Quinn Ashley paraded down Kirkwood Avenue with rainbow duct tape covering their nipples.
“Yes means yes, no means no, victim blaming’s got to go!” Ashley chanted with a crowd of about 60 people.
Ashley, a freshman, marched as part of the IU Feminist Student Association’s annual Slut Walk event. Slut Walk Bloomington, which started in 2012, protests slut shaming and victim blaming.
“A woman or anyone should be able to dress or present however they want without being harassed,” said Ashley, who scrawled “#BodyPositivity” across their chest.
Slut Walk began at 6 p.m. in Dunn Meadow, where the FSA set up a photobooth, tables for poster making, trivia and “slut statements.” Middle Way House also set up a table to raise awareness about abuse and sexual assault. Meg Davis, a sophomore, said this was her first Slut Walk.
“It’s also the first time I’ve talked about my sexual assault,” said Davis, who posed at the photobooth with a white board that read, “I wasn’t asking for it.”
“I’m just glad to be in a giant circle of feminist people,” she said.
Casper Mendes, an agender high school student wearing a crochet vulva pin on their jacket, made a pink, blue and purple poster that read, “Love All Sluts.”
“Every gender that’s out there needs to be a part of Slut Walk,” Mendes said. “Everybody is affected by gender stereotypes. Feminism matters.”
At the Slut Statements table, visitors were encouraged to write down their own experiences with harassment. FSA member Sophia Muston said the club plans to use the statements to create suggestions for the IU Student Association on changing campus culture.
“We wanted to be more interactive this year,” FSA member Carmen Vernon said. “Slut Walk is often criticized for being very white and middle-class, so we thought it was important to acknowledge other voices.”
Three speakers addressed the crowd. Graduate student Shadia Siliman criticized respectability politics, Middle Way House representative Evelyn Smith spoke about violence against transgender women and professor Lisa Kwong spoke about stereotypes of female Asian sexuality.
“We are not your China dolls or dragon ladies,” Kwong said. “We are warriors, we are survivors, we are human beings.”
After the speakers finished, the crowd marched into downtown Bloomington.
“This little black dress does not mean yes,” they chanted.
A group of men eating outside Noodles & Company on Kirkwood laughed as girls in bras and Daisy Dukes strutted past them. IU Dance Marathon fundraisers carrying red buckets looked confused.
“I guess you’ve got to respect the message,” one said.
Across from FARM Bloomington, Ann Shedd turned to her 8-year-old daughter.
“I don’t know if you understand this, but I’m going to explain it to you,” Shedd said. “They’re saying, ‘Just because I look good doesn’t mean you can touch me.’”
Shedd said it was hard to tell her kid why nearly naked people with duct-tape covering their nipples were marching down the street, but her daughter understood the message.
“I like it,” Shedd’s daughter said. “I think it’s good they’re doing it.”
“What’s the rule?” Shedd said. “Do we let anybody touch us without permission?”
“No!” her daughter shouted.
