Today we have a post from Emily Lindin, who created the Unslut Project: an organization dedicated to promoting gender equality and sex positivity by raising awareness about sexual bullying and slut shaming. She’s also a Wattpadder and has shared her own experiences with sexual bullying in her story The Unslut Project.
Hash tags can be fun, but they can also be incredibly powerful. One example of a particularly important hash tag is #YesAllWomen, which emerged this past weekend in response to the horrific killing spree that took place near the University of Santa Barbara. Women all over the world are using #YesAllWomen to share their personal experiences with misogyny, from everyday street harassment, to slut shaming and even rape. All of us, regardless of gender, can gain some really valuable insight about the lived experiences of others by reading these tweets. Here, I’ve collected some of the #YesAllWomen tweets that are most relevant to the message of The UnSlut Project.
#yesallwomen because apparently the clothes I wear is a more valid form of consent than the words I say
— nita belegu (@nitabelegu) May 26, 2014
Because I've hooked up with guys for the sole reason that I was afraid to say no to them, then been called a slut. #YesAllWomen
— Kate Wood (@smallandgreat) May 24, 2014
Because a woman is a slut if has sex with a man, and a slut if she refuses to have sex with a man who demands it. #YesAllWomen
— Not All Miches (@micheinnz) May 24, 2014
#yesallwomen because in the 7th grade, a boy bullied me because "he liked me"–why was that the only way he knew to approach me?
— Cindy C. (@cindysaysalot) May 25, 2014
Bc teen girls are never warned of double standards regarding sexuality, & can wind up suicidal bc slut-shaming is so toxic #YesAllWomen
— Roxanne Vicente (@RoxyV3000) May 25, 2014
Because I when I ask my male peers to please stop using the words 'slut' and 'whore', they call me crazy and over sensitive
#YesAllWomen
— Megan Mattes (@meganjanetta) May 25, 2014
#YesAllWomen because when I was raped, I wouldn't report it because I feared the slut label even more and couldn't take the "You wanted it"
— lori (@LoriGualandri) May 25, 2014
because when I was raped at 13, I was blamed; labelled as a trashy slut and have lived with that reputation since. #YesAllWomen
— aliyah (@alitavanpollo) May 26, 2014
Because when my daughter was being bullied both the teacher and the boy's dad say it was just 'boys being boys' #yesallwomen
— suzanne lazear (@suzannelazear) May 25, 2014