Oh Noez! What about Teh Menz? -Patriarchy isn't a dude's friend EITHER!

[Signora Pæsior]

I reclaimed "cunt".

"Damn right and don't you forget it", "I'm not a cunt, I'm THE cunt", etc. 

I'm not quite at a point where I can reclaim cunt, yet. I'd like to get there.

Slut, though. Slut I will totally own. 

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

I reclaimed "cunt".

"Damn right and don't you forget it", "I'm not a cunt, I'm THE cunt", etc. 

I'm not quite at a point where I can reclaim cunt, yet. I'd like to get there.

Slut, though. Slut I will totally own. 

You have an army. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SlutWalk

[Signora Pæsior]

I reclaimed "cunt".

"Damn right and don't you forget it", "I'm not a cunt, I'm THE cunt", etc. 

I'm not quite at a point where I can reclaim cunt, yet. I'd like to get there.

Slut, though. Slut I will totally own. 

You have an army. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SlutWalk

Heh, I know. I'm on organising committees in two countries. SlutLord!

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

I reclaimed "cunt".

"Damn right and don't you forget it", "I'm not a cunt, I'm THE cunt", etc. 

I'm not quite at a point where I can reclaim cunt, yet. I'd like to get there.

Slut, though. Slut I will totally own. 

You have an army. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SlutWalk

Heh, I know. I'm on organising committees in two countries. SlutLord!

Ooooooo...a TITLE! 

[The Johnny]

Ive been on the fence regarding those "walks" for some time...

I mean, i understand its trying to give "slut" a positive connotation, but i dont think it accomplishes the intended intention to uncritical observers.

On one hand its the deconstruction of a stereotype, but its also assuming the stereotype to a point.

I mean, if i organized a "BeanerWalk" in a racist location, the people that showed up and marched with me would equate with a display of support for the so called "beaners" and a symbolic show that racism will not be tolerated, but does it really deconstruct and resignify the stereotype?

Wouldnt a "March against discrimination and violence" in both cases would be better and probably get even more support?

[The Johnny]

To me it seems as useful as the "ZombieWalks" with the difference being that theres flyers and information that might be good.

[Signora Pæsior]

Ive been on the fence regarding those "walks" for some time...

I mean, i understand its trying to give "slut" a positive connotation, but i dont think it accomplishes the intended intention to uncritical observers.

On one hand its the deconstruction of a stereotype, but its also assuming the stereotype to a point.

I mean, if i organized a "BeanerWalk" in a racist location, the people that showed up and marched with me would equate with a display of support for the so called "beaners" and a symbolic show that racism will not be tolerated, but does it really deconstruct and resignify the stereotype?

Wouldnt a "March against discrimination and violence" in both cases would be better and probably get even more support?

Well, "March against discrimination and violence" is really hard to fit on a poster and too long for a Twitter handle.

In all seriousness though, there's been a lot of discussion about the name of SlutWalks. Some offshoots have opted to rename, and that's awesome. We talked about it coming up to our second march this year and ultimately decided to keep the Slut moniker, at least for now. It's hard-hitting and in your face and it got us a lot of attention. Yes, that attention was both positive and negative, but the point of a protest march is attention in general, and we got something like twenty-five times the amount of people that Take Back the Night marches were getting in our city (and they haven't even had a TBTN in a few years now, which is a shame). And it's a great opportunity to educate people (those who want to be educated, anyway). Our biggest issue, actually, has always been in the media portrayals of our movement, because "WOMEN WANT TO DRESS/ACT LIKE SLUTTY SLUTTY SLUTS ALSO HEY DID WE MENTION LOLSLUTS" is a much better headline than "Rape culture is shit and here's an intersectional group of people who would really like to work towards breaking it down."

After the march last year, the voiceover on the news was "scantily-clad protesters braved the weather today; a group of women marched down..." blah blah blah complete inability to read press releases or stick around for the speeches. And my mother, when she watched it later, was yelling at the computer, "There's a ton of men there and most people are in jeans WHAT THE FUCK." Which was especially hilarious considering she side-eyed the fuck out of me when I told her I was organising it.

[The Johnny]

Catch 22?

You get attention from the media for using a controversial word, but the message isnt passed on or is distorted.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

Catch 22?

You get attention from the media for using a controversial word, but the message isnt passed on or is distorted.

Fuck TV. Anybody who's on facebook probably knows what SlutWalk is.

Has TV ever reported ANYTHING right?

[P3nT4gR4m]

Basically, if your stance is the tired old "I'M NOT GUNNA THINK ABOUT OR OBJECTIVELY DISCUSS THE WIDER SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF COMMON LANGUAGE USAGES 'CAUSE I RAWK TOO HARD, FUCKEM" why are you even participating in this conversation? Don't you have a dominant paradigm to go uphold?

FFS. I know, consciousness is hard. SHOWING US WHAT A TOUGH GUY YOU ARE is much, much easier, because you don't even have to take off your nametag.

Patronising personal insults aside (I don't expect better from you) I'll have a stab at answering that. Using gendered insults, as intended gendered insults is a bad thing - no argument from me there. However, when something is not a gendered insult and merely a lighthearted pisstake between me and another consenting adult and then someone getting on my case about it reeks of censorship. It's everything that's bullshit about "politically correct" and it's headed straight to Newspeak town. Sure, some people might use a word with a certain mindset that should be attacked, where others are just using a word. Attacking the word and not the mindset is typical dumbfuck behaviour. I do not and will not respect that.

I maintain that, in a macho-bullshit setting, calling your pal a pussy is not an attack on seven thousand years of womens rights. That's my position the fact that I rawk too hard is merely coincidental.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

Ive been on the fence regarding those "walks" for some time...

I mean, i understand its trying to give "slut" a positive connotation, but i dont think it accomplishes the intended intention to uncritical observers.

On one hand its the deconstruction of a stereotype, but its also assuming the stereotype to a point.

I mean, if i organized a "BeanerWalk" in a racist location, the people that showed up and marched with me would equate with a display of support for the so called "beaners" and a symbolic show that racism will not be tolerated, but does it really deconstruct and resignify the stereotype?

Wouldnt a "March against discrimination and violence" in both cases would be better and probably get even more support?

If it was big enough, they couldn't say shit.

And it would IRK them, the way hearing rappers drop n-bombs irks white racists who have to be careful to only say it around other white racists these days.

Irking racists is ALWAYS worthwhile, in my book. 

[The Johnny]

So its about preaching to and getting support from the choir?

I mean, if thats the purpose, fine, so be it, but its coming to my attention that these manifestations dont get thru to changing the oppositions view.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

So its about preaching to and getting support from the choir?

I mean, if thats the purpose, fine, so be it, but its coming to my attention that these manifestations dont get thru to changing the oppositions view.

You CAN'T change the opposition's view.

What you CAN do is show them there's a lot of you and you're not going to stand for a bunch of bullshit.

I mean, FFS, "beaner"? The whole premise is retarded in the first place. "THOSE PEOPLE EAT BEANS!" WTF? It's like "cunt" - that's supposed to be the WORST word? That little old thang between a woman's legs that EVERYBODY'S TRYING TO GET  is the worst thing they can come up with?

[Signora Pæsior]

So its about preaching to and getting support from the choir?

I mean, if thats the purpose, fine, so be it, but its coming to my attention that these manifestations dont get thru to changing the oppositions view.

You CAN'T change the opposition's view.

What you CAN do is show them there's a lot of you and you're not going to stand for a bunch of bullshit.

I mean, FFS, "beaner"? The whole premise is retarded in the first place. "THOSE PEOPLE EAT BEANS!" WTF? It's like "cunt" - that's supposed to be the WORST word? That little old thang between a woman's legs that EVERYBODY'S TRYING TO GET  is the worst thing they can come up with?

This. People who oppose, with a few exceptions, will always oppose. But you can educate those who don't know. Fuck, I spent a good two hours last year teaching my mother and sister the concept of rape culture. And you can definitely, definitely show those who oppose you that it's not just you, that there are a lot of people who are not going to be silenced by oppressive bullshit. The most amazing, empowering feeling for me at the first SlutWalk was being surrounded by 1,200 other people who also recognised that our culture is fucked up when it comes to sexual assault and policing women's bodies. It's really easy to forget that it's not just me!

[Signora Pæsior]

Catch 22?

You get attention from the media for using a controversial word, but the message isnt passed on or is distorted.

I had an alarming number of conversations leading up to the first march that went something like this:

Stranger: I saw an article in [insert newspaper/website/television channel here] about this "slut" walk. What's the point in a march where you just yell about wanting to dress like sluts? No one is going to respect you for it. I agree that 'sluts' shouldn't get raped, but all you're doing is objectifying yourselves.
Signora: Leaving aside for the moment that the level of respect I deserve really has next-to-nothing to do with the amount of skin I do or do not cover up at any given time, that's not actually what SlutWalk is about at all. We are fighting the myths around the types of people who are sexually assaulted, who is responsible, and why they occur. This is a march to fight the myths around the types of people who are sexually assaulted, who is responsible, and why they occur. We are rallying to place the blame for sexual assault where it belongs: on the perpetrators. We are promoting the idea that women should be able to dress however they like without having to wonder if they will be blamed if they are attacked – and that 'slut' should not be seen as an inherently bad thing. We aim to put an end to victims' sexual history being brought up at trial as a weapon for the defence, and we wish to get the message out there: no means no, yes means yes, and only our words can consent for us – not our bodies or our clothes. We also firmly stand behind the truth that sexual assault is not only something done by men to women, and that not all sexual assault is rape.
Stranger: Oh. Well that's actually... when's the march again?

So while I have no doubt that there were people who saw an interview on TV, thought "LOL stupid sluts" and went on their merry way without bothering to educate themselves (so... fuck 'em!), there were also a lot of people who, because it was covered (albeit in a very distorted way) by the media, rocked up and marched alongside us on the day. Which is all we could ask for, really.