Slut shaming is the act of criticising a woman for her real or presumed sexual activity, or for behaving in ways that someone thinks are associated with her real or presumed sexual activity.
Examples
- Women who Cosplay are often slut-shamed.
- Booth babes may be criticised for their sexually attractive dress/appearance
- During the Geek feminist harassment at OSCON incident, Nice Girl reported that she and a friend had been told they were dressing too sexily, contributing to a Sexualized environment
Why it's a problem
Women's sex lives and sexuality are matters of their own choice, and nobody else's business.
Criticisms of women's supposedly too-sexual appearance are often used to control women. Such criticisms are also frequently used to blame women for rape. See also: Rape culture.
In geek circles, there is often a tension between women's own sexual expression or choices in dress/grooming, and between Sexualized environments, which can be unwelcoming for some women. One important point to consider is who is served by (eg.) the women in skimpy clothes? If the women are doing it for themselves (as in the case of cosplay, for example) it is very different from if a company has hired women to dress sexily to attract male customers.