Okay, I don’t know if you heard about Amber Rose’s SlutWalk, let alone know who Amber Rose even is. I am here to bring light to who she is, and why she should get much more positive press than she has in the past. For those of you who do not keep up on every facet of the pop culture world, Amber Rose is a model, an actress, and has been in relationships with some of the biggest rappers on the planet (erm, Kanye, Wiz Khalifa). Like most women in the world she has also been “slut shamed,” and to call attention to this, she hosted a SlutWalk in Los Angeles.
When I first saw these headlines online, I was shocked. Why would she be doing this, is it just for publicity or something? Why would you draw attention to being acknowledged as a slut? Then I realized that I wished I could have been there to witness and support everything going on. Until recently, Rose has definitely not been viewed as a woman for girls to look up to, so much as a celebrity who got famous for being a stripper. With these headlines, though, she gained a new quality: a role model for feminism and confidence.
In the words of Tina Fey in "Mean Girls," “You all have got to stop calling each other sluts and whores. It just makes it okay for guys to call you sluts and whores.” Honestly, at this point if someone calls me a slut I don’t even know if it’s an insult or a term of endearment. Ya, I hooked up with someone, so what? Do you want me to just sit in chains and wait for the perfect guy to come around while most guys are off doing what they do? I don’t think so. That being said, I would not call myself a slut. I wouldn’t call any girl a slut.
In a sense, the word “slut” is just that, a word. It only has the power that we attach to it, but to some that attachment can be detrimental and extremely offensive. I try to keep an open mind with these things. I mean at this point in time, girls call their friends sluts, bitches, etc., not as a mean thing, but just because we’re used to it in American society. On the other hand, though, this word has been given power through time, and it’s not exactly the nicest thing to be called. Obviously it’s not just being called a slut, but being treated like a slut the way Amber Rose has been. People really only knew her because of her promiscuous reputation, which is saddening. She is a person. Nobody deserves that; we are all people, we are all equal, our motives and standards just might be different.
As the days of October narrow to an end, we come to the greatest slut-shaming day of the year: Halloween. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, why wouldn’t it be? I get to not be judged for stuffing my face with candy (sorry, food’s always the priority). More importantly, though, everyone can be who they want to be, which brings out a new level of creativity. Now I know that this might seem too complex. Most people just throw on cat ears and a skimpy outfit and call it a day, but I swear it connects to more. Girls should be able to put on those cat ears (and whatever they do or don’t want to wear) and rock them. They should know that judgement isn’t going to come from being themselves and doing what they want.
In all of this, my point is that girls should not be condemned for the little things. Half the time this judgment is hypocritical anyways. Instead, we should support those around us; maybe we don’t agree with every single thing that someone does, but that’s no reason to shame them. We all have faults, and it’s unrealistic to think that anybody can avoid that. If we could just stop focusing on others’ mistakes and instead focus on our own goals and aspirations, things would be a lot better. Yes, this can be hard, but we all need less negativity in our world, right?
