slut walk

1: the event that i went to was called Slut Walk. Ther purpose of this event was to abolish rape culture and make people aware that it is not ok to call people names for the way they dress or to harass and rape them because they dress a certain way. My friends and i dressed up a bit revealing to emphazises the purpose of the walk as did others that went to the event. The event started at Burnisde park the same place occupy Providence is being held. A group of men and women met to hear speeches and stories of why this walk is so important. People were holding signs speaking their mind and had banners that they were going to hold during the march. The speeches started at 12 and went on for about two hours. It was hard to hear the words of the men and women because the microphone was not loud enough but there occassional screaming got the crowd going and people became increasingly ampt. When they were done speaking we began to march, we marched passed the state house and  over near the police station. Men with dogs helped to stop traffic and get the crowd moving as smoothly as possible. While walking we chanted cheers suchs as "no means no yes means yes were ever i go however i dress'" these words seemed powerful and meaningful because we were fighiting together as one to stop something that never should have started in the first place. We walked about two miles until we stopped at a building were the work shops were going to be held. When we got their the building was not open so we all went off and grabbed lunch at a near by coffee shop. While eating people made friends with the other marchers and told of why they were there. Most of these people were college age students who had been victims of rape culture in one form or another. Such as being harassed on their way to the club or actually being raped. Lunch time proved to be truly eye opening although it was not scheduled into the event it seemed to be the most informing part of the event. after lunch we gathered in this tiny room to hear more speeches and talk about how we planned on ending rape culture in our communities. Activist gave us some examples like stop using the word slut to describe someone you dont like or to not use words like that because it just makes it ok for other people to say it. They told us of groups we could join to help the fight and websites we could visit. The roomed felt safe and so people began to tell there stories and open up about why they feel this needs to stop. Hearing and seeing all of this happen was very interesting and made me really think and evaluate the way i speak. After the speakers were done around 5 we walked back to our cars eager to begin informing people of what we saw and did.

2: the Frye article that we read closely relates to the event because they both are trying to stop the oppression of women. To open peoples eyes of the injustice women face and how it goes unrecgonized because people choose to ignore the issue. Frye talks of women being sexually active and there for they are a whore and the walk tried to open peoples eyes to the fact that women should be treated equally and if its a hot day and they want to walk around in a tank top then they should not be seen as a whore it just isnt fair.
Hogeland wrote the Fear of Feminism which also relates to the walk because this is new age feminism, we may not be fighting for womens right to vote but we are fighting still for women to be seen as equals. Some women fear it and dont want to say anthing because they like the attention they get because they dont see it as bad which it is. If we allow ourselves to be seen as just sex objects then we have lost all respect for who we are as a person. The last reading this relates to is Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Ornstein. This reading talked about how little girls loose themselves in princess culture and become less independent as a result and that is also what Slut Walk tried to stop. Women not being able to think for themselves and get lost in rape culture just as little girls get lost in princesses culture. They feel they have to wear make up and heels to get a guys attention instead of using their brain and personality. This walk is apart of new wave feminism, fighting the problems women are having today. It is the core of why women still arent seen as equals and is a small step in a big fight to come.

3: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/slutwalks-and-the-future-of-feminism/2011/06/01/AGjB9LIH_story.html