vronny · @vlenns122
14th Jul 2014 from TwitLonger
Slut Shaming and Its Implications: A Case Study
Slut. Everyone knows this word a little too well. It came into use circa the fifteenth century to describe "a dirty, slovenly, or untidy woman", but by 1966 it had achieved its modern sense: a "woman who enjoys sex in a degree considered shamefully excessive". There's no denying the centuries of sexism that this word holds, as it has never been widely used to refer to men as it has been to refer to women. It gets thrown around all the time nowadays without any pause to consider the implications of the word itself. It is, by definition, impossible to use the word "slut" without perpetuating an idea that is perhaps the most dangerous doctrine of the patriarchy–– the idea that a woman's sexuality is somehow shameful by its very nature.
Slut shaming, as it is called, implies that a woman's body is public property. When the word to describe a woman who is sexually active and fulfilling her own sexual needs to her liking has a negative connotation, it implies that what a woman does with her own body is an issue to be discussed publicly, as it is OBVIOUSLY a concern of those who do not possess that body. The important thing to note here is that there is nothing genuine about the idea that slut shaming is a mode of helping women respect themselves. Though de jure it is used as a way to keep women "modest" and "self respecting", it actually has a much more covert function de facto. In layman's terms, it's a trap. Culturally, women are viewed as sex objects. We're hypersexualized in advertisements, on television shows, and even in books so that products get sold and this culture can survive. Entire corporations have cashed in on this because they know it works. So now here's what we have: a culture that oversexualizes girls and women alike while simultaneously warning those same girls and women that their sexuality is innately shameful. See the issue?
This is the trap: we're taught that our value as sexual objects is the extent of our value as human beings, but when we dress in ways that show pride in our bodies, we are called sluts. The trap gives men a sense of entitlement to our bodies when we are "being/dressy/acting slutty". This is rape culture. When a sixteen year old girl goes to a party in a short skirt with her midriff showing and is raped that night, it's her fault. She should've known not to dress like that because dressing like that is a sign of self hatred rather than pride in her body. In a culture where rape is taken nowhere near as seriously as it should be, these ideas that a girl could ever be "asking for it" are pernicious lies that function as nothing more than excuses for the boys that have a sense of entitlement to the bodies of other human beings. This lack of proper respect for women's bodies is an issue all around the world, as it has been for centuries. When women's bodies are used as battlefields during conflicts in the Congo or when girls are trafficked as sex slaves in our own country, we should feel a need to affect a change in the universal view of female sexuality.
Now here's a smaller picture: we have a music video celebrating female independence released by a girl group of women ages seventeen to twenty one. This group, Fifth Harmony, has been noted for its unique appeal to young women who watched them make the journey from life as five average girls from California, Florida, and Texas to life as a professional girl group who have toured the country with Demi Lovato and released their first single which is now certified gold. Fifth Harmony is arguably more in touch with their fans than the average celebrity, sharing their personal tumblr blogs, tweeting fans by name, and twitcamming on off days just to be able to talk with fans. The girls of the group have publicly expressed sentiments shared by many young women and girls. They've shared feelings of self consciousness and even talked these feelings through with fans. Member Lauren Jauregui even identified being raped as her most intense fear–– something most young celebrities would never mention publicly.
Fifth Harmony has recently released its newest single "Bo$$", an empowering anthem that speaks to the idea that you don't need the approval of a man or a boyfriend to be fulfilled. In an era where young men are singing to women to tell them they're important because they think these women are beautiful, Bo$$ fights back, refusing these types of compliments that are manufactured to make women dependent on the approval of men. Bo$$ dares young women to be independent in a world that doesn't want to tell them they can be proud of their sexuality as well as their independence. The music video is a testament to this message. All five girls are dressed in outfits that make them feel confident in themselves, as member Camila Cabello noted in a twitcam she streamed a few days after a teaser for the video was released and controversy surrounding the girls' outfits arose:
"This society has a lot to say on what should make a woman feel good and what does look good and what doesn't look good, and they think that they have a right to tell us as women what should make us feel confident in our own bodies. And whether that is, you know, being covered up and wearing a long sleeved sweater or, you know, showing a body part that maybe you would like to show off, at the end of the day, we are the only ones that are entitled to our bodies, and you're allowed to wear whatever makes you feel good and whatever makes you feel confident, and that [the clothes worn by Fifth Harmony in the music video] made us feel confident in the video. We're not encouraging anyone to dress like that or to dress in a certain way; we're encouraging all women to dress how they would like to dress..."
Of course a message this empowering to women would not be met with instantaneous praise and celebration. Hopefully youtube comments are not the best representation of the current state of the intelligence of our society, but they just might be. Commenters wasted no time tearing the video to shreds, slut shaming the group and questioning their credibility as being able to appeal to young girls. Some went so far as to compare the video to prostitution. One comment, posted by user Michael White, read:
"They pretend to be 25 years old prostitutes in this video simulating sex with chairs and spreading thighs in front of camera. Do you think that looking and behaving like prostitutes has anything in common with confidence and pride? They say that they are BOSSes but they don`t create their songs, sing what they are told and behave as they are told by their real BOSS. They are false. As we can see they can do anything for money. It is some kind of prostitution.."
Michael, like so many others, has entirely missed the point of the song and video. Besides the fact that he is wrong in saying the girls have all of their music written for them when in fact they are heavily involved in the writing process, he seems to completely misunderstand the type of confidence and pride about which Fifth Harmony is singing. It's about having a confidence that is independent of compliments from men. It's about being proud of your body, and thus, yourself, when all of society tells you not to. It's about demanding respect because the way a woman dresses or behaves sexually has absolutely no bearing on her worth as a person and whether or not she should be respected.
There is also obviously a massive difference between the ways in which we view male sexuality with the ways in which we view female sexuality. Male singers are very often scantily clad in music videos–– shirts off, pants barely on–– but it would never happen that the comments sections of these videos would be filled with accusations of prostitution or the questioning of these artists' morals and talents as the comments section of the Bo$$ music video has been. At the end of the day, women just want to be treated as equals to men. Why is it that a man gyrating with his shirt off won't get called a slut but a girl dancing sexually with short shorts on will?
Unfortunately, many of the authors of misogynistic comments are women and girls themselves. This only furthers my point that what Fifth Harmony is doing is not only important but also essential to the progression of the feminist movement. This music video and the reactions which it has elicited foster discussions about the current state of the condition of female sexuality in modern society and culture. When a girl group are proud of their bodies and able to express their sexuality, it causes an uproar. This is because nowadays that's how utterly revolutionary it is to love and express yourself as you'd like. Now THAT's the real issue that we need to be talking about.