….When I speak on college campuses, students will often say they don?t believe that a woman?s attire makes it justifiable for someone to rape her, but ? and there almost always is a ?but? ? shouldn?t women know better than to dress in a suggestive way? What I try to explain to those students is part of what the SlutWalk protests are aiming to relay on a grander scale. That yes, some women dress in short, tight, ?suggestive? clothing ? maybe because it?s hot outside, maybe because it?s the style du jour or maybe just because they think they look sexy. And there?s nothing wrong with that. Women deserve to be safe from violent assault, no matter what they wear. And the sad fact is, a miniskirt is no more likely to provoke a rapist than a potato sack is to deter one.
As one Toronto SlutWalk sign put it: ?Don?t tell us how to dress. Tell men not to rape.? It?s this ? the proactive, fed-upness of SlutWalks ? that makes me so hopeful for the future.
(This column appeared first in The Washington Post.)