The SlutWalk is an important feminist movement. Here’s why
“Mind your own uterus” was just one of the many signs proudly marching through Pershing Square on October 1st. Amber Rose’s SlutWalk was a beautiful spectacle of men and women from different walks of life, sizes, ethnicities and backgrounds embracing each other’s differences and shedding positive light on unfair stigma. A coming together of old age feminists, where seduction and female empowerment are not decoupled.
L.A. was excruciatingly hot that day, as if to give its nod of approval to the barely clad participants. I had opted for a Free People navy slip and was still sweating bullets.
I made my first trip to Los Angeles to showcase two of my drawings at the Slutwalk’s “Art Show” booth.
“Fairy” from my ERZULIE series sold for $180 – peep the proud smirk.
“What is the SlutWalk even about?” was one of the more pressing questions I got from friends and family – even got a few raised eyebrows as though my inclusion somehow meant I was promoting promiscuity. To be fair, I can see how the name could throw you off a bit, slut has a longstanding history of demeaning a woman’s sexual agency because God forbid a woman enjoys having sex as much as men do.
Did you know that the orgasm gap–the 15 to 30 percent female success rate during intercourse–continues to widen – Betsy Prioleau
I side with Monica Bellucci on this one.
According to Amber, the SlutWalk festival helps empower women, especially those in marginalized groups, against sexual oppression, promotes a discussion about women’s rights and equality and further helps champion the fight agains victim blaming. In her own words:
I was incredibly happy and proud to have been a part of the event since much of the mission is in direct line with my core beliefs and art.
I think that in more recent times women have reclaimed ownership of their image with positive body messages and even a presidential candidate who is fully aware and honest about how she is being perceived because of her gender. Part of what DELICECOMICS does with its art is speak to these different components specifically through sensuality and eroticism. I believe that women sexuality is widely misunderstood and too often times shamed. But reclaiming that conversation and shedding a positive light on it is definitely one way of championing this feminist movement and purging it of its puritanical legacy.
The seductress is one of the most potent female personas in existence. Though long misunderstood and ignored, she’s the paradigmatic liberated woman, empowered with men and empowered in life. She’s a threshold role model who can reinstate feminine sexual sovereignty and holistic happiness and remap the future. – Betsy Prioleau
And if that doesn’t convince you, perhaps this message from Beyonce’s Partition will:
Est-ce que tu aimes le sexe? Le sexe, je veux dire l’activité physique, le coit, tu aimes ça? Tu ne t’intéresses pas a sexe? Les hommes pensent que les féministes détestent le sexe mais c’est une activité très stimulante et naturelle que les femmes adorent.
The translation:
Do you like sex? Sex, I mean the physical activity, coitus, do you like it? You’re not interested in sex? Men think that feminists hate sex, but it’s a very stimulating and natural activity that women love.
I believe to this date, women sexuality is still largely misunderstood, that we are unfairly treated by others and sometimes each other, that years of living in a patriarchal society has stunted our development and that even when we are different or even when we disagree, we can still come together and support each other through a fortified sisterhood.
Read more about the SlutWalk here
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