Canadian Women Protest Their Right To Wear Skirts With No Underwear

No, really.

A cop had said that women should avoid dressing like "sluts" to avoid sexual assault. So the women -- carrying signs that say "SLUTS SAY YES" -- are protesting their right to dress slutty.

This is always a bad topic. I remember getting very angry at commenters for suggesting that Lara Logan should have behaved differently in Cairo, or not gone at all. But they didn't mean to say she deserved it. I took it that way, but that's not what they meant.

They meant, really, just to note that the world remains dangerous, particularly for women, and that discretion is, as ever, the better part of valor.

And I'm sure that's what this cop meant, his poor word choice aside.

The problem is that these sorts of statements often seem to shift blame from perpetrator to victim -- even when they don't, and are meant innocently, even helpfully.

It is true: 99% of all rapists are men and 90% of all rape victims are women. That's a pile of risk that affects women (almost) nearly exclusively, and women should be (and of course -- are) aware of it.

So both statements are, alas, true: Rape is always the fault of the rapist, and caution can slightly lower the chances of rape. Both of these can be true without offense intended to the victim or potential victim.

My main problem with this Slutwalk is the triviality of it. I'd support such a walk, enthusiastically, in an oppressive, woman-hating Muslim tyranny. Because there's risk involved. It's not just attention-getting, validation-seeking, consciousness-raising acting-up. In that case, it would be real courage in the face of unspeakable evil.

Here, though? It's a bunch of privileged white girls (ooh, I went there, noting the race that makes up 95% of the protesters) essentially singing "You've got to fight for your right to parrrtay." Not really the same thing.

The cultural left is fond of this sort of pointless gesture; it's actually the only thing they do, pretty much. The sexual revolution was over 30 years ago, and the left won it (and by doing so, won it for young single men), but they're still parading around celebrating the same very stale victories.

posted by Ace at 04:57 PM

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