Slut Shaming

This picture, and variations thereof, has been making it’s way around the internet recently and it is really starting to tick me off.

It is a prime example of slut shaming.  It isn’t a joke.

Let’s look at the photo.  Why is she a slut exactly?  Because she is wearing heavy makeup and a low cut top?  She is wearing makeup because it makes her happy and because she likes the way it looks.  An extra flick of eyeliner or another layer of mascara do not say anything about how she chooses to behave and how many people she has slept with.

The girl in the picture also has large breasts.  Whether she chooses to wear a polo neck or a round neck top, this does not make any difference to the size of her breasts.  She has the right to wear what she wants without being labelled a whore.

I have personal experience of this.  Having large breasts myself I can confirm that no matter what type of clothing I am wearing, they always seem to come up in conversation which, whilst frankly bored by it, I am used to.  However, when I have worn something that shows a bit of cleavage I have, on many more times that I can count, been judged as “easy”, a whore, or have had my breasts grabbed at because I look “like that sort of girl”. 

What has scared me more than being grabbed at was not the actual grabbing, it was the reaction of the assailant (yes, assailant is the right word) and of those around us of shock when I have dared to complain.  The fact that I have large breasts does not give anyway a free pass to touch me.  It is sexual assault.

The picture is being passed around as a joke but I what I say that it is preserving the idea that women can be judged according to how they look and what they wear and then treated accordingly. 

Laughing at a picture of woman being called a whore is one step on the ladder to the frame of mind that says that she deserves to be/have been raped because of the way she looks or dresses.

In any case, whether a woman is a virgin or has slept with 50 men (what exact number crosses the appropriate line anyhow?) it is not your business.  If you want to judge someone then please, do it silently and to yourself.

Unless we stand up and say that these things are offensive they are going to continue.  So I am standing up and shouting back. 

Enough.

Bon Marche Spring/Summer

I was recently sent the Spring/Summer lookbook for +Bonmarche and was yet again very pleasantly surprised by some of the pieces available.

I have put together some of my favourite images and am happy to confirm that I have been given a 10% discount code which is valid for one month which can be used by you!

When checking out just copy and paste this code:  SFD23XP9VMW

Check out the new in section at BonMarche and see what you can find!

A Charity Case

This week we have seen the latest Facebook craze which is to raise awareness for breast cancer by posting a makeup free picture of yourself. 
 

This originated back in September when Escensual.com launched the campaign Dare to Bare for breast cancer, which aimed at getting women to get sponsored to go to work or have a night out without their make-up on.   The first 1000 people were sponsored £1.00 by the company.

That has been taken over this week by Facebook users by posting a makeup free selfie.  The problem is that whilst many people have posted the photos, they are putting little or no information about cancer and are forgetting about the donation part. They simply post the photo, nominate some people to join and then forget about it.

I am aware that Cancer Research posted a message yesterday saying that although they hadn't organised the Facebook campaign, there was a text message number you could donate to (text BEAT to 70099 to donate £3).  For the majority of postings I have seen however, it was picture only.

It was the same with the colour of your bra game and where you put your handbag.  Neither did much of anything to help, unless writing "on the table" suddenly cures cancer.

Am I being too judgemental?  Probably. 

But what actually irritates me (and this may get people shouting at me) is why is it that these Facebook crazes always fixated on cancer?  Whilst Cancer Research is of course a very worthy cause, what about the other charities that need donations and awareness as well?  Alzheimer’s Research, The Stroke Association, FMA UK, SANE, the RSPCA, the Down’s Syndrome Association, everyone has a charity that means something to them because a friend or relative is or has been affected or indeed themselves.

I want to do something to emphasis that although charities like Cancer Research are important; there are others out there too that need help and support. 

My suggestion is simple.  If I can get enough people together who would like to do the same thing, my idea is that on a day to be decided next month we would all post on our blogs and Facebook/Twitter accounts a picture of ourselves holding a sign with the name of your chosen charity, the link or text message number of how you can donate and the hashtag #IDonated.

 

 

You don’t have to donate a lot.  You can donate as little as a pound if you want to.  The point is that this would be more proactive than taking a silly picture in order to raise awareness.

 

 

This is just a fledging idea at the moment so if anyone has any thoughts and hopefully wants to collaborate on this with me, please email me at thecurvedopinion@gmail.com. 

Thanks for reading!

Vicky xx