Elissa Strauss breaks down sexual double-standards in a Q&A
I found this on the internet.
Ed. note. I suggest you read Ruby Namdar’s telling of the Tamar story before or after you read this.
WHAT IS SLUT-SHAMING?
Slut-shaming is the phenomenon in which a woman is bashed, attacked or made to feel guilty for her sexuality.
WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF SLUT-SHAMING?
When a Toronto police officer told young women that they could avoid sexual assault by not dressing like sluts. When Rush Limbaugh called Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke a slut and a prostitute for advocating for increased access to affordable birth control. When Judah wanted to burn Tamar at the stake for posing as a prostitute and sleeping with him, but not himself for sleeping with her posing as a prostitute.
ARE WOMEN SOMETIMES RESPONSIBLE FOR SLUT-SHAMING TOO?
Heck yes. Women’s magazines often tell women when they have gone “too far.” As do fellow women, and it is often about class. Bottom line, women’s sexuality is still a currency whereas men’s is not and both men and women use assessments of a woman’s sexual behavior as a measure to judge her character. Tamar used this in her favor, and in the end it worked out for her. But the risk was high, and her survival depended on the mercy of Judah and/or the infinite, immaterial presence some of us believe in and call God and not true justice.
SO, IF TAMAR TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE SEXUAL DOUBLE-STANDARD CAN WE STILL CALL HER A FEMINIST?
Yes. Tamar took a great risk by posing as a prostitute and seducing Judah, using the only agency available to her to better her lot in life. The fact that the only agency available to her was her sexuality isn’t her fault, but the fault of guys like Judah and Rush Limbaugh. The fact that she had the chutzpah and smarts to play it to her advantage and save herself from a lifetime on the fringes of society, desperate and alone (as unmarried, childless women were at the time), is pure girl power.
What is even more feminist here is the fact that this story of a woman triumphing against the patriarchy and that slut-shaming made it into the bible. Does this mean that the bible is a feminist text? No. But does it mean that it is more progressive than many often give it credit for? Yes.
WHAT IS SOMETHING FUNNY TO WATCH ABOUT SLUT-SHAMING AND SEXUAL DOUBLE-STANDARDS THAT WOULD MAKE A NICE WAY TO WRAP UP THIS DISCUSSION?
Pretty much anything by modern-day prophetess Amy Schumer. But especially this.