About the shame
The word "slut" and "whore" have been around for quite some time and are starting to be used more and more each day. But most people may not know what they are actually saying when they call a girl a "whore" or a "slut" but society should take into consideration whats being said before its said, even if it is as a joke. Those two words are very powerful words and can be very hurtful if taken the wrong way. Today using these words can promote things such as rape culture. Rape culture is an enviornment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture. Examples of such would be blaming the victim on what she was wearing, that it was her fault she got raped because she was dressing like a "slut.' Another example would be a people assuming only promiscuous girls gets rape. Victim blaming makes it harder on women to come forward and get the help they need after being raped because of the fear that society puts on them, these women are afraid to be called such names and be deemed a slut or a liar.
When women or men slut shame the opposite sex, especially in a high school setting where making an impression tends to be everything. Generally teenage girls are the ones affected by this type of bullying, by girls deeming them as "sluts" and "whores" their self confidence lowers and can cause major damage to them and the people around them. According to this article "Research as showing that people want less social contact with a 'slut' and even marginalize a person who is labeled as such" (Papp). This can be detrimental for high school girls, when they are just figuring our who they are and who they want to be, other girls and boys put a label on them for them having either multiple boyfriends, the way they dress, or the way they act. When in reality the teenage girl has not even had her first sexual experience yet, but why would she want to? Because when and if she does then she knows that everyone will degrade her for her poor decisions. For young teens this can shape who they end up being and how their life plays out, just because we wrongfully use these words to hurt each other.
A quote that comes to mind when talking about this subject is "Many have a way with words. They label themselves seers but they will not see. Many have the gift of tongue but nothing to say. Do not listen to them. Many who have words and tongue have no ear, they cannot listen and they will not hear" (Anzaldua). This quote by Anzaldua is from an excerpt in her essay when she is talking about how no one will listen to her as she is a 3rd world writer. But this quote says much more than just explaining the topic she proposed. This quote fits perfectly with this topic, as in women talk so bad about each other, but never have anything to back up their statements. They make up fables and create these labels to make other women feel badly about themselves. We have all of these Slut Walks and women crying out for people to quit using these words in this demeanor, but no one will listen, they simply do not care about how these words are affecting not only grown women, but teenagers as well. Also in Villanuevas article he presents the "Dozen Demons," wrote by Ellis Cose. These 12 things are meant to show the things we go through when dealing with racism, but looking at these 12 things makes me believe that they speak more for other problems than just racism. Such as: The inability to fit in, low expectations, and the presumption of failure. People who are being slut-shamed, for being promiscuous, for engaging their sexuality are going through these same exact things. There are repercussions to everything that you say and do and more importantly, the stereotypes that are put to women.
Visit http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/feminist_formations/v026/26.1.reger.html to see the story about how SlutWalks started!