually and socially oppressed.

This is important because this idea is still relevant today. Women are not allowed to express their sexuality without facing judgment. In drastic cases, this idea can lead to victim blaming in cases of rape. If a woman was dressed a certain way or acting in a certain way, she was asking to be sexually assaulted. But this is not the case, victim blaming cannot be resolved until the practice of slut shaming is addressed. Women will not find equality if they are not able to express themselves without a fear of judgment or worse still, assault.

This topic is important to be because it’s something that I’ve seen growing up. I have two older brothers and the disrespect they have for women because they dress a certain way is disgusting. But this idea has been prevalent throughout my years in school. If a woman had sex, she was a slut. If a woman wore short or tight clothing, she was a slut. Although men are thought to be the enforces of this idea, women are also guilty of speaking in a similar manner. Women can not progress if we are oppressing each other. Ending slut shaming a step towards achieving sexual liberation for women, which is a step towards ending oppression.