JESS ROBERTSON
Celebrity Amber Rose, hosted the largest recorded SlutWalk on October 2nd in Los Angeles, raising awareness for sexual injustice and gender equality.
Hoping to eliminate sexual violence, victim blaming and derogatory labels, the slut walk was created in 2009, following comments made by a Toronto police officer stating to avoid assault, women shouldn’t ‘dress like sluts.’
Amber Rose’s SlutWalk created a social media frenzy, encouraging many celebrities, such as French Montana, Blac Chyna and Kendra Wilkinson to get involved in the hope of reaching a broader audience.
Milli Gray, student and feminism activist said the purpose of the slut walk is to reclaim the power of the word ‘slut,’ rather than being seen as offensive, the walk aims to empower individuals, leaving the opposition drained of their weapons.
“Women are fighting the double standard by being proud sluts which is a movement towards sex positivity, a culture that reveals its women’s sexual activity especially one that has women with multiple sex partners and being okay with the world sluts means better discussions about women’s sexuality, thus better education for women, and so much more,” she said.
“I think the main point is the rape culture and the sex work, rape culture blames the woman for everything that happens to her, especially regarding rape and sexual assault, but if you have people understanding that women can wear whatever the f*ck they want, it’s what comes out of their mouth that is consent, rape culture is being squashed.”
Bianca-Maree Ratcliffe, mother of two, said as a mother to both a daughter and a transgender son, as they got older it was crucial to reinforce the beliefs she had brought her children up with and attending a similar event would prove beneficial.
“It’s your body, you say when, you say how, you say who, it does not matter what you wear, if you don’t invite someone into your personal space, they can back the f*ck up,” she said.
“Women in this day and age need to band together and lift each other up.”
The SlutWalk page encourages individuals to join together and share their stories and personal experiences in the hopes to bring people together to rally for change.