Slut Shaming By Sarah Cahill Staff Writer It was introduced at an early age. Maybe the first time you heard the word ‘slut’ is in a book or conversation. Potentially you heard it while watching Tina Fey in "Mean Girls" speak to a high school gym filled with young women who upheaved the entire school over the “Burn Book.” While Fey used the term for comic relief, slut-shaming has been used to describe appearances, mannerisms and choices in more serious, deprecating ways to harm others. It is a word that slices through the air and leaves a sharp dagger in your stomach. While the first encounter of the word appeared in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales as a nonsexual description of one’s appearance, the word has morphed into an accessible, dangerous weapon. Slut-shaming is not a new concept, and while it happens to males, females are the predominant target for this derogatory term. Slut-shaming is the act of stigmatizing someone based on behavior that is stereotypically known for being promiscuous or sexually provocative. In a study done by the Personality and Social Psychology Review, “Slut-shaming is experienced by 50% of girls compared with 20% of boys,” according to www.journals.sagepub. com. Slut-shaming comes in many forms including (but not limited to) verbal comments, images, videos and texting. It is done by various people, ranging in age and demographics. With the increased usage of technology, slut-shaming has become more accessible through social media and other forms of technological communication. Without having a break from the constant bombardment, mental illnesses and suicides have been on the rise, including a young woman named Felica Garcia who took her life in 2012 due to cyberbullying.
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September 27, 2021
Photo courtesy of imdb.com
It is important to realize that we can do better. While this issue begins at a young age, it is worth looking into how schools play a role in addressing slut-shaming. School dress codes have become a heavily debated topic as they can enforce an ideology that girls should not wear certain articles of clothing because they are “distractions” to their peers, more so their male peers. A senior at USF who chose to stay anonymous stated, “In high school, I can remember having to cover up my shoulders while wearing a tank top during the first few weeks of school when it was 100 degrees outside. It made me feel self-conscious about my body and I felt like I had to accommodate my look for others around me.” Along with dress codes, many schools’ sexual education programs lack resources and funding to give students a quality understanding of how to respect themselves and others regarding sexual preferences and choices. Including discussions about slut-shaming in sex ed classes can help break down the stigmatization and build an overall understanding of how to address slut-shaming, so that unhealthy patterns are not developed. We need to hold ourselves accountable for our actions and having honest conversations, whether they be built into a curriculum or not, is one of the best ways to make the world a more accepting place. It is time for a change and we are it. It all begins with us!
usfencounter.stfrancis.edu
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