Reading this comment from Sarah on the subject, I am reminded of how the issues surrounding the pseudo-religious slut-shaming of women are not just issues that happen to “people over there.” Plenty of us experience directly, regardless of our personal religious beliefs, or lack thereof. I experienced it on a regular basis in Jordan, for example. Though I am also saying this as a fairly religious person myself – one who goes to church on a regular basis, and covers her head when she does so.
As I mentioned in my previous post – no, Boobquake was not a serious action. Neither was it inclusive. But it was also a preposterous response to a preposterous statement and as such, I believe it worked.
Ironically enough, one of the people to call my attention to Boobquake on Facebook was a Muslim friend who, although a fairly conservative dresser and not planning on participating herself, thought I might find it “fun” and “[my] cup of tea.” She read me correctly, of course. It certainly wasn’t her cup of tea, not by a long shot. While I don’t believe that trotting out one of your friends at a moment like this makes for any sort of argument – I did appreciate the sentiment behind this. This is a person who has intimate knowledge of just how badly I struggled with issues of both self-image and safety while living in Jordan. She knew I would immediately relate.
There isn’t one correct way to respond to slut-shaming, after all. People have different arsenals, and use them the best way they know how. Does this somehow negate white Western privilege? Well, uh, no. But it can lead to points of contact for us all.
Also, here’s a beautiful, wonderful, a little scary and fairly NSFW Monica Bellucci gif. Because, any excuse, really. Any excuse:
And people wonder why Le pacte des loups is one of my favourite movies of all time.
Natalia A. 
Is There a Cure for Masculinity?
By Adam Jukes
• Why is it so hard to get close to a man?
• Why don’t men express emotions except big ones like anger and frustration?
• Why is most perversion male; why is most pornography produced by men for men? Why is risk taking male and drinking, drug taking, gambling and infidelity are predominantly the preserve of men?
• Why is most criminal behavior perpetrated by men? Why is the vast majority of domestic abuse and violence perpetrated by men?
• Why are men so concerned with the size of their penis and its symbolic substitutes – big, powerful cars, status, big houses, big money, and big muscles?
• Why can’t men tolerate vulnerability?
• Why do men lie, don’t listen, don’t do housework, parenting?
The answers to these questions, is the aim of this book. The author asks what it means to be a man, and what part masculinity play in men’s identity. What is it like to have to spend so much time and energy in managing that identity?
Adam Jukes has spent most of his professional life working with troubled and disturbed men, and in 1984 he opened one of the world’s first treatment centers to address men’s abusive and violent behavior towards women, from verbal and emotional abuse through to stalking and murder.
In the following decades that work developed into a clinical examination of masculinity and the author now shares his insights and conclusions with the reader. Juke’s conclusions about what constructs masculinity and how it develops may be unpalatable to some but it is also thought provoking and intriguing to anyone who has an interest in these issues whether professional or personal, male or female, wife or lover, sister or brother, husband or father.
£14.95/$34.50 September 2010 240pp 9781853432095 pb
This comment spam is adorable to me.
I can think of two words that make for a handy response to the slut-shaming crowd:
‘Fuck’ and ‘Off!’ ;-).
I love the idea of ‘boob quake’ it seems to me like one of those things that start out as a silly response to a silly man, as you say but at the same time a great way to use humour to get people thinking about more serious issues.
I love that photograph. I really enjoy abstract nude photographs.