Are sluts free?

Most Tufts students seem to know by now that the word "slut" is bad. The anti-slut-shaming movement has become too big to miss. From “SlutWalks” in cities worldwide to events at Tufts such as The Vagina Monologues and sex-positive presentations by SexologistOh Megan, embracing the word "slut" has become a hallmark of many feminists, especially mainstream, white feminists.

But the anti-slut-shaming movement has faced some deserved backlash. Telling women and girls to embrace the term "slut" can add to the pressure to look and act sexually alluring at a young age and perpetuates the idea that a woman’s value is based on her level of attractiveness to men.

Additionally, just because a feminist chooses to walk around topless as an act of pride does not mean that she is free from objectification and harassment. As Leora Tanenbaum wrote in a Slate magazine article referring to topless protests, “You may think that your feminist message, or your feminist identity, is obvious, but chances are it’s not only not obvious, it’s an object of ridicule.”

While some feminists use the word "slut" to express their sexual autonomy, the word is still used to rationalize the control, rape and dehumanization of women. In light of one of the rapists from the infamous 2012 New Delhi rape case’s recent comments about how men have the right to rape women who go out at night, “do wrong things” and “wear wrong clothes,” we must remember that perceived “sluttiness” is still viewed as justification for unspeakable violence against women.

There is also a racial history associated with the word that reflects the exclusivity of the anti-slut-shaming movement. Writer Lutze B. says in a Salon article that “Black women have always been labeled as hypersexual beings unworthy of respect, love and justice. ‘Slut’ is the default position of black women, so attempting to subvert the word or own it would only further root the false stereotype in place.”

My experiences with anti-slut-shaming and sex positivity at Tufts have often made me feel more confused and uncomfortable than liberated. This is my first semester participating in the Burlesque Troupe, and I’ve so far enjoyed getting to know the members and learning the dance moves. Part of the Burlesque Troupe’s mission is to embrace sexual liberation and body positivity, two close cousins of anti-slut-shaming.

At my first Burlesque Troupe bonding, we spent most of the night playing drinking games that often led to people revealing their craziest sex stories and removing articles of clothing. I had a good time, but I couldn’t help feeling like everyone’s half-clothed bodies were still being scrutinized (both women and men), and that some of the crazy sex stories were not tales of sexual liberation, but of pressure and objectification, all in this supposedly body-positive and anti-slut-shaming environment.

What’s missing from Burlesque’s mission, as well as other “anti-slut-shaming” dialogues, is an explanation of what the term really entails. Also absent is the notion that women don’t always have the freedom to sexually liberate themselves because sexism, racism and rape culture still exist. The ability to embrace the word slut is a privilege that is only afforded to certain women. A woman who has been raped and subsequently blamed for the act because of her perceived sluttiness or a woman who has been bullied for being a “slut” might not benefit from reclaiming the word.

Or maybe she would benefit from it, but we still cannot assume that reclaiming slut is a universally beneficial concept. Moreover, simply “embracing slut” without addressing and seeking to overturn the power structures that allow the term to persist probably won’t solve the underlying problems that lead to slut-shaming and rape culture in the first place.