Representing the Movement: SlutWalk Challenges Rape Culture

Abstract

This is the first of two chapters that explore representations of SlutWalk in both my mainstream news and feminist media samples. Both chapters were organized using the results of a frame analysis, derived with the help of a qualitative content analysis. Frames were established after asking questions such as: What is SlutWalk said to be about?; Whose voices were used?; What ‘sparked’ coverage of SlutWalk (e.g. a forthcoming march, or one which had taken place)?; Which, if any, feminist or oppositional discourses or critiques were used either in relation to the movement or rape culture?; and What is the overall level of support for the movement? Although the qualitative content analysis revealed a number of competing frames, this book focuses on the two most popular ones. Chapter 4 analyzes the means through which SlutWalk was constructed as a movement challenging rape culture, while Chapter 5 analyzes how it was constructed as being opposed and/or misguided, often by feminists themselves.