During my sophomore year of high school, a boy called me a slut. He also called me a bitch, a whore and other names. Name-calling led to threats of violence, and eventually I stood up and said something. I sometimes look back and question why I didn't think it was wrong that he called me awful names even before he threatened me. The conclusion I have come to is that I didn't realize that it was that weird for him to call me those things. We all use the words slut, bitch and whore, right? Friends call their friends that, and I've called people that. I excused his remarks as being "okay," because everyone else laughed and excused his behavior too. I don't want to excuse those words anymore.
The words "slut," "bitch" and "whore" have become normalized into our vocabulary and therefore justified as fair game. I try my hardest not to say these words, and I also try to call out people who do. But that is not an easy task. So many people use the words in a casual or joking way: "That dress looks kinda slutty." "You're so rude, don't be a bitch." "Haha, you hooked up with three people that night? You're such a whore." I want to make people aware of how harmful their seemingly benign words can be.
There are four ways these words are harmful. First, they cause us to objectify and have less respect for the bodies and feelings of those labeled with these terms. Second, they make people ashamed of their sexuality. Third, when someone uses these words, it can be a sign that they might be violent in the future, but since these words are accepted as normal, we often fail to notice those signs. Fourth, they can be triggers for survivors of rape, sexual assault and domestic violence, mentally bringing them back to the moment of the traumatic event.
I am a member of ASAP, or Action for Sexual Assault Prevention, a club at Tufts that aims to raise awareness to prevent sexual assault and rape on campus, as well as to promote consent and healthy relationships. This semester, we are starting a new campaign titled, "TULS is backwards." TULS, or "slut" backwards, stands for Tufts Undoing Language of Shaming. Our goal is to raise awareness among students of slut-shaming and victim-blaming language. We are concentrating on three specific words - slut, bitch and whore - and challenging the student body at Tufts to refrain from saying those words for one week. We want to create a dialogue and spark conversation between people, and this is a way to do just that. By asking people to refrain from saying these words, our hope is that everyone will grow hyper-aware of when the words are said. You may be surprised by how often and how casually they come up in conversation.
It is important to address the reclaiming of such language. A reclaimed word is a word that was once harmful and denigrating, but has come to be considered acceptable and sometimes even empowering. It is used by the members of the group it was originally meant to degrade in order to defuse the word's power. Some feminists support the reclaiming of words like the ones used in this campaign. So, I want to make one thing clear: This campaign is not trying to detract from individual empowerment or choice; it is just trying to make everyone aware of the implications of using such words in everyday life with people who might not reclaim them or find them empowering. You have every right to reclaim these words for yourself, but no right to project them on others. They can be offensive and make people uncomfortable, so it is critical that we understand the ways they are used in everyday conversation. Personally, I don't like being called any of the three words, even if the person saying them is joking or using them in a reclaimed way. Hopefully this campaign can create conversations among individuals, whether they use these words or don't.
We hope that everyone participating in the TULS campaign gets something out of it. The goal is not to stop people from using three words for one week so that they can start up again right after. On the contrary, this is designed to get you thinking about how and why we use these words. You never know whom you may be affecting by your use of shaming language, even if that was not your intention. We encourage everyone to take on our challenge.
Emily Schacter is a sophomore majoring in international relations. She can be reached at Emily.Schacter@tufts.edu.
