Why I support Slutwalk

You know, I think we’re beating around the bush here,” he reportedly told them. “I’ve been told I’m not supposed to say this – however, women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised.

I hate the word slut it’s just a continuum of the repertoire of sexist words flung daily at women. Neither am I supportive of reclaiming oppressive language. I have thought long and hard about this (and do have much sympathy with Cath Elliott on this).

But on this occasion I totally support Slutwalk. Why? Because the political message and meaning behind Slutwalk exposes the hypocrisies, contradictions and double standards women face. Taking the word “slut” by politicising the words of PC Sanguinetti.
Along with the message that if a woman dresses like a slut don’t be surprised if she gets raped and furthermore …. don’t expect any support from the cops or the courts. Simply, it’s your own fault… Blaming the victim is a favourite in this society it’s also easy as it takes away issues of accountability nor responsibility of the oppressor rather the spotlight and onus is on the oppressed. Always blame the powerless. Neat trick and it works unfortunately.

I saw, briefly, a discussion on Channel 4 News between 2 women, one was a journalist and the other organiser for Slutwalk. The journalist (I can’t recall her name) was wrong when she said that the police officer who originally made the remarks was a kind of one off. He’s not, the views espoused by Michael Sanguinetti is prevalent in this society. They shouldn’t be but they are. Women who have been sexually assaulted or raped are held to account over what they were wearing whether high heels, short skirts, thongs….and also her sexual history will re-surafce with the…..well, she asked for it! I always hoped that these ignorant and oppressive ideas would die out, disappear into the ether, banished into the dustbin of sexist myths… But no, these myths are as strong as ever. Women’s bodies are objectified and commodified under patriarchal capitalism. Women are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.

It’s not about how a woman dresses, behaves or condemning her by putting her sexual history under the miscroscope. It’s about power and control. It’s about only 6.1% of rape cases end in conviction, it’s about destroying the misogynistic myths that victimise and blame the woman, it’s about  1 in 4 women in the UK will experience an act of domestic violence at some point in her lifetime, it’s about the uphill struggle women encounter when they have been raped from the police to the judiciary along with the myths that exist to condemn rape victims/survivors.

That’s the realities of rape not how a woman dresses and that’s why I, as a Socialist feminist, will be there on Saturday 11 June from Trafalgar Square, 1pm as part of Slutwalk. Seems as well Slutwalk has proliferated globally.

Wherever we go, however we dress, yes means yes and no means no!

Surge in women apprentices

Now that I am gainfully unemployed I was considering a change of direction employment wise. With the economy in dire straits there has been a sharp increase in wages for the top 10% over the past 30 years while the rest of us have been thrown a couple of financial crumbs to allow us to exist. A rich elite who is shafting the rest of us. Yes, all in it together with the rich dictating the terms.

What also caught my depressed eye (and also made me remember my own meanderings about changing job direction) was that surge in the number of women apprentices. I had an idea myself of maybe training to be a plumber or something similar. Just a thought. Women, traditionally, have entered jobs such childminding, care workers, hair dressing and beauty therapists etc. which are also very low paid. Yet traditional male skilled manual labour jobs such as welding, plastering, plumbing and so on is higher paid. This highlights the gender divide between traditional male and female jobs yet with the present economic situation these divisions have become a little blurred. Why are women specifically going for these jobs? Better paid and a specific skill. Also, I would be interested in what social class these young women come from.

But what also should be explored is the possibility of you people living school and seeing just how expensive higher education is. Not only will you be in debt but you will be paying off significant amounts of debt. And of course, there will be people who just can’t simply even can’t even entertain the idea of a degree due to the money factor or just choosing not to do a degree, as uni isn’t for them.

“The labour market for the under-24s looks grim. We’re finding that our students are becoming more entrepreneurial, they want to be in charge of their own destiny and these sorts of vocational courses allow them to set up their own businesses. They can be self-employed and self-reliant.

“In the current climate, without getting a high-level qualification in a trade like welding, they don’t think they will get a job,” says Dawson.

So it seems that men and especially women are reacting to the economic meltdown by seeing their future in vocational courses, small businesses and self-employment. Women are still having problems becoming employed in these trades but appraenttly…times they are a-changing:

However at Newcastle College, Colin Stott, director of the National Construction Academy, says that in his experience, companies are more interested in the someone’s competencies than their gender. “Many [women] have had success as finalists in national competitions and the majority have found employment following completion of their course,” he says.

…Particularly in motor vehicle, females are as good if not better. And their work ethic is often very good. They seem to be more rational about doing the tasks and, particularly in the 16-18 age range, a bit more mature. They’re more methodical and are very keen.”

….They have proved to be more competent decorators than the boys — often their drawing skills are better, their attention to detail, and they’re much calmer. Girls tend to get to a higher level. They who have done particularly well in the last three years.