Webpages such as 'Spotted: Sluts in Birmingham' whose aim is to 'Name and shame sluts in Birmingham!' have recently come to my attention. The page's picture is of a topless woman posed suggestively holding her breasts towards the camera. The caption: 'I'm not saying that you're a slut, but your vagina has been used more than Google'. This implies the woman is a slut as she has been 'used'. As this is the first thing you see on the page it promotes the notion that if someone is promiscuous they are a slut. The page actively encourages the audience of the page to 'Name and shame sluts', to attach that label to someone they know. The subjects of the text seem to be primarily women, but men have been mentioned too.
The naming and shaming aspect typically contain the subject's full name- often the subject is tagged into the post by a third party who knows the person. The insults are typically focused on weight and promiscuity: 'the biggest ride in Brum Town', a 'heffa', who 'shags anythink', 'anything for £30'.
The comments aggravate the issue by victimising the subject of the post further. There are posts from users that imply they want to interact with the victim because of her 'slut' status as well as condemning comments that reinforce a level of disgust towards the victim.
Additionally the women are often associated with being 'dirty', 'fat', or a 'slag'. These derogatory comments are hurtful, suggesting that promiscuous women are unclean and not desirable. Interestingly, a large proportion of the comments so far that include these words are from other women.
It angers me that someone has set up this page to issue personal attacks from the cowardly anonymous. When did it become acceptable to label people, and so maliciously in a public forum. By using this type of forum it allows users to 'like' comments and to 'share' posts onto a friend's or their own page. This widens the circulation of the webpage. Additionally the 'like' button is an easy way to agree with something quickly, adding weight to the original comment. By doing this it gives the comment strength in the public forum, allowing people to see that many people agree with it.
The page has accumulated over 2500 'likes' since it was set up yesterday. The audience of the page will everyday see names appearing on their news feeds informing them of new 'slags' that have been 'named and shamed'. The posts are more than likely to be fabricated and they are offensive, not only to the individual that has been named, but to anyone who knows that person. Family members and friends could end up reading these hurtful posts. This is not the only webpage like this, other similar pages are available and new ones are being made daily. I just hope that there are individuals out there who believe the same as me; that this type of public displays of victimisation should end.
What frustrates me the most is the association with promiscuous sex to being a slut. Someone's sexual promiscuity should not be deemed correct or incorrect by society. Whatever feels right for the individual is right, they shouldn't have to be told by society and judged by it.
