HDC Weekly Debate: Are sexily-dressed women inviting trouble?

[FreddyMyers]

Originally Posted by hammerfan

Hence, the reason whenever I'm out shopping with my sister I constantly ask "Do I look like an idiot in this? Do I look like I'm trying to recapture my 20s?" I'm always so afraid of looking like one of "those" women" LOL

Hahaha. I serve "those" women all the time at my bar. Must be the area. You literally cant convince them their not hot and they look like they stole their daughters clothes. Doesnt work often but when it does you can bet her drink is never empty.

[Straker]

Another blow for womens lib.... 'Dress like a whore and parade around the streets and you too can strike a blow for women everywhere.' What a fucking joke. I don't know if this concept is morphing and trying to focus more on the rape angle now, but these walks were more based around sexual liberation and somehow 'reclaiming' the word slut for women. Being sexually promiscuous or acting and dressing like a slut are not really positive or useful ways to empower women and the idea that you can somehow 'reclaim' a word that has never been used positively is totally retarded.

In a highly sexual modern culture where young women already feel the pressure of needing to be sexually active, do we really want to be promoting promiscuous behaviour? I think not.

The 'Slutwalk' is the typical overhyped, jingoistic bullshit that we are seeing more and more off. Style over substance. Get a bunch of women who have a voice and want to be proactive and manipulate them with smart advertising and catchy taglines, via cheap online advertising. In the meantime we'll just sit back and watch teen pregnancies rise year on year while young girls chase a misguided view of equality and womens lib.

Women should be allowed to dress how they want without fear of rape. Women have the right to demand equality and anytime they are misrepresented need to do what they can to draw attention to issues that matter. However, I personally think the 'Slutwalk' concept is one of the weakest, most convoluted and confused reasons to march the streets I have ever heard.

[bwind22]

Here's my take on this...

Of course women (and anyone) else should be able to wear whatever they want, but I don't think that's what the cop was saying. He wasn't saying no one can dress slutty. He was saying to be smart about how they dress.

Can a skinhead wear a swasticka on his shirt while strolling through Compton or Harlem? Sure, he has every right to do so. Does that make it a smart idea? No, of course not, because of the negative attention it will bring him.

Can I walk around Vegas flashing hundred dollar bills at anyone that looks my way? Sure. Will I end up getting mugged? Probably.

Same principle applies to slutty dressed women.

We can't prevent all criminals from committing all crimes at all times, but we can take personal precautions to descrease the odds that we become one of their victims. I get the sense that this was what the cop was trying to say.

[fortunato]

Right. Since dressing provocatively isn't a crime, then the onus is obviously on someone else to not commit a crime. I agree with bwind, though; unfortunately there's a reality to dressing that way, just as there's a reality to waving $100 bills around a city street. You should be able to do that, in an ideal world, but there are twisted criminals out there, and you have to be careful. But really, that's not even the point, I guess. The point is that people should wear whatever they want to wear and not have to worry about being attacked. It's nonsense to argue otherwise, I think.

[ManchestrMorgue]

No woman "deserves" to be sexually assaulted. Nothing can justify that crime.

Unfortunately, we live in a world with some wonderful and beautiful things in it, as well as some horrific and disgusting aspects. Everyone needs to exercise caution, and different situations will necessitate different levels of caution (as stated above, walking around dangerous areas with large wads of money in your hand is pretty risky and likely to get you assaulted).

None of this is "right". I would like to be able to not have to exercise caution when I am simply walking around on the streets. But I also want to avoid any trouble that I can avoid.

Unfortunately, no matter how careful you are, you can't protect yourself 100%.

It is really unfortunate that these questions need to be asked. It is a sad indictment on our society that anyone needs to fear attack.

I also think it is sad that guys can walk around with no shirts, shorts etc and no-one sees them as being sexually provocative. However if a woman dresses to show a bit of skin (even if everything that is required to be covered is covered) she is considered a slut.

As far as I am concerned, a bit of class, dignity, and taste goes a long way, whether it be for men or women...

[TheWickerFan]

Unfortunately, whether or not a woman was dressed like a slut is quite often used against her in court. The idea that dressing sexy is "asking for it" is very wrong and the heart of the reason women are so up in arms over what that policeman said.

[ManchestrMorgue]

Originally Posted by TheWickerFan

Unfortunately, whether or not a woman was dressed like a slut is quite often used against her in court. The idea that dressing sexy is "asking for it" is very wrong and the heart of the reason women are so up in arms over what that policeman said.

And this is clearly wrong. The way someone dresses should never be used as a mitigating factor in an assault. It is amazing that this sort of defense would even be considered - those that use it probably deserve to have their sentence increased, as their personality clearly doesn't have room for empathy for their victim.

[TheWickerFan]

Originally Posted by ManchestrMorgue

And this is clearly wrong. The way someone dresses should never be used as a mitigating factor in an assault. It is amazing that this sort of defense would even be considered - those that use it probably deserve to have their sentence increased, as their personality clearly doesn't have room for empathy for their victim.

http://goodmenproject.com/newsroom/j...omment-page-1/

[_____V_____]

Here is rediff's article on the Delhi SlutWalk, plus an interview with the girls (first pic) who are organising it -

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/slide...k/20110616.htm

Excerpts -

"Delhi is often referred to as the 'rape capital' of India. And for good reason too. If statistics are disaggregated, every day more than one woman is raped on the streets of the city. What's more, one in every four cases of rape in Indian cities is registered in Delhi, which, incidentally, has a lady on the seat of Chief Minister."


"In 2005, after a girl from Northeast India was raped in Delhi, the Vice Principal of Kirori Mal College in Delhi University said, "There should be a separate dress code for Northeast students, particularly girls", hinting that the victim's dress was the reason for her rape. The Vice Principal also stated that "revealing dresses" worn by girls from India's Northeast triggered "angry responses" from men.

Add to that a statement by the Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dixit, after a female journalist was attacked and murdered when she was on her way back home after work: "All by herself till 3 am at night in a city where people believe...you know...you should not be so adventurous.""


Repeated instances of crime against women in Delhi, with the blame laid on the fairer sex, have disillusioned a group of female students. A simple act of rebellion by one of them, 19-year-old Umang Sabarwal, resulted in overwhelming responses from Delhi women. In response to Umang's page on Facebook, inviting women to a SlutWalk on the streets of the capital, thousands of women showed their solidarity. So vast was the response that Umang had to actually postpone her event and enlist the support of many more like-minded women to organise the event.


"We, as female students have experienced sexual harassment in one form or another. Men think that they own the public space and that they can pass comments on us as and when they feel the need. That is what we intend to change -- the whole concept of public space must change. Women normally never respond when men try to show them that they own the public space. It is everywhere. You are taught not to respond to teasing -- be it in a bus or in any public space," says Mishika.

"There is a specialised compartment for the women in Delhi metros. Men just stand at the edge of these compartments and stare at you all the while, which kind of defeats the whole purpose of a separate compartment," Umang says.


Unlike the SlutWalk held in Toronto, Boston, Chicago and Hamilton, the SlutWalk in Delhi does not encourage fishnet stockings, see-throughs or micro-minis.

"Women in Delhi are harassed irrespective of what they wear. A girl in a salwar kameez is sexually harassed as much as a girl in so-called 'revealing' clothes. There is no dress code for the SlutWalk in Delhi. Women can wear what they please," Mishika says.

Shivani Kala, a student of Jamia Milia University, is one of the women who is attending the walk. She did her graduation from Hindu College in Delhi University and has undergone all the horrors a female student goes through in the capital.

Says Shivani, "I used to undertake a one hour-long bus journey from my home to college. It is unbelievable how helpless you can be in a crowded bus. Once, a man physically assaulted me inside a bus. It was so crowded that I could not even see the face of my attacker. I screamed, but nobody, not even the women came to my help. After I got off, I sat down at the bus stop opposite my college and cried for about an hour because of the humiliation. An elderly woman, who had seen my ordeal in the bus sat down next to me and without uttering a word, gave me a safety pin. I have that pin with me till date and I carry it whenever I travel in a bus," says Shivani.


Another aspect that these college girls have to take into consideration is crowd management. If responses on Facebook are to be believed, 12,000 people will take part in the SlutWalk.

"Yes, we are aware of the crowd management problems. For this very reason, we will make sure that we have at least 100 volunteers. We will have to take help from the Delhi police as well. A friend's father is a senior police officer in Delhi. We plan to seek his advice on crowd management," Mishika says.

The Delhi police, though not contacted by the group directly, are aware of the SlutWalk. Though an official permission is yet to be sought, cops say that they will provide protection and cops will deputed for crowd management.

[X¤MurderDoll¤X]

yesh

.

.


.