SlutWalkMontreal - Photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made the front page of the Montreal Gazette! I’m the one in the faux-leather coat with the crossed arms looking a little peeved (which I wasn’t – I was just there alone and a little tired of stopping every ten feet for pictures!).

I got an e-mail from my grandmother on Monday morning – “I did a double take – but you’re on the front page for your rally.” I guess it’s inappropriate for my darling grandma to call it what it is – a Slutwalk.

I’m proud to have been a part of such an event. I’ve heard a lot of “Well, Dana, don’t you think this is an overreaction to a singular statement made by a single person? I mean, the cop has been penalized, has apologized for speaking out of turn. And running around looking like the Rocky Horror Picture Show is mocking the situation.”. To which I have said:

Yes, I believe that it may be a sitch of an overreaction to one statement made by one person.

I have been doing advocacy work for the sexual assault center for the better part of three-and-a-half years. I have cried, screamed, written letters, and spoken politely to try and get people’s attention about a very present reality. My words have more often than not fallen upon deaf ears – people don’t know, don’t care, don’t believe, or they do care but only because of the realities they have lived. If one comment manages to anger and mobilize the masses, I will gladly take it.

As for the outfits, who the hell are you to tell anyone what to wear? There is business-appropriate, there is club-appropriate, there is casual wear. As the masses proudly chanted ‘No means no, yes means yes, in high heels or in a dress”. I’d also like to add that I was in business attire – knee-length skirt and blouse – because that’s what I was wearing the last time someone told me I looked like a slut. People were wearing sweatpants, t-shirts – whatever made them comfortable. But of course the mainstream media is happy to portray a large group of well-intentioned people as freaks.

 

31 May This entry was published on May 31, 2011 at 12:08 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.