Watch Your Language!

Language advisory: some might be offended by the language used in this post.

I have been seen some of my friends share information on what is called a "Slutwalk". This is a protest march that took place in Toronto in response to remarks made by a Toronto police representative. At an campus safety information session the representative suggested that women can avoid sexual assault by avoiding dressing like a slut. This evoked outrage from those who saw it as reinforcing the stereotype that sexual assault is dependent on the attire and attitude of the victim rather than the offender.

On the CBC radio show Q this morning I heard two sides of the debate over this event. Whether you are a feminist or not, or what type of feminist you might be, this is a conversation that matters to Christians. Christians are people of the Word. John's gospel compares Jesus to the Word, the organizing principle of the universe--the Word that was spoken by God to create the heavens and the earth. Our friend and saviour is a Word of power and of glory. Our God spoke the world into being. We are a people who worship the Word.

So this debate is partly about reclaiming the word "slut" from its negative connotations, similar to the word "queer" for gay and lesbian people and the word "bitch" for women. I believe it is possible. Look at the word, "God". Never has a word stood for so many different things. At one time it was used for multiple divine beings who were personifications of human tendencies and natural phenomenon. It can stand for a single divine being of the Judeo-Christian heritage. Some use this word as a swear or expression of aggravation. Some use it as a prayer. And yet we still use this word and try to reclaim it from the negative connotations and the use of this word in the Crusades, the Inquisitions and the Shoah.

We still talk about God and proclaim to our society what we think this word means--love, acceptance, compassion, forgiveness--so why cannot women proclaim that the word "slut" no longer defines certain women who are considered to be "loose" or provocative but rather those who use the word to refer to women.