Saturday, May 14, 2011

Provocative dress & naiveté


Picture this: women taking to the streets to march en masse. Many are scantily clad in an apparent effort to illustrate a point. The purpose of the procession: to proclaim they are proud to be known as "sluts."

It's not a scene from some vapid pornography film. It is a recent phenomenon cropping up all over North America known as a "slut walk."

The "slut walk" fad began in Toronto and was in response to a police officer's comments made during a personal safety class to female students at York University. "Women should avoid dressing like sluts in order to not be victimized," the officer advised.

Though the officer later apologized, some women in the Toronto area believed the officer had suggested a victim of sexual assault could be responsible for an attack based on dress or perceived lifestyle, the Associated Press reported. As a result, hundreds of women in Toronto took to the streets to express "slut pride."

Participants in the "slut walks" believe that by simply asserting a woman should not be sexually assaulted because she is dressed provocatively will somehow raise awareness and the problem will go away. Naïve is the best way to describe these marchers.

To read more, click here.

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