The first thing that pops up on Google when you type “Monica” is Monica Lewinsky. Whenever people bring up her name, an array of negative words are said out loud that describe her “promiscuous character.” Lewinsky recently was a speaker on TEDTalks and she talked about her affair with former President Bill Clinton. She mentions how people on the internet called her names like tramp, slut, and whore. The overall message was how cyberbullying is becoming more prevalent today. The speech led many newspapers and magazines to talk about double standards.
When the scandal became known, everyone attacked Lewinsky. She became the victim of bullying online. On the other end, Clinton was not blamed for his affair. At first, Clinton denied the affair and said, “I did not have sexual relations with this women.” Clinton then lied about his alleged affair under oath. People were shocked by his action, but the main focus was Monica Lewinsky. People blamed Lewinsky for Clinton’s bad choices. This evidently shows how women are always attacked when their sex lives are revealed.
Monica became a joke and she is mentioned in a lot of songs. For example in Beyonce’s song “Partition,” and G-Eazy’s song, “Monica Lewinsky.” The affair shows how women are always judged on their sexual relationships. If a girl sleeps around she is called a slut. If she is a virgin, people call her a prude. On the other hand, Boys are praised for having sex. There is a different set of sexual rules for men and an unfair one for women.
Today, we have a synonym for a hoe: a thot. Thot stands for “that hoe over there.” This became popular from the song, “Don’t Trust Thots” by Wash featuring French Montana. The whole song is problematic because it’s all about slut shaming women. He keeps telling men not to trust the hoe over there. It goes further and he warns them to not “trust a big butt and a smile.” The scary thing is slut-shaming has become normalized everywhere.
The media. Television shows. Movies. Even music. Slut-shaming is one form of cyberbullying that continues to grow. As a result, many girls feel worthless once their peers spread private pictures of them or create, “slut lists.” This can lead to depression, eating disorders, or suicidal thoughts. There has been many accounts where rape was discounted because the women was seen as a slut.
I believe we need to stop using words like slut and whore to attack women on being sexual. It needs to stop online and in our own communities. We need to stop thinking of women as sluts. At one point, we all have called a woman a “slut.” If we see a women dress provocatively, she’s a slut. If we see a woman who gives us a mean glare, she’s a slut. The time is now to stop slut-shaming.
Picture credits: http://www.ted.com/talks/monica_lewinsky_the_price_of_shame
https://ladygeekgirl.wordpress.com/2013/03/02/virgin-shaming-and-slut-shaming
http://theurbandaily.com/2014/05/06/monica-lewinsky-beyonce-partition/-in-geek-culture/
http://imgur.com/gallery/A9Wum7h
