Fig.1. Credit: Kelly Yeo, Daily Bruin.
Fig.2. Credit: Josh Reynolds, AP News.
Fig.3. Credit: Neha Chauhan, Legally India.
Fig. 4 & 5. Credits: Joydeep Hazarika, BeyondHeadlines and Agence France-Presse (AFP) photo.
SlutWalk protests are a series of protest movements that emerged in 2011 in Toronto, Canada which began as a response to a police officer’s comment during a safety seminar at York University. The comment suggested that women could avoid sexual violence by not dressing like “sluts” (Carr 2013). Therefore, the movement sought to challenge the notion of victim blaming during sexual assault, while simultaneously challenging problems like sexual profiling, objectification and systemic gendered violence, continuously perpetuated through deep-rooted patriarchy within the society and its institutions at large. SlutWalk spread all over the world; South Korea, South Africa, India, Ukraine, Mexico, etc; thus bringing together a diversity of people to confront attitudes towards rape culture and victim blaming. While these protests were considered to be the ‘most successful feminist action of the past 20 years’, how people identify with feminism is largely contextual, largely intersecting with their social, cultural or religious identities. The protest largely focused on reclaiming the word ‘slut’ and reversing the negative connotation attached to it. It has highlighted the potential of protests to open up new spaces for intellectual and political engagements beyond the global south and north divides. SlutWalk became a transnational feminist movement, it decentralised and opened up new spaces for political and intellectual engagements across border divides. The shape and tone of each SlutWalk varied with the country’s political and cultural context, as it is difficult to import it as it is from a liberal to a more conservative country. The march in the Indian context, for instance, was called “Besharmi Morcha” to appeal to the Indian psyche and make it as inclusive as possible (Carr 2013). In India, best-selling author of erotic fiction such as Shobha De, criticised the movement as being imported from the West and not connecting at all to the experiences of women in the third world, especially India. However, it is here that a very important intervention comes into play, that is the notion of victimhood and Indian womanhood (Kapur 2012). Certain elitist narratives often define Indian womanhood through victimhood wherein an underlying fear of sexual subjectivity undermining politics of pain and historical injustices. The fear extends to the idea that if women are allowed to thrive within their sexuality and be empowered it may not fit within the notion of what a ‘victim’ looks like. While it is obviously important to recognise the fact that women are victims of different forms of violence and discrimination, the problem begins when the identity of them being victims remains stagnant, thus perpetuating a sense of helplessness and reinforcing the unequal power dynamic that is already at play. There is then no space here to enhance one’s sexual agency and freedom.
Scholars like Gail Dines and Wendy Murphy believe that the term ‘slut’ is too deeply rooted in misogyny for us to waste our precious feminist resources on . History of genocide, colonialism, forced sterilisation against poor, indigenous and marginalised women go beyond choosing an attire for them and by trying to dress-up in a non-conforming way one is only perpetuating the stereotypes that one wants to break. The very idea of third-wave feminism being individualistic is bothersome for some because it has also led to the co-optation of its ideas by mainstream culture and neoliberalism has perpetuated the commodification of hypersexualised versions of women’s bodies. It's also important to note that this individualism remains relevant only when it conforms to white western standards and in this sense backfires for more marginalised factions within the feminist movement. A political movement here is converted to an identity term, which according to some, ignores broader systemic issues that contribute to gender-based oppression and inequality.The above line of argument can be connected to Laura Shepherd’s work that underscores Sjoberg and Gentry’s emphasis on structure and agency by stating that women’s violence in global politics is rendered unintelligible, through narrative representations of the perpetrators as mothers, monsters or whores (in media discourse and academic discussion), rather than as autonomous agents. (Shepherd 2009).
The history of colonialism has particularly been very problematic for women in the third world wherein there was a complex interplay between gender, power and colonialism. For women in third world countries, the liberation did not only limit to the ending of colonial rule but also extended to disrupting gender roles and power structures within their own societies. According to the Sri Lankan feminist scholar, Kumari Jayawardena, the women were required to juggle between both, a chaste nationalist identity and a westernised more ‘civilised’ identity so that they can be considered worthy of ‘self-rule’(Wright et.al 1991). Nationalist movements have often subordinated women to a particular definition of what their role is supposed to be in the society, and the problems they faced as inferior to the larger nationalist notions of freedom and national unity. Thus, with sexual assault, harassment or rape culture, Indian womanhood has a tendency to accord protection only to those women who fit within their definition of being ‘deserving’- women who are married, chaste, heterosexual, pious and conforming. This has time and again been endorsed by power structures within Indian society, for instance, Kozhikode sessions court in Kerala observed during a case that complaints will not stand their ground if women are wearing sexually provocative dresses. The media coverage and government’s own stand at large remains around the shame and dishonour that rape brought to the victim’s family. The discourse thus shifted from rights of bodily agency and safety to protectionism of their honour and chastity. Foucualt’s analysis of sex and gender reveal them to be more active rather than repressive forces that control and shape people’s belief systems through creation and distribution of knowledge through institutions like media, religion, legal systems and so on (Kapur 2023). Indian womanhood posits a certain ‘litmus-paper’ test for ‘real rape’ and ‘real-victims’ that is upheld by various power structures within the country thereby leading to a policing of bodies. Dominant discourses in knowledge production have shaped and regulated notions of ‘gender binaries’ which also regulate the way institutions work. The imperialist feminist discourse also imposes certain dominant Western narratives and ideas of gender equality and liberation onto other cultures. This enables the perpetuation of the idea that certain cultures and identities are antithetical to women’s rights, like women from marginalised Muslim communities (Lim et.al 2013). The focus on the scantily-clad attire in SlutWalks may stress upon the idea that sexual agency and feminist activism at large is only legitimate when it conforms to a certain Western ideal. Many privileged upper-class white women may not fully be aware of the intersectionality between gender, race and class and as a result not prioritise the needs of marginalised women in their mode of activism. This comes as a failure of understanding that gender inequality does not exist in a vacuum and is constantly interacting with various different forms of oppression regarding class, caste, economic problems and so on. With respect to protests movements, a more pluralistic approach of cohesive political action is required that demands a deeper understanding of the experiences of those unlike ourselves and highlighting the similarities that do arise.
References
Carr, Joetta. “The SlutWalk Movement: A Study in Transnational Feminist Activism.” Journal of Feminist Scholarship 4, no. 4 (January 1, 2013): 24–38. The SlutWalk Movement: A Study in Transnational Feminist Activism.
Charlesworth, Hilary, Christine Chinkin, and Shelley Wright. “Feminist Approaches to International Law.” The American Journal of International Law 85, no. 4 (1991): 613–45. Feminist Approaches to International Law | American Journal of International Law | Cambridge Core.
Dines, Gail, and Wendy J. Murphy. “SlutWalk Is Not Sexual Liberation.” The Guardian, May 8, 2011, sec. Opinion. SlutWalk is not sexual liberation | Gail Dines and Wendy J Murphy | The Guardian.
Hooks, bell. Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center. Third edition. New York: Routledge, 2015. “India Code: Section Details.” Accessed May 12, 2023. Section 375. Rape..
Kapur, Ratna. “Feminism’s Estrangement Critical Reflections on Feminist Engagements with Law in India .” In Feminism of Discontent: Global Contestations. Accessed May 12, 2023. Feminisms of Discontent: Global Contestations | Oxford Academic.
“Pink Chaddis and SlutWalk Couture: The Postcolonial Politics of Feminism Lite.” Feminist Legal Studies 20, no. 1 (April 2012): 1–20. Pink Chaddis and SlutWalk Couture: The Postcolonial Politics of Feminism Lite | Feminist Legal Studies.
Lim, Jason, and Alexandra Fanghanel. “‘Hijabs, Hoodies and Hotpants’; Negotiating the ‘Slut’ in SlutWalk.” Geoforum 48 (August 2013): 207–15. ‘Hijabs, Hoodies and Hotpants’; negotiating the ‘Slut’ in SlutWalk - ScienceDirect.
The Indian Express. “Sexual Harassment Charge Won’t Stand If Woman Wore Sexually Provocative Dresses: Kerala Court,” August 17, 2022. Sexual harassment charge won’t stand if woman wore sexually provocative dresses: Kerala court | Thiruvananthapuram News - The Indian Express.
Shepherd, Laura J. “Gender, Violence and Global Politics: Contemporary Debates in Feminist Security Studies.” Political Studies Review 7, no. 2 (May 2009): 208–19. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-9299.2009.00180.x.
Parashar, Swati. “Feminism and Postcolonialism: The Twain Shall Meet.” Postcolonial Studies 19, no. 4 (October 2016): 463–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/13688790.2016.1317583.
The blog provides a well-researched analysis of the SlutWalk protests and their impact on feminist activism globally, especially in the context of challenging victim-blaming and systemic gendered violence. The attention given to the cultural and political contexts of different countries and the way SlutWalk has been adapted to fit these local nuances is commendable. The critique of the movement's potential limitations due to its perceived ties to Western ideals is also a crucial point.
Thank you, Alisha, for such an interesting blog entry. It provides a comprehensive examination of feminist activism, prompting critical thought on the intricacies of contemporary gender-based struggles and the necessity to reclaim the term 'slut' and reverse its negative connotation.
I believe the article might have also looked at how digital activism and social media shaped modern feminist movements such as the Slut Walk Movement and Me Too, taking into account their function in amplifying marginalized voices and mobilizing collective action.
Hello Alisha,
This is a well-written analysis of the SlutWalk protests and the complexities of feminism, particularly in a postcolonial context like India, and it also acknowledges the importance of recognizing women as victims of violence but argues for a move beyond victimhood to address issues of agency and empowerment. I also wanted to ask if the Besharmi Morcha protests lead to any lasting change or discussions about victim blaming and sexual violence in India?