Slut Walks

I've been following this topic for a few weeks, because these street marches remind me of old fashioned feminist activism, which seems to be a thing of the distant past, but at the same time, seem like a totally current take on the issues confronting women. 

I heard the original organizers on NPR a couple of times, and was impressed with their story - after the Toronto police officer made the comment (in a public safety presentation he told the audience that they could avoid being raped if they didn't "dress like sluts"), they organized the walk; they hoped to get 100 people.  Instead 3000 came, and the idea has spread across the world, literally, with walks in the US, Britain and Australia.

Then I read this commentary in a British newspaper, with all the usual tropes about how feminism has ruined the world and this is just the latest proof.

Of course the writer, Melanie Phillips, doesn't understand the purpose of the Slutwalk at all.  The original organizers noted (in a radio interview that I heard) that dressing provocatively was not part of the original march.  The purpose of the original walk was only to point out the absurdity of suggesting that a woman's clothing has anything to do with rape, and to bring attention to the persistent myth that women "ask for it" by how they present themselves.  That some women choose to attend the walk in provocative clothing is basically irrelevant. 

Most disturbing to me is that this writer criticizes women for not taking responsibility for their own actions (i.e., dressing in such a way that provokes men), but she simultaneously absolves men of responsibility for their actions (i.e., rape) because, you know, they can't help themselves when presented with these aggressive images of sexuality.  Someone drew the analogy that you don't let the people off the hook for shoplifting because the store is so full of such wonderful stuff.  Which is a funny way of describing what is a really horrifying reality - that men use sexual assault to assert power and express violence and hatred, and the way their victim is dressed is not a factor.  When women clearly don't understand this dynamic, it's scary, and weird, and frankly, infuriating.

Of course, the way young ladies dress these days aggravates the hell out of me, and I think (as I have said previously, e.g., in my Kiki Kannibal commentary) that they often do not seem to understand the message they're sending.  On the other hand, women can dress any stupid way they want - that's part of feminism.  Not my favorite part, but there it is.