Comment 64541

By highwater (registered) | Posted June 03, 2011 at 13:59:11 in reply to Comment 64406

I have no problem with the use of the term 'slut' in this context, or any other context for that matter.

Ugh. I may have to take back the above comment.

As the mother of two girls, and an adolescent son who will soon be navigating these waters (if he isn't already :P), what I find even more disturbing than the prevalence of this 'gonzo' porn, is the mainstreaming of porn culture and the porn aesthetic. One of the many irritating aspects of the propensity to slut-shame, is the fact that once again, 100% of the blame is being placed on women and girls without any acknowledgement of the impact our cultural environment has on them.

I can see why you are so conflicted by all of this, and there are no pat answers here, but I'd ask that you try not to undermine what the slutwalk organizers are trying to accomplish by unloading all this cultural baggage onto them. After all, some of the main figures behind the mainstreaming of porn culture have been female pop stars, beginning with Madonna and on down the line to Lady Gaga and Rihanna, who have made lucrative careers out of trying to co-opt the porn aesthetic and the whore stereotype in a way that would be empowering to women.

Have they been successful? Will the slutwalks be successful? The jury's still out. I understand your squeamishness at the fact that women's attempts to define their own sexuality often appear, superficially at least, to play right into the hands of our culture's objectification of women. But that doesn't mean we should stop trying.

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