Photos: Chicago's SlutWalk Fights Rape Culture And Slut-Shaming

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Aug 22, 2016 2:46PM

Chicago's SlutWalk returned to the streets of the Loop Saturday afternoon for another year of fighting rape culture and the hetero-patriarchy (yes, it's a thing) with a message of body-positivity and pride.

The international SlutWalk movement formed five years ago after a police officer told a group of college students to "avoid dressing like sluts" in order to protect themselves from sexual assault. Since then, SlutWalks have formed in cities around the world, encouraging people of all genders to march through the streets wearing whatever they want, support sex workers an spread the word that people should be able to wear what they want, identify as a slut (in the most positive sense of the word) or not, and live without the fear of being raped. Rain did not stop this year's participants, as hundreds gathered near the Bean to reclaim the word slut and show their solidarity with sexual assault survivors.

And counter-protesters (who appeared to have religious reasons for disapproving of the SlutWalk) didn't stop them, either. Photographer Tyler LaRiviere live-Tweeted as the SlutWalk participants counter-counter-protested and chanted to drown out the message of the protesters: