Jamie Porter
Stephanie Brown
ENGL 306
September 12,
2016
SlutWalk to End Rape Culture
There is a general way of thinking
that affects the entire population, especially women. This phenomenon is rape
culture. Emilie Buchwald, author
of Transforming a Rape Culture,
defines rape culture as
“a complex set of beliefs that
encourage male sexual aggression and supports violence against women… women perceive
a continuum of threatened violence that ranges from sexual remarks to
sexual touching to rape itself. A rape culture condones physical and
emotional terrorism against women as the norm” (Buchwald). Rape
culture covers a broad range of ideas regarding gender and sexuality. It can be
seen anywhere from violence against women depicted as normal on television
shows to the simple option to rape that is available on video games such as
Grand Theft Auto (Grandoni). Rape culture creates stereotypes and encourages
violence towards women. Many individuals are becoming aware of this troublesome
mindset that is deeply engraved into the foundation of society, and are
choosing to do something to stop it. The SlutWalk is one of these protests, in
which thousands of men and women join together with their signs and stories to
protest against rape culture. The SlutWalk brings rape culture to attention for
the public, bringing the facts into light so that there can be a stop to it. The
creators of the SlutWalk desire to end rape culture, unifying women through
stories and facts displayed on posters that elicit emotional and logical
responses, encouraging people to stand up against violence against women.
The SlutWalk was created in 2011
following an ignorant comment made by Toronto’s police constable Michael
Sanguinetti. When speaking to a group of students at Osgoode Hall Law School, he
suggested that in order for woman to not be raped they should “avoid dressing like
sluts.” This comment is unfortunately common when it comes to rape cases,
following a familiar trend of “victim blaming”, in which the victim is accused
of causing the rape rather than it being directly the rapist’s fault. In
response, Heather Jarvis and Sonya Barnett created the SlutWalk. On April 3, 2011,
thousands of people came to show their support, protesting against rape culture
and victim blaming. Today, there are rapidly appearing SlutWalks all over the
world, being found in Europe, Asia, and most major cities in the US (Stampler).
Though many new SlutWalks appear across the globe, the purpose and audience
remains the same.
The purpose of the SlutWalk is to
end rape culture, and therefore end victim blaming through educating the
public, while at the same time unifying those who are affected daily by rape
culture. The signs and clothing – or perhaps, lack of - that is worn by the participants’
paint the pictures of what rape culture does, and who is affects. From a SlutWalk
in Toronto, a woman hold a bright pink sign stating, “I was wearing pants and a
sweater was it my fault too?” (Figure 1) while a shirtless woman in Melbourne’s
SlutWalk shouts while wielding a sign stating, “How I dress is not an
invitation” (Figure 2). The stories that are implied through the signs and the
lessons taught by the clothing worn by these women participating in the
SlutWalk emphasize the need for change, inviting the public to understand an
idea that is usually avoided. It also provides a unified group for women
affected by rape culture, allowing those who have been raped or even have been
fearful of being raped to have a group of people to identify with. They are
able to know that they are not along. The creators and the organizers of
SlutWalks around the world hope to help “women feel comfortable discussing sexual
assault without fear of blame,” which is being achieved through educating the
public and creating a unified group (Stampler).
The audience that is targeted by the
SlutWalk is everyone who has been affected by rape culture. This may include
those who are affected directly, are unknowingly taking part in rape culture,
or who promote it. The largest drive behind the SlutWalk is to educate people
of the situation. Many people participate in rape culture without understanding
how what they are doing is wrong. This includes the Toronto police constable
Sanguinetti, who believe they are helping the problem while only adding to it. Signs
reading messages such as “Don’t tell me how to dress, tell them not to rape” addresses this particular
audience (Figure 3). It also presents the dangers of rape culture to those who
continue to take part in it even knowing all that it includes. The messages
displayed on the signs speak directly to these people who stubbornly refuse to
change their ways. The final audience of the SlutWalk is the women who have
been affected by rape culture. Signs displaying messages such as “Survivors
have been through enough” (Figure 6) have the effect of unifying these women in
their shared experiences, reminding them that they are not alone. An identity
of women who have been affected by rape culture is created through the
SlutWalk.
Rape can happen to everyone, regardless
of gender. However, there is a higher probability that a woman will be raped
compared to a man. Because of this, the SlutWalk joins together an identity of
women as a whole. For a woman, there is almost always the chance that someone
might assault them, whether it be by a stranger or by someone they know. In a
recent survey by the Association of American Universities, it was found that
23% of women attending college are raped (Cantor). This roughly equates to 1 in
4 women. Even those who have not been affected directly are still plagued by
the mere knowledge that something similar to that could happen to them. This
troubling mindset causes women to be unified as a whole, and this group of
people targeted by the SlutWalk.
In order to strive towards its purpose of
ending rape culture, the SlutWalk uses all three rhetorical strategies. One of
the strongest used strategies is pathos, in which protestors rely of emotional
persuasion. With a subject such as rape, it is not surprising that people would
have a very emotional response to it. Protestors elicit emotional responses
through the signs they hold and the clothing that they wear. Many women chose
to participate in the SlutWalk nearly naked, some appearing in lingerie or
shirtless, as can be seen in Figures 2, 4, and 6. People have emotional
reactions to this type of appearance, and even more so when reading the signs
in which they hold that explain their choices. Many hold signs reading messages
such as: “Still not asking for it” (Figure 7). This is in reference to victim
blaming, in which many people suppose that the reason women are raped is
because of the revealing outfits they wore. Another way in, which protestors
appeal to emotions, is through the stories that they share through the signs. From
a SlutWalk held in Jerusalem, a woman held a sign stating, “How could I have
been ‘asking for it’ when I didn’t even know what ‘it’ was at the time” (Figure
4). This sign implies the young age of the woman when she was raped, which promotes
an emotional response. Many women participating in the SlutWalk have been
through sexual assaults. They share these experiences with the world in way of
signs, showing their first hand experience. Seeing these stories can cause
people to have emotional responses to the SlutWalk in general, desiring to have
a change in society once they how terrible it truly is.
Logos
is also used throughout the SlutWalk strengthen the protest. The signs they
hold scream of the absurdity of rape culture, pointing out the fallacies
present in the rape culture mindset. The stories that are told and the language
used begs the obvious question of why has
nothing been done to change this yet? A woman participating in a SlutWalk
in Toronto held a sign stating, “Society teaches ‘don’t get raped’ rather than
‘don’t rape’” (Figure 5). The SlutWalk is in large part meant to educate people.
The public is educated extremely logically, through the stories that are told
and the key points made throughout the walk.
Ethos is also used throughout the
SlutWalk. A large portion of the women present during the SlutWalk has been
raped, or has known someone that was raped. Signs such as in Figure 6 and
Figure 1 indicate that these individuals have been through harrowing rape
experience. Their individual story gives them authority when talking about such
things as rape, rape culture, and sexual abuse. These very powerful rhetorical
strategies allow the SlutWalk to be influential to the public.
The SlutWalk is an influential movement,
working to educate society on the dangers of rape culture and strive to end it.
With every SlutWalk that appears across the world, thousands of men and women
are able to join together to protest sexual abuse. Women as a group are unified
through this protest movement, joined by the identity that the SlutWalk creates.
The purpose of the SlutWalk is to educate the public on rape culture and
explain the dangers that it possesses. The success of this protest towards this
purpose can be identified through the increasing amount of individuals that
participate in SlutWalks around the world. This indicates that more people are
becoming aware of rape culture in society and about victim blaming, and are
choosing to speak out against it. The increased popularity of SlutWalks signifies
an ever-growing change to the mindset of society.
Works Cited
By This Reasoning I Should Be
Able to Dress as a Policeman and Not Be Asked for Help, or Be Naked and Not Be
Called a Nudist. It's One Thing to Protest against Rape and Raise Awareness,
It's Another to Be a Self-declared Slut and Make a Parade Celebrating.
"The SlutWalk Is Coming To a City Near You." Return Of Kings.
N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.
<http://www.returnofkings.com/7241/the-slutwalk-is-coming-to-a-city-near-you>.
"HuffPo Article about
the Disturbing New Trend of GTA Players Raping Each Other." IGN Boards.
N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.
<http://www.ign.com/boards/threads/huffpo-article-about-the-disturbing-new-trend-of-gta-players-raping-each-other.454167115/>.
N.p., n.d.
Web. <http://forward.com/news/breaking-news/309178/at-jerusalem-slutwalk-women-protest-rape-and-victim-blaming/>.
"SlutWalk." Wikipedia.
Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SlutWalk>.
Stampler, Laura.
"SlutWalks Sweep The Nation." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d.
Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/20/slutwalk-united-states- city_n_851725.html>.
"The History." The
Amber Rose SlutWalk. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
<http://amberroseslutwalk.com/the-history/>.
WAVAW.ca. "What Is Rape
Culture?" WAVAW Women Against Violence Against Women. N.p., n.d.
Web. 29 Sept. 2016. <http://www.wavaw.ca/what-is-rape-culture/>.
"What Is the SlutWalk
Movement?" - Quora. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.
<https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-SlutWalk-movement>.
Figure 1:
No comments:
Post a Comment