Return of The Sluts

The Slutwalk meme has taken on a life of its own. Following a successful protest in Toronto on April 4, additional Slutwalks were quickly organized in Ottawa and London, Ontario. A Vancouver Slutwalk is planned for May.

While the original target of the protest was the Toronto Police, following a spokesman’s public remark that “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized”, the Facebook-based movement has struck a chord with a young generation of feminists and is becoming the new “Take Back the Night” march — a show of solidarity against the sexual victimization of women and the shaming of victims.

According to Slutwalk Toronto’s partners page, walks are now planned across Canada, as well as in the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

My friend (and client at Amnesty Canada), Susanne Ure, was at Ottawa’s Slutwalk yesterday and kindly gave permission to reproduce her photos of the event.

See many more after the break.

Comments

I was quite touched by all the women and their willingness to pose with their signs and the variety of deeply personal things they had to say and share with others. As you might imagine there were a ton of photographers present, possibly drawn by the potential for spectacle. I made a decision to focus on individuals and I very rarely approach strangers and ask to take their picture, but in this case I’m glad I did. I only hope that they would feel I did them justice.

You did, Suzanne. Great work!