Maggie Frelang’s article YouTube Star’s Video Ignites ‘Slut-Shaming’ Reaction , discusses how Youtube star Jenna Marbles’ (aka Jenna Mourey) recent video, “Things I Don’t Understand About Girls Part 2: Slut Edition” has resulted in a backlash from viewers for slut-shaming other girls.
Frelang reports that in the video Jenna discusses how she feels that while it is ultimately up to the women, sex should be between two individuals who are in love and committed to one another. She even likens monogamy to being more highly evolved. This has resulted in a backlash from the viewers who accuse Mourey of slut-shaming girls and judging them based upon standards of the past. Viewers commented that sexual activities of an individuals are nobody’s business, and have nothing to do with how respectful or good of a person a girl is. Not all comments were against Mourey’s stances, as many viewers agreed with her, and some even commented that the backlash must be coming from “sluts” themselves.
Response to Mourey’s video has also come in the form of other Youtuber’s response videos. Youtubers Laci Green and Franchesca Ramsey both criticized Marble’s video and its attack on women’s sexual freedom. Ramsey’s video and many viewer’s comments also connected the issue of slut-shaming with that of victim blaming in cases of sexual abuse. Frelang explains that victim-blaming often occurs in cases of sexual abuse, in which defendants try and find some aspect of the victim which led to their attack such as what they drank, wore, or said. This has resulted in a movement called “SlutWalk”, an annual event in which both men and women protest victim blaming and slut-shaming.
Frelang discusses how the internet and social media had provided individuals with the organizational tools to join together and form tactics to fight slut-shaming and victim-blaming. Social media is both the tool for perpetuation of and backlash against these issues, as individuals are reaching a sort of fame from the videos and blogs they post on the internet which gives their voices power. She concludes her article by including the remarks of one blogger, Melissa Fabello, on how individuals with a following online must accept responsibility for the messages they are perpetuating to those followers.
With these new found followings, do you agree that those who have a voice on the internet must assume responsibility and caution for the opinions they are putting out to their viewers? What’s your opinion on the topics of slut-shaming and victim blaming?