Slut? Who, Me?

The sex lives of women and slut-shaming often go hand-in-hand. Stand up for yourself, says this post.

“I have seen women who slap the other person before they can complete the word “slut”. It is high time you stood up for yourself.”

Someone told me these words a few weeks ago, and they’ve stuck to me and changed my life in unimaginable ways. I have always liked to believe that I am a feminist, but I have also been a protected child for most of my life, so my beliefs were never tested.

And because this realization never hit me, I stood dumbfounded, trying to blink back a few tears, when I was called a “whore”. When verbal harassment came my way, a man actually had the audacity to say that “I asked for it” through my behaviour.

It took a minute for me to realize that someone was “Slut-shaming” me.

I am not just blaming men, because I have seen women who refuse to take alcohol in front of men simply because of the fear of being judged. I have seen women acting like complete idiots when it comes to being sexually aware just to look like a “good girl”.

While I may be much more open-minded, it still pricked me a bit when my character was questioned. This is because somewhere deep down, we have convinced ourselves that a woman has to be “pure”. Think about how degrading and ridiculous the term “pure” really is.

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What are we? A bottle of ghee? a jar of mayonnaise?

Somebody’s sex life: None of your business

A person once asked me a question about my sex life and followed it with an “I am not going to judge you” disclaimer. It infuriated me, but at the same time, it amused me too. There is a reason we don’t discuss our sex lives with everyone. It’s none of their business.

I have never been judgemental about anyone’s sex life whether it exists or not, if not for anything else but for my own selfish reasons. Not being judgemental about another person’s love/sex life, gives me an incredible amount of freedom to do whatever I want with my own life! Whether it is strawberry and whipped cream or handcuffs and hot waxes, it’s not your business unless it is in your bedroom.

Whether it is strawberry and whipped cream or handcuffs and hot waxes, it’s not your business unless it is in your bedroom.

Why can’t we silence this perverse curiosity and just smile and say “If it is OK for two consensual adults, there is no reason I should be talking about it”? If everyone did that, the world would be too perfect for us to handle, which is why there will always be remarks like this around you.

I learnt the hard way that whether we like it or not, the society has some norms which we are expected to conform to. If you choose to defy these norms, you will become a shiny object for discussion. However, the stupidest thing to do at this point would be exactly what I did a few weeks ago. Remain silent.

It is all the more important to stand up for yourself now, because what is the assurance that the abuse – which is verbal today – will not elevate to the next level in a matter of time?

I don’t have to be ashamed of my clothes, my beliefs, or my sex life. In that situation, I chose to remain silent because between defying the other person, being less like-able, and degrading myself, I chose the latter. That is the only thing I should be ashamed of.

My friend’s words – which felt like a slap across my face – will always remind me that there is no excuse to being a wimp and not standing up for myself. The fact that I was OK with taking sh*t from a random sexist pig makes me less of a woman. Not the fact that I am a woman and I have a life of my own. Which is why, I am going to go ahead and tell this world something which we all really need to hear.

Yes. I am a woman. And yes, I have a sex drive too.

And the next time you have the audacity to label me, I will punch you right across your face. And that time, it won’t be with my words.

Pic credit: Image of a pleased woman via Shutterstock.

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