Amber Rose has sparked controversy and conversation ever since she came into the spotlight for being Kanye West’s fiancé. A stripper turned socialite and model, Amber is always appearing in magazines and on E! for her ‘racy’ outfits and Instagram posts, and so of course is subject to a hell of a lot of criticism and attacks on her lifestyle.
Due to the constant abuse she receives on social media and across news outlets, Amber finally had enough of sexist shit and took to the streets in protest.
Her Slutwalk took place a few days ago, and consisted of hundreds of women donning lingerie – or nothing at all – and walking down LA’s Pershing Square to fight back against the speed at which both genders feel it’s appropriate to label girls as “sluts”.
Amber’s SlutWalk website reads, “We recognise that shaming, oppression, assault and violence have disproportionately impacted marginalised groups including women of colour, transgender people and sex workers, and thus we are actively working to centre these groups in this event. We deeply value the voices of marginalised groups and have a strong desire to find common ground among all of our intersections.”
Looking gorgeous in black lingerie and with her signature blonde buzzcut, Amber held a sign reading “Strippers have feelings too” – and rightly so. Amber is not just ‘a stripper’. She is a woman who is proud of her body and damn well should be in a time where people will ridicule her for her appearance before they get out of bed in the morning. Although Slutwalk campaigns have been happening since 2011, I think this one is of particular interest due to Amber’s involvement within the rap industry and her social presence.
Women in the hip-hop industry are often particularly targeted as sluts and in other derogatory ways due to the apparent requirement that if you don’t mess around with bitches, strippers and/or hoes you can’t be a rapper. Sexism is rife in the industry, particularly in lyrics. Unless you’re listening to Trap Queen (which ironically still manages to mention a hoe) it’s likely you won’t be hearing about a female in a song unless it uses one of those three words. Due to her job history and her current choices, it’s easy to criticise Amber just like it is any less known woman. But, can you really criticise a working woman who made the brave decision at the age of 15 to become a stripper to support her poor family?
It’s good well-known woman like Amber chose to participate in such a movement. Her Slutwalk is helping the protest to gain the recognition it deserves, and hopefully move us forward as a world. Amber’s SlutWalk is in fact the second attempt she’s undergone to attempt to rid society of the stigma attached to women who show some skin; at the VMAs her and Blac Chyna attended in a skin-colour bodysuit and dress, painted with words like ‘whore’, ‘stripper’ and of course ‘slut’, in order to own the labels they’ve been given and the words people describe them with.
Strippers are people just like any other person. Girls, gays and transgender people are people just like any other person. Stripping is a job just like any other job. Skin is skin like we all have and Amber’s body is just a body like anybody else’s.
Check out this brilliant video Amber made with Funny or Die to sum up her views, and watch her speech at the protest here.
And here’s some Twitter responses in support of the walk:
Let us know what you think – is the Slutwalk justified?