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Is the Slut Walk a step forward for women?

September 9, 2012 @ 4:19 pm (Updated: 2:07 am - 9/10/12 )

"In my day ladies didn't dress like that," says Nancy, 73, as she shakes her head and walks past the women gathering in Occidental Park for Seattle's Slut Walk.

SW4A couple hundred women, wearing everything from business suits and bikinis to fishnet stockings and metallic skin-tight body suits, marched for a second year through downtown Seattle for a demonstration they call "Slut Walk."

They carried signs: "Naked or clothed, respect is what I'm owed" and "Stop Blaming Women."

Though the protest was in response to a comment a Toronto police officer made in 2011 - that a woman should avoid dressing like a "slut" as a rape-prevention measure - the women who demonstrated Sunday say they have plenty of reasons to be upset.

"Verbal attacks on women this year have been almost as bad as a physical attack," says Gloria Stevens. "It's verbal rape."

One "attack" came from conservative talk host Rush Limbaugh who used the words "slut" and a "prostitute" to describe Sandra Fluke, a woman who was not being allowed to speak before a Congressional panel on women's reproductive health issues.

Another insensitive, ignorant comment came from Republican Todd Akin who said women's bodies can prevent pregnancy in cases of "legitimate rape."

Those are just two examples. The political action committee Emily's List has created an interactive timeline of the current War on Women.

"The election in November is a choice between women having free access to birth control and rolling back to the 1950s, so I think it's very important to make a statement right now about how we feel," says Alice Wheeler, who calls herself a proud feminist.

"Last year was the first time I've ever seen a women's protest in Seattle and I've been here 30 years. Seattle has always been a man's place so I think it's kind of cool that the women are finally stepping up and taking are equal place," she says.

Every woman I talked with at the Slut Walk defined herself as a "feminist" but they all had different explanations of what it means to be a feminist in 2012.

Sisters Amanda, 22, and Adrianne, 16, say it means "supporting equal pay for equal work."

SW8"I think a lot of people think that it means women want more rights than other people and that women deserve more than everyone else, but that's not the way it is," says Adrianne. "We want to be able to do things without getting looked down."

She didn't want to be looked down on for the way she was dressed, in a blue polka dot bikini top and ultra-short shorts. Adrianne says she never dresses that way, but if she did, she shouldn't be judged negatively for it.

Demonstrator Yvette Zaepfel says for many years there has been a negative association with standing up for women's rights. Part of that general impression came from the 70s, she says, when women made a statement by not shaving their legs or wearing make-up.

"It's like there's a dirty association with being a feminist. It's like you're a man hater," Zaepfel says. "Feminism today is about having options. If you want to stay at home and raise children, do that. If you want to go out and work, do that too."

"Feminism is equality," says Joe, a man I talked with, "and by that definition, I am a feminist too. That's why I'm here."

What is your definition of feminism in 2012? Is a demonstration like the Slut Walk a step forward, or back, for women seeking equality?

SW7

Story and photos By LINDA THOMAS

Photo gallery from Seattle Slut Walk 2012

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Comments (66)


  • Add A Comment

  • RonJ wrote...
    It's hard to respect
    September 9, 2012 4:39 pm
    these women when they clearly do not respect themselves. Dressing like trash to make a point makes your point seem, well, trashy. Yes Limbaugh's statement was, although insensitive, not far from the mark, and Akin is a downright ignorant troglodyte, but how does parading around in your underwear make your point any more valid or believable? Drawing attention to yourself in this manner makes you more akin to a table dancer. It's comic and buffoonish, how can you be taken seriously?
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  • roomtemp wrote...
    "Is the Sl*t Walk a step forward for women?"
    September 9, 2012 4:49 pm
    Not in my opinion. The whole thing seems rather demeaning to me. Maybe because I don't think of women first and foremost as sex objects, dunno.

    "Naked or clothed, respect is what I'm owed."

    Sorry, but my respect is earned, not bestowed. And it's almost always on an individual basis, not a group. That statement doesn't go very far in getting it. I owe you nothing.

    "Stop Blaming Women."

    For what? Dressing in a fashion that makes me look? That's entirely up to you. Wear a hijab if you're worried about it. I'm only human.

    "It's verbal rape."

    Sticks and stones. Rape them back...

    "supporting equal pay for equal work."

    Color me feminist...

    "We want to be able to do things without getting looked down."

    What things? Generically, so do I. But if you think a man won't be looked down on for running around naked too, you're mistaken. I could put on some speedo's and tour the mall, but I'd be kicked out or arrested very quickly I'd imagine.

    "It's like there's a dirty association with being a feminist. It's like you're a man hater,"

    Blame your founding sisters for that reputation not me. Many of them were, and they weren't shy about saying so.

    "Feminism is equality,"

    Color me feminist again, I guess. I prefer to think of equality without adjectives that refer to a specific group though. I believe in human equality. Does that make me a humanist?

    I'm not sure this is the right way to gain respect. But I wish you luck on your quest.

    p.s. The s word is censored for posters. I demand equality! XD

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  • USMC0311 wrote...
    Spot on
    September 10, 2012 8:56 am
    and well put.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Snout wrote...
    Rabble rousers who don't deserve respect.
    September 9, 2012 4:58 pm
    Yeah, they deserve the same rights as all Americans. But it seems like these "ladies" have an expired chip on their shoulders. Please. I was raised to respect women. But respect only goes so far. If you act like an animal I don't care what genitals you have. You are going to be treated accordingly. Respect involves the evaluation of the sum of your actions, words and deeds. You don't "deserve" respect. Put some clothes on and stop fighting a battle that civilized women already won for gender equality. Are there d-bag guys out there? Yeah. And they're in the same small minded group of micro-brains as these slutwalk women. Grow up and stop looking for attention.
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  • fartforce1 wrote...
    I agree with them - you are not allowed to rape people because she looks like a slutola.
    September 9, 2012 5:01 pm
    But you should not dress like a slutola because it makes you look like a slutola! BTW - stupid how Mynorthwest blocks comments with that word, but the use it.
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  • RonJ wrote...
    And really, Adrianne,
    September 9, 2012 5:04 pm
    are you going to walk into a potential employers office dressed like your in a Britney Spears video and convince him you deserve to be paid as much as a male? Did you Mom see you walk out of the house dressed like that?
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  • Adri&AmandaMom wrote...
    Mom Did See Adrienne Walk Out of the House Dressed Like That
    September 10, 2012 3:25 pm
    I wonder why we have such strong visceral reactions to the way these young women are dressed? As for how effective this protest was, I suspect what is at the heart of it is the terrible shame one feels after being sexually attacked. The constant questioning about what you did, and how not to do that in the future. Living in fear that something you do might invite another attack. The protest seems to be cathartic for such women. They can dress in a truly provocative manner and come to the realization that it doesn't matter what you wear, it doesn't matter what do, that doesn't give someone else permission for violence. Does that make sense? No, I wasn't happy about my daughters participating in such an event. I felt they would just be eye candy for bystanders, and those bystanders wouldn't really absorb a message. But I have to think that all of the attention being paid to the event due to its scandalous nature must be good for something.
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  • NewlyAwakened wrote...
    Ok, somewhere in there a gal said not to judge her on how she looks?
    September 9, 2012 5:25 pm
    We judge people all the time on how they look! When I see an obvious age an age inappropriate outfit worn on a child, of course I am judging. ESPECIALLY of the parent who let that kid out looking like that. Or of the parent who let that young girl walk in that gathering holding up that sign.

    I mean we would all judge a grown man dressed as a woman wearing make up leering at kids at a playground (recently happend in Yelm, WA). So why wouldn't I judge a woman dressed like a s l u t parading around in s l u t attire. Case in point: ever throw a Halloween party for adults? What do all we women dress up as? S L U T S!!! and many proudly so just to get attention based on how they are dressed. This whole thing is ludicrous. Where is the interview and fairness for all the feminists keeping score when the media and popular tv types call Sarah Palin every name in the book or Michele Bachmann, Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, etc etc. BTW, I listened that day to Rush when he was talking about college women and their access to birth control and it was very hilarious and totally in context when he talked about being a s l u t. Had nothing to do with personally attacking that women but was all about THE BEHAVIOR and again gratuitous use of the word "ludicrous" argument to act like educated and mostly affluent college women need additionally assistance acquiring birth control. They can afford to pay good money for their s l u t t y outfits then they can afford to walk into Planned Parenthood for their free condom or pay the $5 for a pack of them at the local grocery store.

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  • CH wrote...
    Im going to the Seattle Waterfront and jump on a S L U T . . . .
    September 9, 2012 5:28 pm
    thank you seattle for the s l u t s.
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  • mpblue wrote...
    For AJ
    September 9, 2012 7:28 pm
    I have to give you props on this one. Solid comments.
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  • Bremerton Voice wrote...
    Typo?
    September 9, 2012 7:35 pm
    Did they mean "how we feel" instead of "who we feel" because if its really wanting to let everyone know "who we feel" is hilarious. But its probably a typo and the editor should have caught it.
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  • TheNewsChick wrote...
    Yes, Bremerton Voice
    September 10, 2012 1:06 am
    Typo on my part - should have been "how we feel" now corrected.
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  • Newton wrote...
    The Nation should have an official "S-l-u-t Day"
    September 9, 2012 8:40 pm
    I understand respect are women. At least the S-L-U-T-S. Good Idea Gals.
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