NYC Slutwalk Attracts Anger over Blatantly Racist Sign

**Trigger Warning**

New York Slutwalk has been stirring up some rage after photos of the event surfaced on facebook. 


It all happened after a member uploaded a photograph of a young white woman with an incredibly offensive sign. The sign was the title of a John Lennon song that includes the n-word.

***

Slut Walk NYC - posted on their facebook group. 

** I took it upon myself to disguise the identities of these marchers. It has been made clear that at least some of them are under 18. Although what they did was thoughtless and racist, they also have a right to personal safety. **

The thread developing below the photo itself has proven to be very racist.

 **The bits I find particularly ridiculous will be bold and enlarged.**

Here is what a woman said in defense of the signage:


"This is the title of a song written and performed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in the 1970s.You have to listen to the whole song to understand it. It is not offensive to anyone other than sexists in its entirety and was a very powerful message, then and now. I can understand how the sign out of this context would be disturbing. But I urge everyone to check out the full lyrics and listen to the song and judge for themselves."


Another woman with "TheBeatles"  listed as her middle-name, jumped in to simply paste the entire lyrics to John Lennon's song. She later admitted in the same thread that it was her sign and she continued to stand by it, claiming it not to be racist. 

Another woman holding the same sign at the NYC Slutwalk March on October 1, 2011

Here are more comments from white women, including the woman holding the sign in the first photograph. 
                           





"There was no disrespect, hurt, pain, or offence intended. I don't think there was one racist person there. I, the one holding the sign, though not the one who made it, would never use that word offensively. The word and it's meaning is wrong, but the sign is true. There is no contest about it. I am probably the least racist person out there. I have never even mistakenly judged someone by the color of their skin. Don't judge before you know what is really going on. I did not make the sign, but still feel wrong and sick. I apologize for being photographed with it and would like to ask for it to be taken down. 
I never thought this experience could make me ashamed or hurt, or even make me cry, but it has. Anyone who has seen photos of me with it please ask for them to be taken down. ____ this is not your fault, I just don't wish to be hated for a word."



The thread goes on and becomes more racist as the backers of the sign continue to comment and dig themselves into an even bigger hole. 




Now, along with the racist signage, the NYC Slutwalk facebook group photoalbum also contains a photo of a woman (clearly from a porno) with semen all over her face and lipstick smudged across her mouth. On her forehead is the word "SLUT" and she appears to intoxicated in the photo wit one of her eyes half closed while looking glassy and disconnected. Above her head reads "Max Hardcore" and as many people know, this is the creator of very violent and stomach-churning pornography. Slutwalk NYC may or may not have added this photograph themselves, but it is unlikely that their group album is open to all of the over 2,000 members. If it is open to all members then I will be concerned as to why supporters of the march would post such material. Even more alarming about this photo was its placement next to another photo of a young woman from the march. This woman also had the word "SLUT" scrawled on her forehead. Under this photo, the caption reads "before" and it is oddly placed AFTER the photograph of the semen-drenched woman which bares the caption "after." 
My question is why, if NYC Slutwalk is concerned with women's liberation and creating an inclusive and safe march, would they walk alongside white women carrying a sign with the n-word on it and possibly posting a photo from a violent porn site on their group?  


Disgusting.


For more on the racism at the NYC Slutwalk, please check out these:


Racialicious: Which Women Are What Now? Slutwalk NYC and Failures in Solidarity

Racialicious: Slutwalk, Slurs, and Why Feminism Still Has Race Issues 

The Crunk Feminist Collective: I Saw the Sign but Did We Really Need a Sign?: SlutWalk and Racism
Akiba Solomon from Colorlines.com: More Thoughts on SlutWalk: No Attention is Better Than Bad Attention

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Part 1 

Part 2 

Part 3

A Radical Pro Feminist has also recently opened up further conversation on the so-called "feminist" work of Katie Roiphe and Chistina Hoff Sommers 

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I remember being 12 - I remember having "crushes" on teenage heartthrobs and celebrity doods. If one of those doods, who I, for some reason thought was the be-all-end-all of crushes, said abortion was "killing a baby" even if a woman's raped (although Bieber added "all things happen for a reason") I would have become confused. When boys that are in a place of significant social power, aka...living in celebrity land, tell women and girls what is right and wrong for their bodies then patriarchy dominates yet again. 


This is not to say that it is inevitable for all girls to take to the heterosexist, consumer-culture "crush" thing, but considering the fan-base of Bieber, it's hard to suggest it doesn't exist. Girls are socialized to worship men. Since this crush-culture does exist, it's important to dissect the messages that these kids are getting - like that abortion is bad and males somehow understand that. Society is at it yet again, informing girls about their bodies through a male-perspective. 


It's heartbreaking how irresponsible Bieber's comments were, even if he's 17 years old. He should understand how his words will affect his fans, particularly his female fans and their perceptions of choice and bodily integrity. 


Read more here

Just Sayin' Feministing.Com

Have you ever noticed how feministing.com's articles are 90% of the time regarding gay white dudes, gay white dudes getting married, trans folks, trans activism and various other non-female issues? Seriously. All that they seem to discuss are issues that are related to Western queer spaces and Western queer men, like rape apologist Dan Savage. They rarely include lesbians, in fact they hardly ever mention lesbians let alone lesbian feminists...

Yet this site claims to speak for all young feminists? Yeah, maybe some privileged white Western feminists, but certainly not all young feminists. Also, why not old feminists? This blog seeks to deconstruct nothing, challenge nothing and ultimately get fuck all done in the way of women's liberation. It does not care about women, at least most women. It mainly focuses on class-privileged women and their relation to queer white men. Time for a pseudo-revolution, but be careful not to hurt teh menz feelings!