Description:
In this work, slut-shaming expert Leora Tanenbaum explains that when we criticize young women for wearing body-revealing outfits and sharing sexy selfies, we are losing the plot.
Young people are sick of being held responsible for others' inability to keep their eyes off their bodies. They explain that most of the time, they aren't even trying to sexualize themselves--and, when they do, they are taking control over their bodily autonomy.
Tanenbaum demonstrates that "sexy" does not mean "inviting sex," and that when young women and nonbinary people embrace a sexualized aesthetic or post sexy pictures, they do so on their own terms.
In choosing to wear body-revealing clothing and posting sexy selfies, young people are taking a stand for themselves and against three pillars of nonconsensual sexualization that shape their daily lives: gendered dress codes; nonconsensual sharing of intimate images; the aftermath of sexual harassment and assault.
Everyone should be able to stand up for themselves, experience a sense of bodily autonomy, and shape and share their image on their own terms.
If you like cultural criticism that supports women of all identities, then you'll love Sexy Selfie Nation.
Brief description: Leora Tanenbaum, author of six books, began researching and writing about slut-shaming before the term even existed. Her first book, Slut! is regarded as a significant contribution to feminist thought and the foundational text on slut-shaming. Called one of the twenty "must-read" books of all time for women, upon publication it shot up to become an Amazon Editor's Choice book and an Amazon Top 10 Women's Studies book. I Am Not a Slut: Slut-Shaming in the Age of the Internet was the first book to analyze the proliferation of slut-shaming in the age of social media and digital culture. It was named one of eleven "groundbreaking books about women making history." Currently, Tanenbaum is a frequent commentator for USA Today, where she discusses the gendered double standards faced by celebrities and non-celebs alike. She has written for the New York Times, Teen Vogue, Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, New York Daily News, the Nation, and U.S. News & World Report and has been a guest on Oprah, the Today Show, Nightline, Bill Maher, Fox News, MSNBC, and National Public Radio.