Slut shaming is harassing a person (usually a woman) because of her assumed sexuality or sexual activity. Slut-shaming can be anything from a passive comment about a person’s outfit being too revealing to an upfront, aggressive (or unfortunately, physical) altercation.

Anybody can have their own opinions about Kim Kardashian as a person, reality television star, mother, wife, etc. However, Kim Kardashian is still a woman who has been a target of the media for criticism surrounding her sexuality.

It is no secret that in 2003, a video of Kim Kardashian with her former partner was leaked online. While it has launched her and her family’s careers, it has me questioning what she must have experienced that day in 2003.

Shame, humiliation, anger.

But, where was her partner through all of this? Was he receiving backlash from the media? Was he put into the spotlight, being chastised for his actions?

No. No, he was not.

American society is very clear about suppressing sexuality, especially for women. This suppression can be damaging to a woman’s self-esteem and create expectations that are simply unrealistic.

So, when I saw Kim Kardashians nude-photo on twitter, I was a bit surprised. Why did she want to relive this backlash? What would she think when her children would see it?

Then it dawned on me; she is finally in control of her sexuality.

It is one thing to have a video released without your consent but Kardashian was doing something that can be quite liberating for women.

She was finally in control of her body.

I remember being in high school, watching my friends being written up and sent to the principal's office for wearing spaghetti strapped tops, no mid-drifts or short-skirts, just shoulders.

Why are we teaching young women to conform their wardrobe instead of teaching young men to restrain themselves?

It has become more and more apparent that we, as a society, are not treating women’s bodies with respect when we slut shame them; we are fueling a fire of self-hate.

This is not about posting naked photos online.

This is about defeating double standards when it comes to sex and sexuality. The first step is ending condemnation of women for being proud of their body; both from men, and women.

We have seen Kim Kardashian through our television screens, but most of us have never met her in person. Yet, we still feel the need to comment on her appearance and her choices.

I am constantly questioning why others feel the need to put in their, "two-cents" on others actions. It is one thing if someones actions directly effect the way another person lives his/her/their life, but if it is a celebrity just tweeting a picture of herself, what the heck are we so concerned about?

We, as a society, need to stop excusing slut shaming. If we want to teach young women to respect themselves, shouldn't we also teach them to respect others too? Regardless if they don't share similar values?

Slut shaming, other than being ruthless, rude, and invasive, is assuming that women are not allowed to be proud of their bodies. How can we allow women to advance in our society if we are more afraid and ashamed of their bodies than they are?

Instead of ignoring or not commenting on behavior that doesn’t fit our standards, we feel the need to be incessantly aggressive to validate ourselves.

And that is the most problematic thing of all.