FAQs, General Links & Examples of Victim-Blaming & Slut-Shaming

1. What is victim-blaming? What is slut-shaming?

Victim-blaming is when the victims of sexual assault are explicitly or implicitly blamed for their own assault (for example, saying that a woman should have expected to be raped if she wore a short skirt). This wrongfully shifts the burden of prevention from the perpetrator onto the victim.

Slut-shaming is when people, especially women, are made to feel shamed and guilty because of their actual or imagined sexual proclivities. Labels like “slut” stigmatize and dehumanize women, making it easier for society and the legal system to turn a blind eye to victims, make excuses for violence, and deny them justice.

2. Doesn’t an individual’s attire make him or her more likely to be a victim of sexual violence?

Appearances of weakness or vulnerability can make someone a greater target. Clothing, to the extent that it shows skin, is not a factor in this. Most rapists report not remembering what their victim was wearing. A Federal Commission on Crime of Violence Study found that only 4.4% of all reported rapes involved provocative behavior on the part of the victim, compared with murder cases in which case 22% involved provocative behavior. The notion that rape is sex, or about sex, is also a common misconception. Rape is a violent act about power, dominance, and humiliation. The elderly get raped, persons with disabilities get raped, children get raped, men get raped - is clothing a factor there? 46% of rapes occur in a residence, often the victim’s own home, and it’s often committed by people the victim knew and trusted - how is clothing a factor there, either?

3. Don’t we all have an individual responsibility to prevent sexual violence?

We’re all about individual responsibility in preventing sexual assault and rape - the kind of responsibility involved in making a conscious choice TO NOT COMMIT SEXUAL ASSAULT AND RAPE. Humans, men included, are masters of their own actions, capable of free choice (those who aren’t due to mental illness, traumatic brain injury, etc., are the exception to this; they need help and failing that they need to be off the streets where they can’t do any harm to society), NOT slaves to our carnal instincts. To say otherwise is infantilizing and degrading.

4. You want to “reclaim” the word slut? To mean what? How can you reclaim something you never had in the first place?

We want to reappropriate “slut” as a positive term for a person of any gender who has and enjoys frequent sex, especially with multiple partners.

Reappropriating “slut” serves three primary functions:

  • Takes away the word’s power to do harm as a pejorative - one of the best ways to fight hate is to embrace and disarm the words employed by the haters
  • Provides a sex-positive term for women, few of which exist (like “stud” is for men)
  • Allows sluts to identify as part of a cohesive group for political representation (see identity politics)

Great list of reclaimed/reappropriated words

As with any reappropriated/reclaimed word, you should NEVER use “slut” without explicit permission from the subject first, and that permission can be revoked at any time based on their discretion.

The double standard that men are often praised for having lots of sex while women are shamed for it is an example of slut shaming.

5. Aren’t you promoting being a “slut”?

We’re not “promoting” being a slut. We’re not suggesting people show skin or have lots of sex. Our position is squarely in the “mind your own damn business” camp. We’re saying that’s an individual’s own personal choice – not mine, not yours, not the media’s, not the state’s – and they deserve to be respected for it. We are not disrespecting women, and sluts are not disrespecting themselves or their bodies by being true to themselves and the world. The rapists, the victim blamers who excuse the rape, and the slut shamers who say or imply they live a degrading lifestyle – THEY’RE doing the disrespecting.

6. How do the issues of victim-blaming and slut-shaming intersect?

This isn’t just about victim blaming, and as much attention as it gets us, “slut” is more than just an image or a mascot. When people say things like “I don’t like the message you’re sending that women who get raped are all sluts” or “I don’t like the implication that women who dress in fishnets and corsets are all sluts,” sentiments like these this imply that being a slut (whether that’s in how much sex you have, how many partners you have it with, how you dress, your attitude, etc.) is negative and undesirable. That is slut shaming. Many of the people at the Walk do identify as sluts. Victim blaming and slut shaming intersect in many ways, especially in how labeling a woman a “slut” allows society to dehumanize her, making it easy for us to turn a blind eye when she’s victimized.

7. What protesting activities are legal and illegal?

Protected activities
• Holding signs
• Leafleting
• Drumming, dancing, singing, chanting
• Marching
• Standing still in a group
• Approaching pedestrians on a public sidewalk with leaflets, newspapers, petitions, and solicitations for donations

Illegal activities
• Blocking street traffic
• Blocking pedestrian right of way
• Harassing or accosting passers-by
• Inciting a crowd to imminent violence or illegal activity
• Entering or remaining on other property after being informed that you are not welcome
• Violence against any person
• Destruction of property

Possibly illegal activities
• Resisting arrest or obstructing an officer
• Fastening signs to public property (other than to bulletin boards generally open for posting information)
• Littering
• Using excessive noise

Points taken from here and here.

8. I sure wish SlutWalk would come to [insert to city here]!

It probably will (or already has) - check out the full list of satellite SlutWalks around the world here! If you don’t see your city on the list, take a look at this and organize one! The SlutWalk planning community is extremely helpful and supportive.

General links and commentary:

Victim-blaming and slut-shaming in the news:

Have a suggestion for an FAQ, an informative link, or an example of victim-blaming and/or slut-shaming in the news? Email us at slutwalkseattle@gmail.com!