College Students Perceptions Of Slut Shaming Discourse On Campus

“I felt his hands start to move down towards my shorts as if he was trying to unbutton them or pull them off. I was still crying at this point and felt so scared that I couldn't move” (Hummer, 1989). These were the words said by a freshman away at college after she had been sexual assaulted. From the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National network, statistics show that “over 90 percent of all gang rapes on college campuses involve fraternity men” (Hummer, 1989). Most often these woman may be labeled as trash, shameful, or ready for action, aside from a victim, prey, or survivor. Rape myths encourage these deprecating terms for women and cover the reality of a rape culture.

The journal article addresses the issue of undergraduate women using slut shaming and the actual reason women participate in it.

Sexual assault is defined as any vaginal, oral, or anal penetration that is forced upon another, regardless of sex and sexual orientation, using any object or body part. The issue of sexual assault in America is primarily encouraged by rape culture. Women Against Violence Against Women is an organization that defines rape culture as a complex set of beliefs that encourage male sexual aggression and supports violence against women. The acceptance of rape culture, rape myths, and the disregard for sexual consent also allow for the perpetuation of sexual assault against women on college campuses. Recent examples of sexual assault on college campuses show how prominent this issue has become and how hostile campuses have become for female students. Some examples include the University of Southern California’s “Gullet Report,” Miami University of Ohio’s “Top Ten Ways to Get Away with Rape,” and a sexual assault on the campus of Kansas University. Sexual assault is perpetuated by the acceptance of rape myths and rape culture, lack of effective sexual education, and the disregard for consent. The solution to this issue lies with defeating rape culture, increasing awareness and funding for campus sexual assault crisis centers, and enacting more prevention programs on campus.

The first question is, of course, as always, “What is slut shaming and rape culture?” The answer is not something you want to hear. Scarlett Peterson, of Kennesaw State University defines slut shaming as, “...the idea that a person who owns their sexuality and engages in sex for fun is something to be ashamed of…” (Peterson, 2015). But that’s not all. Slut shaming involves gossiping about women in promiscuous clothing, judging women on birth control or women who go for abortion, girls who lose their virginity young, or girls that wish to wait until marriage. So, who isn’t slut shamed?

Fisher, B. S., Cullen, F. T., & Turner, M. G.. The sexual victimization of college women. 2000

Something that colleges can do to significantly reduce the amount of sexual assaults on campuses is to ban alcohol and drugs. Think about it, they can make people more aggressive and make them more likely to do something they wouldn't otherwise do, and women become more vulnerable when they consume drugs and/or alcohol. Also, using alcohol and drugs can impair one’s judgement, decision making, and dull their senses. Not being under the influence in social situations makes people more aware of their surroundings and are more likely to make better decisions than if they were under the influence. So, all colleges should implement a Zero Tolerance policy when it comes to drugs and alcohol. If a student is caught with either, they should be expelled

In the article Good Girls'': Gender, Social Class, and Slut Discourse on Campus sociologists Elizabeth Armstrong and Laura Hamilton conducted a research at a Midwestern university in order to better understand the use of slut discourse between woman. Slut shaming is the act of criticizing a woman for her real or presumed sexual activity. It also includes criticizing her for behaving in ways that are associated with her real or presumed sexual activity. Slut shaming exists within a society because of the society sexual double standards. Traditionally men are encouraged by society to engage in sexual promiscuity but women are forbidden in engaging in sexual promiscuity. If a woman dares to engage in any behavior that could be interpreted as sexually promiscuous then she is branded as a slut or a whore.

Merriam- Webster defines sexual assault as an illegal sexual contact that usually involves force upon a person without consent or is inflicted upon a person who is incapable of giving consent or who places the assailant in a position of trust or authority. Most common types of sexual assault are “acquaintance rape” and “date rape”, which both take place on college campuses but go unnoticed. There are several incidents that occur on college campuses that students that attend that particular college or university are not aware of. Sexual assault is a major issue all around the world and needs to be taken more serious. This is a topic that many do not discuses because they may be afraid of what may happen to them if they speak out. Recent studies have shown that sexual assaults on college campuses are a major problem.

I believe no one should label females a slut just because she is seen in a

In our society, slut has become a controversial word in our world today. People have different opinions on the word slut. For instance, some people sees it as disgusting, while others see it as

Sexual assault has been a huge issue for many years on college campuses and universities nation wide. As society has evolved, thoughts on sexual assault have also evolved, becoming more focused on the details of victim treatment than ever before. The topic of sexual assault is debatable and sparks many opinions on weather sexual assault on college campuses is becoming more frequent, or if there is just heightened awareness. Sexual assault can happen to anybody no matter the gender, race, religion, or age. Recently there have been many studies conducted on sexual violence on college campuses and universities producing ample amounts of statistics. One may argue that sexual assault rates are the same, but there are simply more studies and attention on sexual assault in the past 20 years. Gender roles have played a huge part in sexual assault on college campuses. Women and men have different expectations when it comes to roles in the relationship, men are often expected to make the first move. One may ask what causes a perpetrator to sexually harass somebody and think it is acceptable. There are various reasons as to why perpetrators do what they do, and may vary from person to person. Although sexual violence is a large problem for many colleges and universities, there is a surprising shortage of federal laws/rules and regulations regarding sexual assault. Colleges are able to develop their own personal policies and procedures for how they will prevent and deal with sexual

In today’s society it seems that there has been an increase in the word slut. We have began to take away the idea of someone being a victim and instead slut shaming them. Films have

One night, “Amy,” a student at State, was hanging out with some friends in her room. “A bunch of people were there, and one guy I didn’t know was obviously drunk and kept asking me out. I tried to brush him off, and didn’t take it seriously because he was drunk. I left to go to sleep. “He followed me to my room and kept banging on my bedroom door, trying to push it open and asking me to talk to him. I talked to him for a little while just to appease him.” Finally, the guy’s friends coaxed him away from Amy’s door. “I don’t know if that’s sexual harassment,” she said. “I wasn’t worried that he was going to assault me. The whole thing was just annoying.”

The word “Slut” is so saturated with resentment and aggression that feminists can never fully own the word. From what has been discussed above, the feminists who endorse

“I mean did you see what Rachel wore to the party last night? Total slut.” “Don’t you worry about adding too many notches to your belt?” “How many people have you slept with really?” “You’re definitely getting into trashy territory Rachel.” Many times I have heard variations of these quotations being said throughout my life. The real trash is policing someone’s sexuality. Slut is a derogatory term used to degrade women’s sexuality. In this text I will outline the problems and the harm that slut shaming bestows on women and their sexuality. Slut shaming is detrimental to women’s psychological morale, her political standings, and her role and power in society and relationships. In order to better understand slut shaming, an explanation as to why it is a phenomenon in today’s society needs to be given. One of my biggest concerns is the fluid usage of the word slut or whore. This phenomenon of slut shaming is mostly seen with teenagers and young adults and thus this is the group I will be focusing on. Young women and men seem to define a “slut” differently. Women define a slut as 1. A woman who is sexually active, 2. A woman who wears a lot of makeup, 3. A woman who dresses suggestively, 4. A woman who, despite her unpopularity, tries to get the attention of boys, 5. A woman who is assumed to be sexually advanced because her body is more developed, 6. A woman who flirts with other girl’s boyfriends or has a lot of guy friends.