The ESC Does SlutWalk NYC

SlutWalk NYC was this past weekend, and you all know we would never miss that, so we got on the train with our giant protest sign and off we went. We thought it was a great event - great crowd, great energy, great signs - and we're really glad we went. We also have to give a shoutout to the organizers for the job they did putting the event together. From what we could see, everything went as smoothly as an event called SlutWalk being held in New York City could possibly go. (The info pamphlet they were giving out had everything from a list of nearby bathrooms to a page with suggested protest chants in English and Spanish.) We were impressed.

It was really great to see how many people came out to support this cause. It was very powerful to march through the streets with everyone as people on the sidewalk watched (some with bewildered and confused faces) and took photos.

We took a ton of pictures, and here are some of our favorites. First up is the sign that we made, which had a serious message on the front and a slightly-less-serious message on the back:





As far as we're concerned, no protest is complete without a "Donna Martin Graduates!" sign, although it did make us feel old when a few precious young things approached us to ask who Donna Martin was.

There's an "interesting" story to go with this photo (and by "interesting" we mean puzzling and annoying). At one point, we were walking just in front of the pole dancing mobile and a woman on the sidewalk who had been watching the march yelled out to us: "Why would you end your march with a pole dancer!?" We were a little caught off guard so we weren't sure how to answer. We told her, "well... we didn't hire her." Did we look like we organized this whole thing? Was she really expecting us to speak for the entire march?

She continued, "Why would you have a pole dancer at a march that's against sexualizing women." That was when we got annoyed and we did know how to answer. "It's not against sexualizing women, it's against abusing women. Even if she's a pole dancer, it's still not okay to rape her! That is the point."

Then a nice police officer reminded us to "keep up", so we continued on. We have to say, the members of the NYPD who were present at the march were great. It was nice to see that, especially after some of the "questionable" behavior that has been going on with the NYPD lately (including the officers who were going around Brooklyn warning women not to wear short skirts). They were also good sports about some of the chants going on that mentioned the NYPD specifically. It's just a reminder that there are some bad cops, there are some good cops, and then there are some cops who are just desperately in need of sensitivity training.

Our friend Jenn Pozner holding a sign that reads "NYPD: We need anti-violence education, not fashion tips".

"U Say Slut, I Say Sister"

"If I Was Asking For It, I Would Ask For It"

[We're pretty sure that we got permission from everyone in these photos - because consent is sexy! - but if you see yourself in one of them and you'd rather not be included, please just contact us and we'll edit the post.]

Here's some of the post-SlutWalk coverage that we've been reading this week. Feel free to add more in the comments.

-SlutWalk NYC: Real Empowerment, Corsets and All [In These Times]

-Slutwalk NYC 2011 Takes Over Union Square To Protest Slut-Shaming, Victim-Blaming [Huffington Post]

-SlutWalk NYC: Thousands March To End Sexual Violence, Shaming Of Victims [Gothamist]

More Photos From Yesterday's Emotional SlutWalk Rally [Gothamist]

SlutWalk NYC Organizers Consider Dropping "Slut" From Name [Gothamist]

-SlutWalkNYC: A Video Diary [How to Lose Your Virginity]

-Protesters Rally Against NYPD Telling Women What to Wear [NBC New York]

-Why This Slut Walked [Persephone Magazine]

-'Hey Rapists, Go Fuck Yourselves': SlutWalk Arrives in NYC [AlterNet]