IU junior Sam Rice said she's been called a "slut" before.
“I don’t know anyone who hasn’t,” she said.
She then clarified.
“I’ve never heard of anyone calling a dude a slut,” she said.
A group of about 40 protesters led by IU’s Feminist Student Association walked from Dunn Meadow down Kirkwood Avenue on Wednesday night, landing at the Monroe County Courthouse.
Chants of “Whatever we wear, wherever we go, victim blaming has got to go” and “This little black dress does not mean yes” rang down the street.
Onlookers gawked. A few clapped. A man took video on his phone as the group passed. Someone yelled “girl power.”
The Slut Walk is a national movement to end rape culture. IU’s Feminist Student Association organized Bloomington’s own Slut Walk and marched for the end of victim-blaming and rape culture Wednesday evening.
Lucy Battersby, an IU junior and the director of intersectional outreach for the organization, said the event is largely about reclaiming the word "slut."
“Slut is a word that is frequently prescribed to women by men,” she said. “It's a word that is used to describe women who enjoy sex, women who wear short skirts or really just women in general.”
Many who attended the event agreed with Battersby.
“I’m all about reclaiming words, reclaiming clothing and those kind of things,” said Ashley Pirani, president of Monroe County’s chapter of the National Organization for Women.
Some marchers said they came out to the event because of its name.
“It’s provocative,” senior Susannah Wilcox said.
Five local organizations including Bloomington Pride and Monroe County NOW set up informational booths in Dunn Meadow before the march. Planned Parenthood representatives passed out condoms and other organizations talked about ways to get involved in Bloomington’s feminist movement.
Protesters took photos against a backdrop with the word slut painted in red. The “u” was the IU pitchfork.
Two women read poems before a third stood up to announce some breaking news to the crowd.
Donald Trump signed the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, or FOSTA, on Wednesday. The bill’s goal is as stated in its name, but some sex workers say it will actually make their profession less safe.
“With nowhere to post ads, many sex workers will be pushed into street work,” former IU student Mary Holly said.
She said the issue could endanger the lives of sex workers nationwide, and feminists need to take it seriously.
“Even if you don’t think you do, you probably know someone who is or has been a sex worker,” Holly said. “If your feminism doesn’t involve sex workers, then it’s bullshit.”
When the group reached the courthouse, survivors of sexual assault were asked to share their stories. One woman spoke about an abusive relationship with tears in her eyes. Another talked about a time she was assaulted as a young girl.
“Being in command of our sexuality as people who identify as women, however we choose to express that, does not mean that we are asking to be catcalled, touched or assaulted,” Battersby said.
People rolled up their posters and hugged one another as the night ended. Battersby encouraged everyone to go to an event called "#MeToo at IU," a panel 6 p.m. Thursday in the Indiana Memorial Union’s Dogwood Room.
A trail of women and a few men marched back toward IU’s campus. This time, there were no chants.
There were no catcalls. Kirkwood Avenue was quiet.
