In relation to a previous blog entry by Esther, entitled “Rape on TV”, I chose to discuss a recent event that happened in Toronto called the SlutWalk.
This walk was initiated after Toronto police constable Michael Sanguinetti told a personal security class at York University that “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized.”
I believe that this comment by Michael Sanguinetti quite clearly is linked to the discussions we had earlier this year in relation to how romance and sexual acts are represented in romance novels. In these novels, the male character’s sexual advances are usually rejected by the female character, however the male character continues to make these advances with an inherent knowledge that the female character actually wants them.
Also, I found that in the romance novel that I read for class, Tempting the Texas Tycoon by Sara Orwig, when the story was being narrated by the male character, he would usually be describing either her dress or actions as inviting, even if what the female character was actually saying was the opposite.
This premise is similar to the one that was suggested by police constable Sanguinetti’s comment; that when women dress in a certain way (and also act a certain way), they is implicitly giving men the invitation to engage in sexual acts, despite whatever verbal protests the woman might actually be making.
This also relates to the lecture we had relating to pornography and its affect on both men and women who watch it. The learned idea of male sexual power and force as normalcy, which is common in pornography, is one that is again reflected in police constable Sanguinetti’s; his comment implies that it is a logical conclusion that if a male’s sexual power and force towards a woman is expected in sexual interactions.
An article by CBC about the SlutWalk, which took place this past Sunday, can be read here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/04/03/slut-walk-toronto.html?ref=rss
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