Let's Talk About Slut Shaming

Slut shaming has become a vice that has come to stay in our society. It has eaten deeply into our system, that the result is sickening and totally preposterous. Few weeks back, a Nigerian actress posted a picture of hers on social media, and the backlash she got from people was really demeaning. Some even went as far as calling her a prostitute all because of a picture she posted just to share with her fans.

According to wikipaedia ,Slut shaming is the practice of Criticizing women and girls who are perceived to violate expectations of behaviour and appearance regarding issues related to sexuality. From the definition, it is clearly evident that slut shaming is sexist. The society has encouraged this for so long, so it is gradually becoming an accepted norm. A woman has to strive so desperately to live up to a certain standard, because once she falls short of this;she is labelled as something so denigrative.

The mere thought that a woman should act and dress a certain way is really stifling. A woman should be able to express herself in whatever way she feels appropriate, without getting chastised for it. An opinionated woman at times can be referred to as a slut, it isn't just based on a woman's dressing alone.
I'm talking about when a lady gets into an argument with a bus conductor over her transport fare, the next word he would readily dish out is something we all know. Why is this so? . Now, what exactly is responsible for this vice, that has made it proliferate?

As a result of this, some women have turned pretense into an art form, though there are some who would speak their minds and damn the consequences. Some women would rather die than truthfully admitting their body counts. They can't readily express their sexual fantasy without getting a label, but a guy does the same thing and gets praised for it, because he's a man. The mere idea that a woman is seen as something fragile and should always act like an angelic being is laughable, once she acts otherwise she is readily labelled and in some cases in African referred to as being possessed.

There are so many successful women out there who still get slut shamed, it isn't just limited to young girls. It is really saddening that there are still so many myopic minds out there that can't grasp how a woman can be successful without being linked to a man. They will always talk about how she slept her way through to the top, this is really wrong.Though, there are some women who uses their sexuality to gain favours from men, that's bottom power, and is another vice entirely different. But there are still so many women out there who have to work twice hard just to make a statement and should be respected, but at the end of the day still get been labelled as women of easy virtue.

An incident occurred sometimes back ,where a female student went to see her project supervisor. When she got to the office of her lecturer, she was ordered out of the office because she was wearing makeup and was asked to return when there was no trace of makeup on her face. The lecturer in question is a woman, yes a woman who believes for her fellow woman to be taken seriously, she had to dress a certain way, bereft of any makeup because that automatically makes her smarter.

This slut shaming attitude isn't exclusive to some guys only, some women also partake in this. Women are supposed to have each other's back and together all condemn this despicable act right? But at the end of the day, it is actually surprising that some women pass degrading comment to another woman like themselves, just to hurt them. Where is that girl power again? And we keep blaming the male gender for this misfortune? Both genders have contributed immensely to this vice, and it's high time we start getting open minded.

Slut shaming is more than just criticizing a woman based on her dressing as stated earlier, it is clearly dehumanizing another gender. It is an extended reflection of the misogynistic view that has always been in existence. The consequences of slut shaming is very destructive , from battling low self esteem, to depression and sometimes leading to suicidal thoughts. It's high time we put a stop to this act , reorientate our mind set and start respecting a woman in all of her feminine form.