“You Know Who the Sluts Are”: A Qualitative Analysis of the “SlutWalk”
Affiliation(s)
Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada. Centre for Clinical Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Department of Psychology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada. Centre for Clinical Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
ABSTRACT
In 2011, third-wave feminist activists initiated the “SlutWalk”, a protest march drawing attention to victim blaming and rape myths. The word “slut” has evolved within the context of a discourse of power and, by reaffirming categories of “good” and “bad” women, been used to justify sexual assault. The current study used three focus groups (men only, n= 2; women only, n= 7; mixed, n= 6 [3 men/3 women]) to explore Canadian undergraduate students’ views on the meaning and use of the term “slut”, and to gauge whether participants saw the “SlutWalk” as a valuable form of feminist political action. Data were examined using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Results indicated that the term “slut” was perceived as negative; more applicable to women than to men; and based on having an “inappropriate” appearance and/or engaging in sex-related behaviour perceived to be “inappropriate”. The underlying message of the “SlutWalk” was sanctioned by discussants. However, support for the event itself was minimal suggesting that, contrary to opinions expressed by some academics, participants did not regard the “SlutWalk” as embodying a politics of re-signification.
Cite this paper
Morrison, T. , Bertram, J. , Ryan, T. and Bishop, C. (2014) “You Know Who the Sluts Are”: A Qualitative Analysis of the “SlutWalk”. Advances in Applied Sociology, 4, 180-189. doi: 10.4236/aasoci.2014.47022.
Morrison, T. , Bertram, J. , Ryan, T. and Bishop, C. (2014) “You Know Who the Sluts Are”: A Qualitative Analysis of the “SlutWalk”. Advances in Applied Sociology, 4, 180-189. doi: 10.4236/aasoci.2014.47022.
References
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09589230701562921 [4] Barber, K., & Kretschmer, K. (2013). Walking Like a Man? Contexts, 12, 40-45.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1536504213487697 [5] Blackwell, B. (2004). How the Jilt Triumphed over the Slut: The Evolution of an Epithet. Women’s Writing, 11, 1660-1780. [6] Borah, R., & Nandi, S. (2012). Reclaiming the Feminist Politics of “SlutWalk”. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 14, 415-421. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14616742.2012.699776 [7] Butler, J. (1997). Excitable Speech: A Politics of the Performative. New York, NY: Routledge. [8] Campbell, R., & Johnson, C. R. (1997). Police Officers’ Perceptions of Rape: Is There Consistency between State Law and Individual Beliefs? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 12, 254-274. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/088626097012002007 [9] Carr, J. L. (2013). The “SlutWalk” Movement: A Study in Transnational Feminist Activism. Journal of Feminist Scholarship, 4, 24-38. [10] Dines, G., & Murphy, W. J. (2011). “SlutWalk” Is Not Sexual Liberation. The Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/may/08/slutwalk-not-sexual-liberation [11] Feinman, C. (1994). Women in the Criminal Justice System (3rd ed.). Westport, CT: Praeger. [12] Flood, M. (2013). Male and Female Sluts: Shifts and Stabilities in the Regulation of Heterosexual Relations among Young Heterosexual Men. Australian Feminist Studies, 28, 95-107.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08164649.2012.758024 [13] Fowers, A. F., & Fowers, B. J. (2010). Social Dominance and Sexual Self-Schema as Moderators of Sexist Reactions to Female Subtypes. Sex Roles, 62, 468-480.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9607-7 [14] Garko, M. G. (1999). Existential Phenomenology and Feminist Research: The Exploration and Exposition of Women’s Lived Experiences. In E. B. Kimmel, & M. Crawford (Eds.), Innovation in Feminist Psychological Research (pp. 167-175). New York, NY: Cambridge. [15] Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1996). The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory: Differentiating Hostile and Benevolent Sexism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 491-512.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.3.491 [16] Greer, G. (2011). These “Slut Walk” Women Are Simply Fighting for Their Right to Be Dirty. The Telegraph.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/women_shealth/8510743/These-slut-walk-women-are-simply-fighting-for-their-right-to-be-dirty.html [17] Herman, D. (1989). The Rape Culture. In J. Freeman (Ed.), Women: A Feminist Perspective (4th ed.) (pp. 20-44). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield. [18] Johnston, C. A. B., & Morrison, T. G. (2007). The Presentation of Masculinity in Everyday Life: Contextual Variations in the Masculine Behaviour of Young Irish Men. Sex Roles, 57, 661-674.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9299-9 [19] Kitzinger, J. (1994). The Methodology of Focus Groups: The Importance of Interaction between Research Participants. Sociology of Health & Illness, 16, 103-121.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.ep11347023 [20] Maier, S. F., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1976). Learned Helplessness: Theory and Evidence. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 105, 3-46.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.105.1.3 [21] McArthur, G. (2011). Women Walk the Talk after Officer’s Offending “Slut” Remarks. The Globe and Mail.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/women-walk-the-talk-after-officers-offending-slut-remarks/article1969430/ [22] McCormack, C., & Prostran, N. (2012). Asking for It. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 14, 410-414.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14616742.2012.699777 [23] Morrison, T. G., Ryan, T. A., Fox, L., McDermott, D. T., & Morrison, M. A. (2008). Canadian University Students’ Perceptions of the Practices That Constitute “Normal” Sexuality for Men and Women. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 17, 161-171. [24] Morrison, T. G., & Tallack, D. (2005). Lesbian and Bisexual Women’s Interpretations of Lesbian and Ersatz Lesbian Pornography. Sexuality & Culture, 9, 3-30.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12119-005-1005-x [25] Nguyen, T. (2013). From “SlutWalks” to “SuicideGirls”: Feminist Resistance in the Third Wave and Postfeminist Era. Women’s Studies Quarterly, 41, 157-172.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/wsq.2013.0102 [26] Page, A. D. (2008). Judging Women and Defining Crime: Police Officers’ Attitudes toward Women and Rape. Sociological Spectrum, 28, 389-411.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02732170802053621 [27] Ringrose, J., & Renold, E. (2012). Slut-Shaming, Girl Power, and “Sexualisation”: Thinking through the Politics of the International “SlutWalks” with Teen Girls. Gender and Education, 24, 333-343.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2011.645023 [28] Rush, C. (2011). Cop Apologizes for “Sluts” Remark at Law School. The Star.
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/940665--cop-apologizes-for-sluts-remark-at-law-school [29] Savage, E. (2011). Politics of “SlutWalk”. Eureka Street, 21, 29-30. [30] Sharma, K. (2011). “SlutWalk”: Walk of Shame or McFeminism? Accessed March 15, 2014.
http://thehandmirror.blogspot.ca/2011/07/slutwalk-walk-of-shame-or-mcfeminism.html [31] Slut (2011). In Oxford English Dictionary Online. http://www.oed.com [32] Smith, J. A., & Osborn, M. (2003). Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. In J. A. Smith (Ed.), Qualitative Psychology: A Practical Guide to Methods (pp. 53-80). London: Sage. [33] Söderström, K., & Skårderud, F. (2011). The Good, the Bad, and the Invisible Father: A Phenomenological Study of Fatherhood in Men with Substance Abuse Disorder. Fathering, 11, 31-51.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3149/fth.1101.31 [34] Spohn, C., & Tellis, K. (2012). The Criminal Justice System’s Response to Sexual Violence. Violence against Women, 18, 169-192.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1077801212440020 [35] Stinson, R. D., Levy, L. B., & Alt, M. (2014). “They’re Just a Good Time and Move On”: Fraternity Men Reflect on Their Hook-Up Experiences. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 28, 59-73.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/87568225.2014.854683 [36] Sweeney, B. N. (2011). The Allure of the Freshman Girl: Peers, Partying, and the Sexual Assault of First-Year College Women. Journal of College and Character, 12, 1-15.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2202/1940-1639.1790 [37] Swim, J. K., Aikin, K. J., Hall, W. S., & Hunter, B. A. (1995). Sexism and Racism: Old-Fashioned and Modern Prejudices. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 199-214.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.68.2.199 [38] Tanenbaum, L. (1999). Slut! Growing up Female with a Bad Reputation. New York, NY: Seven Stories. [39] Walia, H. (2011). “SlutWalk”: To March or Not to March. Rabble.
http://rabble.ca/news/2011/05/slutwalk-march-or-not-march [40] White, E. (2002). Fast Girls: Teenage Tribes and the Myth of the Slut. New York, NY: Berkley. [41] Wilkinson, S. (1999). Focus Groups: A Feminist Method. In E. B. Kimmel, & M. Crawford (Eds.), Innovation in Feminist Psychological Research (pp. 219-242). New York, NY: Cambridge.
[1] Ahrens, C. E., Dean, K., Rozee, P. D., & McKenzie, M. (2008). Understanding and Preventing Rape. In F. L. Denmark, & M. A. Paludi (Eds.), Psychology of Women: A Handbook of Issues and Theories (2nd ed.) (pp. 509-554). Westport, CT: Greenwood. [2] Armstrong, A. A., Hamilton, L., & Sweeney, B. (2011). Sexual Assault on Campus: A Multilevel, Integrative Approach to Party Rape. In J. Z. Spade, & C. G. Valentine (Eds.), The Kaleidoscope of Gender: Prisms, Patterns, and Possibilities (3rd ed.) (pp. 483-495). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [3] Attwood, F. (2007). Sluts and Riot Grrrls: Female Identity and Sexual Agency. Journal of Gender Studies, 16, 233-247.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09589230701562921 [4] Barber, K., & Kretschmer, K. (2013). Walking Like a Man? Contexts, 12, 40-45.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1536504213487697 [5] Blackwell, B. (2004). How the Jilt Triumphed over the Slut: The Evolution of an Epithet. Women’s Writing, 11, 1660-1780. [6] Borah, R., & Nandi, S. (2012). Reclaiming the Feminist Politics of “SlutWalk”. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 14, 415-421. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14616742.2012.699776 [7] Butler, J. (1997). Excitable Speech: A Politics of the Performative. New York, NY: Routledge. [8] Campbell, R., & Johnson, C. R. (1997). Police Officers’ Perceptions of Rape: Is There Consistency between State Law and Individual Beliefs? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 12, 254-274. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/088626097012002007 [9] Carr, J. L. (2013). The “SlutWalk” Movement: A Study in Transnational Feminist Activism. Journal of Feminist Scholarship, 4, 24-38. [10] Dines, G., & Murphy, W. J. (2011). “SlutWalk” Is Not Sexual Liberation. The Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/may/08/slutwalk-not-sexual-liberation [11] Feinman, C. (1994). Women in the Criminal Justice System (3rd ed.). Westport, CT: Praeger. [12] Flood, M. (2013). Male and Female Sluts: Shifts and Stabilities in the Regulation of Heterosexual Relations among Young Heterosexual Men. Australian Feminist Studies, 28, 95-107.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08164649.2012.758024 [13] Fowers, A. F., & Fowers, B. J. (2010). Social Dominance and Sexual Self-Schema as Moderators of Sexist Reactions to Female Subtypes. Sex Roles, 62, 468-480.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9607-7 [14] Garko, M. G. (1999). Existential Phenomenology and Feminist Research: The Exploration and Exposition of Women’s Lived Experiences. In E. B. Kimmel, & M. Crawford (Eds.), Innovation in Feminist Psychological Research (pp. 167-175). New York, NY: Cambridge. [15] Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (1996). The Ambivalent Sexism Inventory: Differentiating Hostile and Benevolent Sexism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 491-512.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.3.491 [16] Greer, G. (2011). These “Slut Walk” Women Are Simply Fighting for Their Right to Be Dirty. The Telegraph.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/women_shealth/8510743/These-slut-walk-women-are-simply-fighting-for-their-right-to-be-dirty.html [17] Herman, D. (1989). The Rape Culture. In J. Freeman (Ed.), Women: A Feminist Perspective (4th ed.) (pp. 20-44). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield. [18] Johnston, C. A. B., & Morrison, T. G. (2007). The Presentation of Masculinity in Everyday Life: Contextual Variations in the Masculine Behaviour of Young Irish Men. Sex Roles, 57, 661-674.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-007-9299-9 [19] Kitzinger, J. (1994). The Methodology of Focus Groups: The Importance of Interaction between Research Participants. Sociology of Health & Illness, 16, 103-121.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.ep11347023 [20] Maier, S. F., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1976). Learned Helplessness: Theory and Evidence. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 105, 3-46.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.105.1.3 [21] McArthur, G. (2011). Women Walk the Talk after Officer’s Offending “Slut” Remarks. The Globe and Mail.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/women-walk-the-talk-after-officers-offending-slut-remarks/article1969430/ [22] McCormack, C., & Prostran, N. (2012). Asking for It. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 14, 410-414.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14616742.2012.699777 [23] Morrison, T. G., Ryan, T. A., Fox, L., McDermott, D. T., & Morrison, M. A. (2008). Canadian University Students’ Perceptions of the Practices That Constitute “Normal” Sexuality for Men and Women. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 17, 161-171. [24] Morrison, T. G., & Tallack, D. (2005). Lesbian and Bisexual Women’s Interpretations of Lesbian and Ersatz Lesbian Pornography. Sexuality & Culture, 9, 3-30.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12119-005-1005-x [25] Nguyen, T. (2013). From “SlutWalks” to “SuicideGirls”: Feminist Resistance in the Third Wave and Postfeminist Era. Women’s Studies Quarterly, 41, 157-172.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/wsq.2013.0102 [26] Page, A. D. (2008). Judging Women and Defining Crime: Police Officers’ Attitudes toward Women and Rape. Sociological Spectrum, 28, 389-411.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02732170802053621 [27] Ringrose, J., & Renold, E. (2012). Slut-Shaming, Girl Power, and “Sexualisation”: Thinking through the Politics of the International “SlutWalks” with Teen Girls. Gender and Education, 24, 333-343.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2011.645023 [28] Rush, C. (2011). Cop Apologizes for “Sluts” Remark at Law School. The Star.
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/940665--cop-apologizes-for-sluts-remark-at-law-school [29] Savage, E. (2011). Politics of “SlutWalk”. Eureka Street, 21, 29-30. [30] Sharma, K. (2011). “SlutWalk”: Walk of Shame or McFeminism? Accessed March 15, 2014.
http://thehandmirror.blogspot.ca/2011/07/slutwalk-walk-of-shame-or-mcfeminism.html [31] Slut (2011). In Oxford English Dictionary Online. http://www.oed.com [32] Smith, J. A., & Osborn, M. (2003). Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. In J. A. Smith (Ed.), Qualitative Psychology: A Practical Guide to Methods (pp. 53-80). London: Sage. [33] Söderström, K., & Skårderud, F. (2011). The Good, the Bad, and the Invisible Father: A Phenomenological Study of Fatherhood in Men with Substance Abuse Disorder. Fathering, 11, 31-51.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3149/fth.1101.31 [34] Spohn, C., & Tellis, K. (2012). The Criminal Justice System’s Response to Sexual Violence. Violence against Women, 18, 169-192.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1077801212440020 [35] Stinson, R. D., Levy, L. B., & Alt, M. (2014). “They’re Just a Good Time and Move On”: Fraternity Men Reflect on Their Hook-Up Experiences. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 28, 59-73.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/87568225.2014.854683 [36] Sweeney, B. N. (2011). The Allure of the Freshman Girl: Peers, Partying, and the Sexual Assault of First-Year College Women. Journal of College and Character, 12, 1-15.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2202/1940-1639.1790 [37] Swim, J. K., Aikin, K. J., Hall, W. S., & Hunter, B. A. (1995). Sexism and Racism: Old-Fashioned and Modern Prejudices. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 199-214.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.68.2.199 [38] Tanenbaum, L. (1999). Slut! Growing up Female with a Bad Reputation. New York, NY: Seven Stories. [39] Walia, H. (2011). “SlutWalk”: To March or Not to March. Rabble.
http://rabble.ca/news/2011/05/slutwalk-march-or-not-march [40] White, E. (2002). Fast Girls: Teenage Tribes and the Myth of the Slut. New York, NY: Berkley. [41] Wilkinson, S. (1999). Focus Groups: A Feminist Method. In E. B. Kimmel, & M. Crawford (Eds.), Innovation in Feminist Psychological Research (pp. 219-242). New York, NY: Cambridge.