strayseeker

Eleven-year-olds already learn about sex, from the internet and tv and older siblings, but the messages they're absorbing are often really unhealthy, like, for example, the idea that a sexually-active woman is generally considered a slut. Educating people about sex isn't going to make them have sex, it's just going to make them more prepared when they do.

And I don't know about you, but when I was eleven plenty of people were engaging in sexual experimentation. So.

Slut-shaming is about more than just sex, though. Girls are shamed for the length of their skirts, for the amount of make-up they wear, if they hang out with boys "too much" or have a lot of friends who are boys, even if they're just generally considered to be pretty, and this continues into adulthood. It makes sense to try and combat it as early as possible, and make sure people know from a young age that it isn't okay.

Is there any advice you'd give to adults (particularly teachers and family) to help them prevent this kind of bullying? I guess there's only so much we can do since it's so prevalent, but there must be something.

She's not saying girls are the only ones who have problems, though, she's targeting a specific form of bullying which happens to generally be aimed at girls. And she's not trying to shelter them either, she's trying to increase awareness of the problem and make it something people talk about more, which I kind of think is the opposite of sheltering them. Yeah, maybe it won't help everyone, but maybe it will - maybe getting to hear other people's experiences will help people learn a damn sense of self respect, as you put it. It certainly can't hurt, and if it helps even one person being bullied in this way, then it's worth it.

Thank you for your response! That was definitely the case for me, and I'm worried my little sister will go through something similar. But setting a good example does seem to be a great way to go about fighting the harmful messages children are exposed to.