As a woman, being slut-shamed is a guarantee, practically a sadistic rite-of-passage.
It leads to the unearthing of society’s twisted truth: in 2018, women are still rebuked for exercising the rights of their own bodies.
This act of stigmatizing exhibits a potent double standard; men are revered for embracing their sexuality — women are pitied or degraded.
Perhaps I was coddled at my liberal New England boarding school, where the majority of students adopted the “my body, my choice” mentality; my eyes were pried opened at Drexel University.
Not everyone, especially not all male students, understand the iniquity and hypocrisy of female slut-shaming.
In a growing friendship, it is customary for individuals to open up to one another — vulnerable information is disclosed, including secrets of intimacy. I had indeed participated in such behavior with a few people at Drexel.
In one circumstance, a particular male turned this information around on me; he found himself annoyed by something trivial I said, and responded by calling me a “thot.”
I was shocked not only because this was the first time I was slut-shamed, but also by the loathing in his tone of voice; he had truly meant it. Despite him revealing his amorous adventures to me as well, my anecdotes were met with snide remarks; his were seen as funny, or impressive.
Lawful sexual actions by men go unnoticed, but the same actions from women warrant judgement of all sorts.
Amber Rose is one Hollywood figure known for breaking the ignominy that sexually-active women face with her series “SlutWalk.” With them, she embraces the “slut” label, rather than letting others use it to demean her.
However, even this march has been met with criticism.
“Getting real tired of slut-walk slogans, too. ‘Don’t slut-shame me!’ How about, do not refer to me as a slut! Ever!” Belissa Escobedo and Rhiannon McGavin said in the slam poem titled “Rape Joke.”
Instead of dragging women down for using their bodies how they wish to, let’s focus on mitigating the illegal sexual harassment and assault that continues to dominate the criminal justice system.