Say It Loud: “I’m Black, I’m A Slut, & I’m Proud!”
I’d love to take this opportunity to discuss SlutWalk and the dual (and often dueling) marginalization faced by Black women in any mainstream movement. I know that, as usual, I’m fashionably late to the party, because careful consideration is very typical of my type-A personality.
SlutWalk, like many other movements grew exponentially and the original protest spawned several protests globally (see: OWS, which came afterward). The movement initiated when a Toronto law enforcement officer reportedly expressed that in order to avoid becoming victims of sexual violence, women should not dress like ‘sluts’. Say that aloud to yourself. Imagine saying that to either your mother, sister, cousin, teacher, wife, or aunt — since, statistically speaking, at least one of them has been a victim of sexual violence. My hope is that once you say that aloud, you will feel some sort of emotion about it; I realize, though, that this is a high hope.
After having mixed feelings about it, I attended SlutWalk DC in August with a few friends and colleagues. I am glad that I attended the event and I think that it is important that Black feminists/womanists work together with white feminists in issues surrounding gender inequality — especially before we raise concerns that we are not included in the movement. It was a rainy adventure of a day, and while I’m sure we must have walked a whopping ten miles total around the city, SlutWalk aside, it was an important and memorable event. Moreover, as in any movement, I felt the necessity to be present as a woman of color who fights, often daily, against misogyny and sexism. I did, however, get into a bit of an argument via twitter, this generation’s neighborhood hype man and instigator, with another participant based on my criticisms of the movement and my interpretation of what the marches were/should be about.
Expressing yourself sexually does not make one a slut and we have to move away from limiting and blatantly misogynistic language. Choosing to express yourself in any sexual manner does not make you deserving of rape, sexual assault, sexual/street harassment, or any other form of non-consensual sexually based behavior. Period. Some women have taken to embracing the word ‘slut’, even likening it to the embracing of the infamous n-word. My problem with this comes in two-parts: 1) embracing any word does not change the meaning to the person delivering any sort of insult and 2) women of color, specifically Black American women, have been placed into boxes and have a very specific history with labels and sociological typification. I (and other Black feminist/womanists) have gotten into many a tizzy with white feminists on their level of understanding the position of Black women throughout US history and the reasons why many of us are reluctant to embrace being called a ‘slut’ or anything else based on any sort of perceived sexual promiscuity. To embrace the word slut is to miss the mark on the entire movement; being addressed as rape-deserving sluts is why the officer’s comments were wrong, and also why the movement has a tremendous capacity for growth worldwide. To be a Black woman, a doubly marginalized group, is to be in a position where there is a daily struggle to dissolve any of the typification imposed on us — whether we are conscious of our efforts or not.
Now, some Black feminists/womanists are calling for a change of the title of the SlutWalk rallies for the above reasons. I take issue with this because the initial point of the globally pronounced rally is based in the officer’s comments. However, white feminists embracing the word ‘slut’ is also an erasure of a potential strong point in a world-wide movement: expressing oneself in any particular way does not make us sluts. In my opinion, SlutWalk should pour more energy into strengthening both prongs of the protests in order to provide inclusion and gain support of every person of any gender that identifies with gender equality and fights against sexual violence.
In addition, there have been discussions about whether or not SlutWalk, like many other mainstream gender-based protests, is inclusive and open to the support and criticisms of women of color. Recently, a young woman at a SlutWalk event held a sign that read: “Woman is the Nigger of the World.” As a very devoted disciple of the John Lennon school of Beatles thought, I immediately recognized it as a lyric of one of his songs and yet, the sign was out of context. This is not the 70s (not that this was any more “appropriate” than accepted then), but this was indicative of the barrier that women of color face in participating in mainstream movements. It burns me up.
I remember distinctly the first time I heard the song “Woman is the Nigger of the World” on John Lennon’s Shaved Fish album. I was deeply conflicted; on one hand, I knew exactly what John meant to say: women are being mistreated and abused in several different ways on a global basis. The other half of the implication, though, was: women are disadvantaged worldwide and only certain Blacks/coloreds/niggers have a plight that is specific to certain regions. That gender discrimination is stronger and more problematic than racial discrimination. That there are only ‘women’ who are faced with disadvantages, and that ‘women of color’ are invisible. These implications are complete falsehoods.
You know what is the nigger of the world? Colored women who fight for individual rights on a global level, and are marginalized within one level of marginalization. And by the way, just in case the Toronto Police Department has not received the word from the global rallies: the people who have the power to end rape are rapists.
