A 'slut walk' for Tokyo

... would be fine.

Recently, a new form of demonstration against sexual violence called 'slut walk' is spreading over the world. The first 'slut walk' was held in Toronto, Canada, on 3rd April 2011 and started when a police officer from the Police in Toronto - who spoke at a safety forum of the York University on crime prevention - recommended women 'not to dress like a slut' to prevent sexual violence and rape. Which means, it's the women's own fault if they get raped, because they dressed like sluts and their clothes were screaming something like 'yesyesyes'.

  It's a common 'excuse' used by many people (not only men) to say, that rape is a crime which mainly occurs in summer, because of the 'slutty' dress of women. That's not true.

'Slut Walk' in New Delhi (Image: DAPD)

Meanwhile, the protests spread around America, Europe and Asia and were held in Canada (Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver) in the US in San Diego, Chicago, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle etc.; in Europe in Amsterdam, Stockholm, Denmark, London, Cardiff (Wales), Glasgow, Paris; planned or already hold in Germany (Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Passau), in Canberra, Melbourne (Australia), Sao Paoulo (Brazil), New Delhi (India) and Seoul (South Korea) and some more.

However, see what's missing? Yes, Vienna and Tokyo - and many other cities.

At first, the mass media thought, that the 'slut walk' people (women, men, transgender etc) are demonstrating for the right to wear the clothes they like to wear. However, it is not just that. The 'slut walk' doesn't only demand the freedom to wear 'slutty' clothes, but also demands personal rights. There is no dress code, you don't have to dress like a 'slut' at a slut walk. You don't have to be female, too. A 'slut walk' does also not demand the 'right' that women can be called 'sluts' because of their appearance. The term 'slut' was used because of the statement of the Canadian police officer and wants to provoke. 

How about a 'slut walk' in Tokyo?

I think that would really be cool, no, it is necessary! Why? Aren't girls in Tokyo already dressed sexy? Pah. That has nothing to do with the intention of the 'slut walk' movement. In Japan - like in other countries too - it's still in the people's heads, that it's the woman's fault, if they become the victim of sexual violence or rape, because of their 'sexy' or 'slutty' dress. 

 Sometimes, Japanese women dress really sexy - but in another way than American or European women do. Japanese women prefer to show their legs, wearing hot pants or really short skirts, but on the other side, they hardly show their upper arms or neckline. They prefer wide shirts (tunika) and also in summer, it's hard to see a naked shoulder, because they cover their shoulders with thin vests. 

 Why? I don't know, maybe in old Japan, not a plunging neckline, the white powdered nape of the neck of a Geisha was considered as 'eros'. Or maybe because Japanese women have a more maiden like body shape and prefer a girlish style and instead of shoulder or neckline, they show their legs. Maybe it has to do with the bihaku boom, their longing for pure, white skin, so they don't want to get tanned (but their legs do). Or it's just a fashion style.

'Slut walk' in Seoul

 However - if women in Japan dress 'sexy', they are sometimes called 'sluts'. Once when I went out with some friends of my boyfriends (all male) we saw a group of three girls in nice clothes (nothing plain, nothing slutty, just different than the mainstream) and I said 'sexy time' as a joke. It's a cute joke a friend of mine invented, with some ironic or sarcasm or just for a really nicely dressed person (!). And one of the male friends said "Whores?", maybe he misunderstood my intention of saying 'sexy time'. Sexy doesn't mean slut or whore - it just means 'nice dress', 'not plain'.

Those three girls, who were quite loud, had nice make up and hair style and got some attention, were dressed with hot pants or very short skirts, but covered their shoulders and neckline. They weren't slutty, they just have been noisy.

So, why do I want a 'slut walk' in Tokyo? No, not because I want to stare at 'slutty' dressed Japanese women's flesh. I can have that all the day long (and beside of this, I'm a woman). 

I don't want that people call women, who are dressed 'sexy' or just 'not plain', sluts.
I don't want that people say it's the women's own fault if they get raped or molested - because of their 'slutty' dress.
I don't want that women are fair play just because of their dress or existence as woman.
I don't want that people say, that women mean 'yes' when they say 'no'. No means no.
I don't want that Japanese women who do have a neckline have to be ashamed of their bodies and have to cover it with vests or tunikas.
I don't want that any Japanese woman has to cover her body if she doesn't want to get called 'slut'.
I don't want to have to cover my shoulders and arms in Japanese hot summers, with 38°C and 60% humidity. 
I don't want to get called 'permissive' because I wear a no sleeve shirt in summer.
I don't want to get stared at my neckline by old, sweaty salaryman or horny high schoolers, not even by Kaneshiro Takeshi, just because of my body shape and/or dress.
I don't want to get stared at at all. 
I don't want to get called 'inran' (slutty') by middle schoolers or other people just because I wear a skirt and a short armed t-shirt.
I don't want to cover my neckline all the time, because I unfortunatelly do have a neckline and Japanese high schoolers or salaryman have never seen a B-Cup in real life before (because Japanese women hide it).
I don't want to have to apply a tourniquet above my breast (like female cosplayer do when they perform male roles), just because I do have breast and they are also existent when I'm wearing normal shirts without showing a plunging neckline.
I don't want to think about my summer clothes bought in Europe if I can wear them in Japan, too, because they have no sleeves and/or show the neckline, waist and hips (and  even though it's just the 'plain' stuff from H&M & Co!)
I don't want to wear a white/black t-shirt under my no sleeve summer dress - not because I don't want to go with fashion but I don't want to sit under air condition with a sweaty t-shirt.
I don't want to hear from Japanese female friends that Western women in Japan dress like 'they're out on the beach' or 'slutty'.
I don't want to get called slutty because I'm a Western woman in Western dress in Japan.
And finally, I also don't want to hear 'It's okay if you're going to wear no sleeve shirts with a plunging neckline, because you're a Westerner!' - it is also okay for Japanese women to do that!

So, I think a 'slut walk' in Tokyo would be a nice idea.
However, I didn't find anything about plans on a 'slut walk' in Tokyo. Did it already happen? I guess no, because I wasn't able to find anything about a performed 'slut walk' in Tokyo.
Maybe there will never be one...

I'll go ask some feminist Japanese friends of mine about this.

Further links:
Slut Walk in Berlin on 13th August 2011 - Official Homepage (German)
Slut Walk Toronto - Official Homepage (English)
Article about the Slut Walk in India - Hindustan Times(English)
'Slut Walk' protests held in Seoul - Korean Times (English)