SlutWalk Cape Town

It's happening on Saturday.

As a woman and the mother of girls I completely support the initiative, despite being a little hesitant to reclaim the word 'slut' for myself - the only application of the term I've ever happily embraced was in reference to the state of my bedroom as a teenager (and possibly for a few years after that ... cough).

I'd actually wouldn't mind participating in the march, it excites my inner activist and feels like something which has got sufficient press and public attention that it might just achieve something in terms of raising awareness and making women feel more empowered.

However ... I can't help but think it's not going to be a great environment for a 4 year old girl. Whilst one could argue that girls need to learn about their rights etc from an early age, she's still too young for the specifics of the campaign.
She won't get the message, but she'll definitely get the visuals and my feeling is they'll be an eyeful! 

I like the idea of teaching our kids that we must stand up for our rights, marching to protect them is a South African tradition and one which I think it's important to uphold. I like the idea of showing Friday that a big group of people can come together under one banner for a just cause, I think there's an energy there which she'll enjoy.
But SlutWalk?
Not going to be her first protest march I'm afraid.

Strength to the sisters though, make sure you've got thermals on under your corsets - it's going to be cold and damp tomorrow!