As part of a partnering organization, my relationship with SlutWalk is slightly different than the average participant. I was there representing Sex Workers Outreach Project – Los Angeles (SWOP-LA), and running our table through both the rally and the walk. I went into SlutWalk extremely ambivalent. I had read numerous critiques in the weeks leading up to the event, some of which were more valid than others, and I really didn’t know what to expect. What I had not prepared myself for at all was the powerful feeling of community that ran through the crowd.

SWOP-LA had a table at the event from start to finish, and we spoke with hundreds of people throughout the day. Contrary to concerns expressed before the event, it was an incredibly diverse crowd in terms of race, class, gender identity, and age. Families with multiple generations represented walked alongside students, sex workers, a former city-council member, and other Los Angeles citizens. For our part, we distributed literature, sold buttons, and made new contacts with sex workers, allies, and people who had never thought about sex workers rights before. It was an educational opportunity with an audience that already shared the basic belief that no one ever deserves to be sexually assaulted.

But what stood out for me most about SlutWalk was the camaraderie. As speakers shared their experiences with sexual violence, the crowd shouted back “We’re here for you!” While I was behind the SWOP table, I had numerous people pull me aside to talk about their own experience in the sex industry. As incredible as it was to see so many people stand up against rape culture, it was more incredible to see people actively building a community of support with each other.

The media coverage of SlutWalk, even the LA event specifically, seems to have focused largely on the word “slut”, or pictures of predominantly white scantily clad young women. While those were both certainly present at the park, neither was the main focus. I think concentrating on those images detracts from the message and movement that I experienced at SlutWalk itself. What I got from SlutWalk LA was the sense that the Los Angeles community will not tolerate sexual violence against anyone, and that regardless of age, gender, race, class, or occupation, we can work together to fight for basic human rights and dignity. And that, to me, is immensely powerful.

-Jessie Nicole
Director, SWOP-LA
www.swoplosangeles.org