Blog Post #2: When I was a "Slut"

I may have a slight addiction to Thought Catalog and I came across two articles that pair well together. The first is not really much of an article at all but a collection of what different women were doing when someone decided to let them know they were being a slut (http://thoughtcatalog.com/2013/10-women-on-what-i-was-doing-when-i-was-called-a-slut/). One was merging in traffic, another just walking down the street, others being judged for their "supposed" sexuality, some calling themselves a slut. It struck a nerve with me. How often do I label other women and myself as a slut, a whore, or other trashy derogatory names for what I think I know about their sex life? How often do I use these names without even regards to sexuality? That woman cut me off; she must be a stupid whore who can't drive. I know nothing about her. I'm embarrassed to actually exam this behavior because I know that I'm just as guilty of it. It's a behavior I'm working on in myself.

The second article speaks about sexual harassment/assault and the silence and shame society shows towards it (http://thoughtcatalog.com/2013/silence-shame-and-sexual-harassment/). Just a warning that the language in the piece is a little graphic, but if it weren't I don't think it would accurately depict this woman's experience. The author covers so many facets of the normalization of sexual assault and harassment effectively using her own experiences and that of other women. She speaks of parents offering their daughters tips on how not to have these experiences but never mentioning to their sons how not to commit these offenses. She speaks of the silence that often occurs by witnesses to the crime as they try to pretend not to notice the degradation of another person.