http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/b03e988362/walk-of-no-shame-with-amber-rose?_cc=__d___&_ccid=fv1s0s.nut1ep
As a young woman in college, I feel that I face the whole "damned if you do and damned if you don't" dilemma on a daily basis. Most of the time it is on a microscopic scale. Such as whether I should dress up for the day or just bum it. If I dress up, then I am trying too hard but if I bum it then I just do not care. Marilyn Frye talked about this in her Oppression article as being a double bind and this is something that people are confronted with every day. Frye touched on the idea that people who are oppressed are required to smile and be cheerful. They are supposed to submit to the oppression and not complain; but if a person does question their standing then they are seen as bitter and angry. It seems to me that there are two extremely different sides of the spectrum and no in between. You either deal with it or you painted as some unstable person with taboo beliefs.
I think this is extremely prevalent on college campuses when
it comes to sex. If you are a sexual active woman then you are labeled as a
slut. Attached is Amber Rose’s promotional video for her slut-walk. In the
video she is seen taking the walk of shame. Which is normally considered
embarrassing and the people who partake are usually frowned upon. Hence the
name, walk of shame. In Amber’s case though, it is considered the walk of no
shame. She is seen passing by people who are engaged in their everyday
activities. Instead of being scolded she is applauded. People aren’t judging
her for having sex. They acknowledge that what she did was completely normal,
healthy, and fun.
I think messages like Amber Roses’ are extremely important.
They are working to deconstruct the idea that women should be seen as dainty,
untouchable beings. They also are great at encouraging women to embrace their
sexuality. It really shows that a woman should not be ashamed of their walk of
shame.
Lacy Purdum
The "walk of shame" has been pushed on women as a degrading and embarrassing walk that represents the "shameful" act of sex. The fact that sex should be seen as a wrongful and full of bad choices is ridiculous. Sex is a natural act that everyone partakes in. Everyone has sex. The "walk of shame" is also only placed on women who wear "slutty" outfits home that they wore out the night before. What is the difference between these women and the average girl wearing sweatpants who just came back from her hookups house? There is none. What is the difference from a guy walking home from the same encounter? There is none. So why are women who celebrate their bodies and wear what they choose punished for expressing themselves? People who have been in the same positions as the ones they criticize only amplify these social stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteAmber Rose’s video shows how women should be able to walk home proudly and not feel judged for what they wear or what they do. I agree with her perspective that these judgments are so ridiculous it is actually comical. Every woman should be able to walk home from a night before free of oppression and staring eyes. If everyone had the same attitude that Rose had in her video, this stereotypes would soon disappear. As a college woman I encourage myself and others to be proud of their choices and make the most out of their lives. Life is fun, sex is fun, let’s make the walk home in the morning fun too.
The “walk of shame” has progressively gotten more and more judgmental within the recent years. Yes, it can be weird-looking walking on Court Street or through campus in a low cut shirt, dark jeans, and heels at 9 in the morning. Yes, it can be funny passing another “walk of shame-r” on the way back home, but what is not funny is the stares and glares you get from others walking by you. There are times where I go to a party then grab food on court street with my best friends. Afterwards, instead of walking back home to my dorm all alone on West Green, I walk back to South Green on the opposite side of campus to my friends’ dorms so I know I will get to a room safe and sound. I have a sleepover with my friends, then walk back to my dorm in the morning with my going out clothes on. I STILL find myself getting weird looks and can tell people are judging and thinking to themselves, “wow, that girl is definitely doing the walk of shame right now, how embarrassing.” When in reality, I just had a sleepover with my best friends. Don’t be too quick to judge, people.
ReplyDeleteAmber Rose’s video was actually hysterical, I laughed out loud at multiple scenes, but the message portrayed was very important. Women are constantly described as sex objects and Amber Rose took this subject and created a whole new comical vision on the “walk of shame” act. It teaches women (and even men) to not be ashamed of their decisions and to live freely as they please. A good friend once told me, “don’t think of it as a ‘walk of shame,’ think of it as the ‘stride of pride’ because most of the people passing and judging you most likely didn’t have sex last night and are probably jealous.”
On any given Sunday, if I manage to make it out of bed before 10, you can find me posted up on my porch on College St with my housemates. As we reminisce about the night before, we find ourselves giggling at the girls strutting home, bar clothes still on, heels in hand. Until we realize that girl is going to turn up our walkway and join us on the porch. She's one of us. I would never shame a friend, so why does it become so simple to shame a stranger for their sexcapades? Sex is natural and in the world of college, its hard to come by someone, male or female, who hasn't done at least one walk of shame in their four years. However, the issue at hand is the difference in the way males and females are viewed for their walks of shame. Rarely does anyone see a guy walking home in the morning and automatically pass judgement. But when it comes to girls, the view is completely different. They pass by and people chuckle thinking something along the lines of, "that poor girl," or "how embarrassing."
ReplyDeleteBut it shouldn't be embarrassing. Many of the people who pass judgement as they witness a walk of shame have mostly likely been in the exact same situation at one point or another. Amber Rose makes a wonderful point. Walk of shames, and sex in general, should be celebrated, not criticized. Women need to stop being viewed as untouchable beings that are incapable of participating in natural acts without being ridiculed. Step 1: Women need to stop degrading other women for doing the exact same things that they do. Sexuality should be embraced; it is something to be proud of and it needs to be respected.
On most weekend mornings I wake up early in the mornings to clean up the trash in my front yard so that the dreaded fine man won't give us a visit, which they so love to do to all of the residents of Mill St. After I am finished I, just like Michaela, usually sit on the porch and relax as the people doing their walks of shame pass by. Just about every morning I see at least two to three of my friends who are girls doing their own respective walks of shame and every once and a while I will see one of my guy friends doing the same. Usually if they look over at my porch I will wave and say hi and some of them will even come up to my porch and talk to me after. As you can probably guess the guys are always wanting to come up and talk to me to brag about their escapades last night. However, when it came to girls there would be times where they would be willing to come up and talk about what happened the night before and others who would try and avoid eye contact at all costs and hurry on up the street. What I began to notice is I usually did not judge the girls that stopped by my porch and took a water bottle as they left. They were just being themselves and doing what they felt like doing. When it came to the other girls however I would usually laugh to myself a little bit and I admittedly would judge them.
ReplyDeleteThis video by Amber Rose, while meant to be a comedy, actually is fairly accurate. In society women are traditionally supposed to keep their sex lives private and therefore are mocked for their walks of shame. It is only when people are willing to change their views on their walks of shame, for instance one girl I know calls it her 'stride of pride,' that we stop judging them for it and 'celebrate' it. If we were able to change societies view in whole then maybe someday everyone would call the walk of shame the stride of pride.
I actually saw this mentioned in today's (9/21/15) edition of The Post, and I find it interesting that this video has gained so much popularity in the span of a few days. The writer comments on the double standard between binary genders, stating how "women are put into two categories: slut or prude. They can either be having too much sex... or not enough" and "Now when it comes to men, too much sex is not enough. They are praised for having casual sex and pressured to have more of it." Of course, this is something that college students on our campus frequently engage in, whether its mental or physical. For the gender and sexual norms of society are so deeply engrained in us that it is difficult to escape on a subconscious level. I am curious to see the percentages of female versus male viewers of this video. Because if social expectations regarding sexuality affect us all, why is it almost always a one-gendered fight? Why aren't others helping to disband the problematic social standards to produce stronger and effective change? For example, why is sexual assault considered by the majority a "women's issue?" It is my personal belief that everyone should be working to produce effective change, not just a subgroup. Because frankly, that small subgroup's voice will never be heard without help from others. And in the case of women's authority and perspective, it is already difficult to be taken seriously or be heard or understood because of the long tradition of sexism in our society. So if the rapid sharing of this video is due to men and other genders becoming more involved in this fight against slut-shaming, then I commend those people.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it so hard to get others involved in these issues? I'm remembering Emma Watson's passionate speech that launched her campaign HeForShe, where she urged boys and men to realize that "this is your issue too." She goes on to say that both/all genders struggle against gender stereotypes, and that this activism through the HeForShe campaign is to regain our freedom from social oppression. It is everyone's responsibility to make this world a better place, and it's time to step up. The "walk of shame" and the concept of slut-shaming is not just a women's issue. Women know this. And unfortunately, women simply reclaiming the idea through a video is not enough to produce change. We need to look at the source, which is the intrinsic idea that we must follow and enforce social expectations. And this idea is prevalent throughout our entire society. It is important to encourage the individual to become self-aware of their behavior and realize that is problematic and that they need to change. So when I am walking and I see someone dressed in a way that conveys socially upsetting behavior, I need to stop right there and ask myself, "Why am I judging this person? Why does it even matter? Why do I have to enforce social expectations that I know are truly fucked up?" And then I change my perception and my behavior.
For an issue like this, it is important that we realize that we all have an individual responsibility to effect change. I have a responsibility to change my own behavior in order to change others. It starts with me. And it starts with you. Starting now. As Emma Watson states in her speech, "If not me, WHO? If not now, WHEN?"
This year, I have had the wonderful experience of living in an on campus sorority house with over thirty girls. Before this experience I have always had a close group of girl friends throughout the years but this new experience has truly broadened my view on different girls emotions and life experiences.
ReplyDeleteOn any given weekend, there are always a number of girls who walk into the entrance of our house the morning after, fully clothed from the night before. Many of my friends and acquaintances often walk through those doors with a regretful or ashamed look on their face. Conversations are often exchanged across the lines of " I feel so embarrassed" or "everyone was staring at me." It makes me sad to hear the girls speak with such regret but often times I have found myself judging them in return.
Whenever my friends were telling a story about someone judging them on their walk home, they always mentioned that girls were staring at them and judging them but never mentioned how a guy was judging them along the walk home. I think this concept is slightly concerning because the girls that are judging are often the girls that are doing the walk the next weekend.
I believe that as females we have to conscieously start stopping ourselves when any form of judgement comes into our head about another female. We should be pushing each other up instead of tearing each other down. Also, as individuals, we need to stop feeling "embarrassed" and "regretting" our decisions and start feeling confident in ourselves.
I actually hate that there's such a thing as the "walk of shame", but why should it be a thing to be embarrassed about? omg she got laid last night, big effing deal. we are in college, we drink and we don't drive so we WALK. I vote to ban the saying all together.
ReplyDeleteBy looking at Amber Rose, you would never think of her to be one that is a huge activist for sex shamming but shes all about it. As an ex- stripper I'm sure she's lived through a world of sex shame. The thing about her is she's not ashamed at all. she spreads the message that you can do what you please with your own body. But just you. As one of the most looked at sex symbols in today's social media scene, it definitely spreads awareness. Team Amber all the way.
I do not agree with Fry when it comes to a person submitting to the oppression. Individuals should have the right to stand up to oppression, not just sit back, smile and agree. Many of my female friends have guy friends that they stay the night with because they do not feel safe walking home late into the night. Unfortunately, I hear stories that they are laughed at on their way home for an action that they did not even take part in. If they tried to tell the truth, people would say that they are lying and just upset because everyone knows they are sexually active. There is another side to the walk of shame that most do not think about. You hardly see a male walking home early in the morning in the clothes he wore out the night before, but when you do, what do you think? Many see these guys as inferior males because they were unable to convince the girl to come to their place. They are seen a weak because “the female was in control”. The walk of shame, most of the time, negatively affects the females, but people forget that there are moments when the males are the ones seen negatively.
ReplyDelete