Slutwalk

There have been countless observations made here at Bitch and elsewhere about how the term “slut” has been used, abused, and reclaimed with varying degrees of success. In this post, I want to explore a topic that I’ve been having a lot of conversations about lately with a friend who works full time at my university. Her position happens to be managed by the undergraduates in the student government. She's said that while few undergrad students would raise their hands if asked “are you a feminist?,” many more seem to feel like the work of feminism is done and what they've taken away from it is a message of sexual empowerment and freedom. What I wonder about is how much this message is a product of second wave feminisms and how much it is a reflection of the rampant oversexualization of women in the media. My friend hears this version of empowerment in watercooler talk about whose "number" is higher and who "got" whom after the bar last night.

Fighting for social justice doesn’t need to stop when you give birth. In fact, in my opinion, we should fight even harder if we have to raise a kid or two in this world. Also, by continuing our activism postpartum, we’ll set kick-ass examples for our children. It’s win-win all around.

• At Clutch, Drew-Shane Daniels asks, "Why Won't TV Networks Let Black Actors Be Great?"
• African Sexualities: A Reader, a groundbreaking anthology edited by Ugandan feminist/lawyer/academic Sylvia Tamale, is out! 
• Love Thursday Night 'Lights? You can catch Kirthana blogging at MTV Remote Control now too! 
• At xo jane, s.e. smith takes on the trend of the "mental patient" Halloween costume.
• A woman with a disability writes on her perspective on Slutwalk over at the Ms. Magazine blog. 
• ...while Black Artemis feels betrayed by some members of Slutwalk. 
• Finally, Joyce at Collapse Board makes us all jealous with her super cool tour of girls' rock camps across the US. 

Tell us what you're thinkin'/readin' in the comments below!