Slut Walk

Sparked by a comment made by a Toronto police officer to a group of college women, stating if they wanted to avoid sexual assault if they should not dress like sluts, Amber Rose, hip-hop model, fashion designer and actress, started the SlutWalk campaign in Los Angeles, California on October 3, 2015.
The movement is a walk in the community to protest sexual violence, victim blaming, derogatory labels, and gender inequality. The event is a peaceful protest to portray hypersexual men and women in a better aspect. Rose’s movement is not the first in its field. Many SlutWalks have been done across the globe such as Canada, Europe, Latin America, and Asia.
Rose revealed that she was first labeled a slut at the age of 14, despite being a virgin.
“I was in a closet with this boy, I had just started making out with boys. He was like, ’Just get down on your knees.’ And I was like, ’OK?’ I mean, I was young, I didn’t even know what oral sex was, I had no idea.” said Rose.
She continued, describing how she got on her knees and the boy exposed his genitals and swung open the door to reveal what was happening. Confused, Rose had no idea what the issue was and returned to school embarrassed and ridiculed by the whole situation.
“I went back to school and everyone was like, ’Amber was sucking di– in the closet,’ and I had never done that before. I remember just being extremely slut-shamed for something that I didn’t do. It was really unfortunate,” stated Rose.
Because of this traumatizing memory of her teenage years, Rose holds this event dear to her heart. She believes it exposes this floating idea that any female that becomes involved with a male has to be doing something.
“Girls at such a young age, whether they kiss a boy, or like a boy, or are caught somewhere with a boy alone, it can really make the rest of their school years horrible,” says Rose.
When SlutWalk reached the social radar, radio stations across the nation buzzed about it, taking sides either praising or degrading the movement. One listener on New York’s Hot 97 radio station expressed his regards against the movement.
“I mean, I feel like she’s trying to glorify sluts in general, and she feels like she’s trying to put up girl power behind it to make women feel like it’s okay to be this way. And I understand—be all you wanna be—but be it in private.”
Michael Arceneaux, journalist for Ebony magazine, defends Rose by expressing his opinion by questioning the need for privacy when being simply individualistic as stated by the upset listener on Hot 97 Radio.
“Why does one’s sexuality have to be private? We do not live in some puritanical society. If we did, a radio station like Hot 97—which plays a whole lot of sexually charged hip-hop and R&B tunes—would not exist.”
Najah Freeman, senior Business Management major from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, expresses her approval of the movement Rose has put forth.
“Society has taught us to keep our sex lives under wraps. History has proven that women have to remain conservative, so while men are praised for having numerous notches under their belts, women are publicly shamed for their pride,” she states.