By Rebecca Harrelson, Staff Writer

Published in print Mar. 25, 2015

My specific interests in journalism come into fruition when they are directly applied to Human Rights. That is where I hold almost all of my focus, where I spend most of my conversations with people, and an area in which I hope to improve in my lifetime.   I spoke with UNCG Graduate Daniel Foster about a specific march in which people flock to the streets, donning signs and chants, all while wearing some evocative outfits, this march has been termed the SlutWalk.

“In my opinion, communities tend to become lethargic when they believe everything is going well. People, especially men, need to be reminded that eliminating rape begins with eliminating rape culture.”

The history of the SlutWalk began, to my knowledge, in the streets of Toronto after a group of citizens were outraged by the comment of a Toronto police officer — who had ill-advisedly said that women shouldn’t “dress like sluts” if they wanted to avoid being assaulted.

Well damn, who knew some of our clothes screamed rape me?! We better learn how to shut our threads up! Idiots are the only people who think clothes have that power.

To this day more than fifty walks have taken place in major cities around the world including Boston, London, New Delhi and Sydney and the list is growing.

Daniel also spoke about the male side of this culture that is spreading like wildfire. Yet speaking positively on the topic rather than about the groups going against progressing feminist collectives.

“I would encourage men to speak freely about their opposition to sexual violence and make an effort to listen to their acquaintances who may open up, as mine have, about their own experiences with abuse.”

Which is a great point; so many people don’t think men can be sexually assaulted. So many people think it only happens in heterosexual situations, first hand I know that is not the case. Saying no doesn’t always mean the person is going to stop.

We need to open up to those around us and squash this misguided way of thought.

No should mean no, clothes should not dictate if you are sexually assaulted one night and safe the next. Sober, drunk, blonde, brunette, male, female, trans, it happens to everyone at too often a rate. 

The SlutWalk is visual; it is a way to be able to take back our bodies as human beings. Another UNCG Grad and also now Triad City Beat Intern Sayaka Matsuoka, just recently wrote an article about the SlutWalk she gave me a personal quote once her article published.

“The word slut is seen as a derogatory word but it’s mainly only exclusively used to describe women. When you call a man a slut, you qualify and preface it by saying “man-slut.” The purpose of the SlutWalks is not only to raise awareness about rape culture but all the aspects that contribute to it like slut-shaming and victim-blaming. It aims to break down those harmful aspects of society and really change people’s minds about sex and consent.”

The fact that as we get older, we travel, we put ourselves in different settings that we all have the danger of being sexually assaulted is ridiculous. Sexual assault should not be an automatic passage we go through, it shouldn’t exist in the first place. When I started UNCG as a freshman, I could honestly say I personally didn’t know a single person who was assaulted. Now, as a senior, that is completely different. And I can tell you with every bone in my body the number increased not because of the clothes they were wearing.   

Sayaka, Daniel and I are all meeting soon to talk about forming another UNCG/Greensboro collaborative SlutWalk, if you are interested in participating keep an eye on the Carolinian!