End Slut Shaming

“Women should avoid dressing like sluts,” those were the words of Constable Michael Sanguinetti, a Toronto Police officer whose comments at the beginning of this year started a wave of anger, which led to protests and marches that started in Toronto and spread all around the world. Although I hope it is obvious to most people, anger that led to these marches came from the implication that those who dress as “sluts,” deserve any victimization that they get. So, in case you haven’t guessed in my speech this week I am going to talk about slut shaming, which is exactly what it sounds like, shaming or judging women for their sexuality, real or perceived. That could mean someone who has had multiple partners, someone who could have had casual sex outside of serious or long­term relationships, or it could just mean someone who has had sex outside of marriage. It is even enough to appear as if you are sexually available to be termed a “slut.” It all really depends on the moral standards of the person who is judging.

There is so much to be said on the damaging ramifications of slut shaming, about women harassing other women with slut shaming, about how women use slut shaming against other women to try to make themselves look better, or about how slut shaming leads to victim­blaming in rape cases where people say, “well, she sleeps around.” About slut shaming in bisexual women and how it can lead to the belief that these women aren’t bisexual, but a slut. I honestly didn’t know how I could have my audience completely understand the grandeur.