Daniel Walker | Contributing Writer
What is slut shaming?
The answer? Google defines it as “the act of criticizing a woman for her real or presumed sexual activity, or for behaving in ways that someone thinks are associated with her real or presumed sexual activity.”
In order to understand the phrase ‘slut shaming’, it is essential to define the individual words. First, one must conclude what is, or what is thought to be, a slut. Next, they must ask: “Why is this person being criticized (being told by Person A who has his or her own faults, what Person A thinks Person B’s faults are) for being this way?”
What the heck is a slut anyway? A girl who flirts with a lot of guys? A girl who has sex with a lot of guys? A girl who just has a lot of guy friends? The word “slut” goes around misinterpreted so much that people don’t even truly understand what it means anymore.
Before the 2000s, it was not uncommon for a girl to go on a date with a guy she was interested in to see if she liked him or not. If he got the second date, great. If he got the “beat it, loser,”, it was over and done with. It was that simple. Nowadays, a girl can go on a date with a guy, and they’re automatically an item, or “talking.”
Say, if eligible bachelor number one asks a girl on a date, and she didn’t know how much of a jerk he was until halfway through dinner. One of her classmates Snapchats her from a distance, and everyone automatically assumes they’re an item. A few weeks later, the girl finds a guy she really likes. They begin dating, and she trusts him. After awhile of dating, they decide to have sex.. People find out about the situation, and suddenly the girl is known for ‘getting around’, since she went out on a date weeks earlier with another guy.
After one random date, an actual relationship, and sex with her boyfriend, she could be considered a slut by her peers. Even if she did not have sex at all, but went on two dates in two days, she could be wrongfully accused of being a slut.
To be honest, a girl doesn’t even have to do anything to be considered a slut. Slut shaming comes not from the real or presumed sexual activity of the victim, but from the people giving her this title. None of the examples I gave define the behavior of a slut, but I have seen girls countless times be called sluts over simple, innocent behavior.
People also look down upon women who are comfortable with their sexuality and know the power of their sexuality as women. Men are praised by their friends when they sleep around. Those same men will spit on a woman’s name for carrying out the same actions they do themselves.
Slut shaming is the result of the ignorance of the people around the victims.
Graphic by Dee Friesen
