Like what you've read?

On Line Opinion is the only Australian site where you get all sides of the story. We don't
charge, but we need your support. Here�s how you can help.

  • Advertise

    We have a monthly audience of 70,000 and advertising packages from $200 a month.

  • Volunteer

    We always need commissioning editors and sub-editors.

  • Contribute

    Got something to say? Submit an essay.


 The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
On Line Opinion logo ON LINE OPINION - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

Subscribe!
Subscribe





On Line Opinion is a not-for-profit publication and relies on the generosity of its sponsors, editors and contributors. If you would like to help, contact us.
___________

Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Facebook’s new slut page: a monument to girl hatred

By Melinda Tankard Reist - posted Thursday, 11 March 2010


By allowing this site, Facebook is a conduit for bullying, harassment and abuse.

These are some of the comments. I’ve left out the pornographic ones which means I won’t be citing most of them.

“Tripple ew”, “She’s so ugly”, “Meat”, “Pig”, “Dog”, “Vomit bucket anyone?”

Advertisement

This site is a temple to human cruelty.

One of the pictures of a larger girl looking depressed provokes special attack.

Just yesterday (March 5) a man calling himself “D.j.Stack” labelled her a “baarbarian” [Sic. But you get the idea]. He also questions whether she really qualifies as slut material:

“and i doute thats slut material because i wouldnt even look at that, nor do i think many would.”

She is a “that”, not a real person.

Who is the real barbarian in this picture?

Advertisement

Another image of a larger bodied girl at the beach attracts the comment:

“It looks like someone threw pancake batter against a wall and it slid down.”

So the women whose images are posted on this virtual dartboard are insulted with the label slut. But they are equally insulted if they are seen as slut imposters: pretenders to the slut title.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. Page 2
  4. 3
  5. All

First published on Melinda Tankard Reist's blog on March 6, 2010.



Discuss in our Forums

See what other readers are saying about this article!

Click here to read & post comments.

97 posts so far.

Share this:
reddit this reddit thisbookmark with del.icio.us Del.icio.usdigg thisseed newsvineSeed NewsvineStumbleUpon StumbleUponsubmit to propellerkwoff it

About the Author

Melinda Tankard Reist is a Canberra author, speaker, commentator and advocate with a special interest in issues affecting women and girls. Melinda is author of Giving Sorrow Words: Women's Stories of Grief after Abortion (Duffy & Snellgrove, 2000), Defiant Birth: Women Who Resist Medical Eugenics (Spinifex Press, 2006) and editor of Getting Real: Challenging the Sexualisation of Girls (Spinifex Press, 2009). Melinda is a founder of Collective Shout: for a world free of sexploitation (www.collectiveshout.org). Melinda blogs at www.melindatankardreist.com.

Other articles by this Author

All articles by Melinda Tankard Reist

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Photo of Melinda Tankard Reist
Article Tools
Comment 97 comments
Print Printable version
Subscribe Subscribe
Email Email a friend
Advertisement

About Us Search Discuss Feedback Legals Privacy