Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Slut Walk!

“I was walking down King George Street in an outfit that was a bit revealing when a woman began cursing at me and calling me 'Slut…”

So said 22 year old Or Levy one of the organizers of an event with the disgusting name, “slutwalk”.

This is what insulting people begets.  Although I understand where that insult is coming from, there is absolutely no excuse to insult people for the way they dress. Even if you do not approve of the lack of modesty in their clothing choices.

They may think they are being Mekadesh Shem Shamayim by standing up for Tznius. But in fact that is not true. You have insulted a person who did not see anything wrong with the modern way in which she dressed. Insulting them is not the way to get them to ‘see the light’.  It just makes them angry and in some cases vindictive.

So she ends up with is causing a scenario that is much worse than the one she insulted someone over:  A Chilul HaShem called the slutwalk in the holy city of Jerusalem.

I agree that all people should have enough common sense not to dress in a provocative manner, especially in cities like Jerusalem. What constitutes provocative dress is a matter of debate. But without inserting Halacha into what that constitutes - common sense should dictate that there are lines that should not be crossed.  

I don’t know what Ms. Levy meant by “a bit revealing”. Maybe she did cross the line, I don’t know.  My guess is she probably dressed in a way that is fairly common in the modern world. But whatever the case, no one has the right to call another human being a slut because of the way they dress.

That said, I strongly protest what she has called for in response.

Slutwalk? In Jerusalem? What could she possibly be thinking? This event is an open invitation to dress with extreme immodesty! Ms. Levy will end up bringing dishonor to the holy city instead of achieving her stated goal. It won’t just attract women wearing dresses that are ‘a bit revealing’. It will in all likelihood bring all manner of - well - slutiness into the streets if judged by the immodest pictures seen in the Ynet article on this subject.

I have to agree with Deputy Mayor Yossi Deutch’s description of it. It is disgraceful! He hopes to somehow legally prevent it. I hope he can.

The article says that the catalyst for this ‘worldwide protest’ was a statement made by a Canadian police officer last year:  “(He) suggested last year that to remain safe, women should avoid dressing like sluts.” 

I don’t think his message is all that bad. I would not have used his choice of words. But in certain parts of the world where modesty standards are very strict, Dressing provocatively can very easily get the kind of response Ms. Levy got. Or worse – as has been shown in places like Meah Shearim and Bet Shemesh. There women who are modestly dressed by most standards have been physically accosted for not being modest enough!

This is not of course to say that anyone who is attacked for reasons of immodesty brought it on themselves. This is how some interpret the message of that cop – which I doubt was his intent. If it was - that would be like blaming a victim of a rape because of the clothes she was wearing.  But either way - to create an event like this to protest that attitude is a provocation far worse than what Ms Levy was attacked for.

As is always the case in these kinds of things, common sense goes out the window. If this event proceeds as planned, who knows what kind of violence it may draw. Ms. Levy and her fellow organizers ought to think twice before going ahead with it.