“As a Muslim feminist woman of color, I cannot relate to Slutwalks as it caters mostly to the definition of emancipation set by white women. Slutwalks deviate in terms of delivering the message against sexual assault. It turns a blind eye to women of cultures where flimsy clothes don’t necessarily lead to rapes. Muslim women get raped too. Nassim Elbardouh is right. “Do Not Rape” Walk sounds better. This isn’t to say that I don’t support Slutwalks. I simply can’t relate to a liberating movement that does not liberate nor acknowledge me. Western feminism, despite its undeniable achievements, still perpetuates the image of a white woman as the liberated one. If these feminists do claim to represent all women, they need to understand the dynamics of the cultures other women hail from. Don’t care if you’re wearing a thong or burka, no one has the right to rape you. Burka clad brown Muslim women get raped too. Represent us. I want a movement that represents me regardless of my color and creed. End victim blaming and rape culture by representing everyone.” — Mehreen Kasan, Slutwalk & Representation by Mehreen Kasana | redhead bouquet (via redrosehips)I think this person is kind of missing the point. Dressing in slutty clothing for the march is ironic. The point is that no matter what you do, rape culture will find a way to make you the slut and make it your fault. Whether it’s for Western dress, or for simply wearing short sleeves, or because you worked outside of the home or were unaccompanied by a male relative in public. The Slutwalks aren’t just about clothing, but about confronting a culture of victim blaming. Dressing suggestively is a way of saying, look how fucking ridiculous this whole thing is, seriously. THE WHOLE POINT is that it doesn’t matter what a woman is wearing, be it a thong or a burqa, it is not the victim’s fault and “sluts” (ie women who “deserve it”) are NOT the “only” ones to be assaulted.
There were Muslim women in headscarves at the Boston Slutwalk and I was overjoyed to see them there. There were also several women in “normal” clothing with signs stating that that is what they were wearing when they were assaulted.
Yes, this movement has a Western slant to it BECAUSE IT STARTED IN THE WEST. But the fundamental message is not about espousing Western norms, but about the inherent WRONGNESS of blaming the victim, regardless of where they were, what they were doing or what they were wearing, suggestive or not, short skirts or short sleeves.
agreed i.e. the irony, and the inherent wrongness of blaming the victim, but this definitely isn’t the first time i’ve seen a POC say that the slutwalks are alienating to them, and because of that i think it’s not our place to say they’re missing the point. if anything we’re missing the point by not listening to them. the slutwalks have been overwhelmingly lily white, and while i don’t think anyone’s actively trying to make this a white feminist movement, it most definitely looks and feels that way. there were several other posts floating around talking about this that i wish i could find now- can anyone help me out?
while i do see what the entire idea behind the slutwalk is geared towards, and fully agree, i feel like once again white feminists kind of forgot about about everyone else. it’s like, oh hey, yeah, women who aren’t white and american are out there too dealing with this shit too.
