SlutWalk!

This was too good to pass up.  If you haven't heard, there's been some serious backlash against a cop who said something along the lines of, "Women should avoid dressing like sluts to avoid being raped." 

So, first off, I want to be clear in saying, even if a girl is walking around completely naked . . . and is really really hot, she does not deserve to be raped, nor would it be her fault if she were.  Now, having said that, the cop is right to this extent: girls should stop dressing like sluts.  It's unimaginative, and it makes you look like . . . a slut.  But just to play devil's advocate here, can we do some kind of study on this before we jump down this guy's throat?  As a female, it can't help your cause to walk around at night, in quiet, unpopulated streets/parks in very little clothing, right?  I wouldn't walk around with flashy jewelry in certain contexts because it would probably increase my odds of being mugged.  Would that make it my fault if someone stole my beautiful, diamond-studded, heart-shaped, Tiffany nipple rings?  No.  It would be the fault of the asshole who took them . . . but next time I walked through that neighborhood I'd be sure not to wear a mesh tank top.  Or, if someone could've told me not to do that before I got robbed the first time, that would've been awesomer!

So really the intent is about minimizing risk.  Why not use the opportunity to say, while the police officer chose his words poorly, he makes a good point about being aware of your environment, and then hold marches or walks to educate people in steps they can take to prevent and avoid rape, no?  But, nah.  Our vindictive society has to have a retaliatory march.  (To be fair, I don't know the tone in which the cop said what he said.  He's a cop, so he's probably an asshole anyway.)

Anyway, in response to this officer's comment, events called "SlutWalks" have cropped up all over the country to "protest 'culture that we think is too permissive when it comes to rape and sexual assault.'"  I'm gonna argue that I don't think our culture is really that permissive when it comes to rape.  Sexual harassment, for sure, but I feel like rape is pretty unanimously frowned upon.  But, apparently, lots of the girls who attend these walks dress like sluts, so I'm totally in!

Here's the article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42927752/ns/us_news-life/t/cops-rape-comment-sparks-wave-slutwalks/