What is Slut Shaming and Why Should We Care About It?

Slut shaming refers to making a woman feel guilty or inferior because of her sexuality. This could occur because a woman violates a cultural sexual norm (having sex outside of marriage, having too many sexual partners, acting sexually aggressive, etc.) or it could occur because a woman dresses in an immodest way.

Throughout this article, I’m going to explain why slut shaming is bad, what it has to do with Christianity on college campuses and beyond, and why it’s something that the Church should care about. I think this is an important issue, rarely discussed in current Christian communities. To be clear from the beginning of this article, I am not encouraging or approving sexual behavior that Jesus teaches against. Rather, I’m encouraging us to examine how we are loving those that have been involved or are currently involved in this behavior.

The transformation from sinner to Christ-follower involves God cleansing us of our sins and separating us from our sins. The beauty of the gospel is that Jesus destroys the chains that once held us captive, so that our sin no longer defines us. Instead, Jesus defines us, bestowing upon us our new identities as slaves to righteousness, co-heirs with Christ, followers of Him, and as His children.

However, slut shaming focuses completely on sin, perpetuating the idea that our sin is who we are. I’m going to explore the ramifications of this both within the body of believers and as it relates to evangelism on college campuses and elsewhere.

Beyonce: A Slut?

During the Super Bowl a few weeks ago, I saw someone on Facebook write a status expressing her anger towards Beyonce for how she dressed and danced during her halftime show. This Facebook user explained that she expected better from Beyonce because she was a mother and role model. She mentioned that she didn’t think Beyonce was a Christian, but continued to hold Beyonce to her own Christian morals.

As Christians, we need to come to expect that the world is sinful. If someone doesn’t know Jesus and hasn’t had the life-altering encounter with the Holy Spirit that we’ve had, why should we expect them to live up to God’s commandments for His people? I don’t know about y’all, but it’s still pretty hard for me to live up to those commandments, so why should I expect perfection from the non-believers around me?

This is why the slut shaming I described above is such a dire situation, because this practice focuses us, as Christians, on the sinful actions of non-believers when we should be focusing on loving them and telling them the good news about Jesus. By condemning their sin, rather than encouraging change in their hearts, we’re treating the symptoms and not the disease.

The goal of the Christian walk is not to live a morally perfect life completely free from sin, doing all the “right” things on the outside. But rather the goal is to offer our lives as a living sacrifice to God, striving to love Him and known Him and, yes, obey Him. But in this quest, the desire to rid our lives of sin comes second, after our hearts have already been transformed by the grace of Jesus.

For, as Galatians 2:21 says, “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.” Since we know there is no justification through the law, let’s stop trying to force non-believers to find justification this way. Instead, let’s love non-believers selflessly and unconditionally, mourning their sin, with our goal to not only change their actions but instead to tell them about the freedom and joy that is found in Jesus. As Christians, we have nothing to gain by withholding love.

In John 8, we see a perfect example of slut shaming, and we see how Jesus responds to it. In this passage, the Pharisees bring to Jesus a woman who has been caught in the act of adultery, they say to him “In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” Jesus tells them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Naturally, no one is without sin and they all leave, one by one, until just the woman and Jesus are left. Jesus tells her, “Neither do I condemn you…Go now and leave your life of sin.” This is a beautiful example of how we should respond to slut shaming, sexual transgressions, and sin in general. Not condemning the sinner, but not ignoring the sin. Instead, encouraging a transformation of heart (which we see as Jesus commands this woman to change her life).

On college campuses and elsewhere, women (and men) are engaging in sexual behavior. Many of these women might be experiencing some degree of slut shaming. It might be coming from a proclaimed believer in Jesus Christ. If it is, I doubt that this victim of slut shaming feels loved. I doubt that this slut shaming is a reflection of the power, freedom, and joy that is found in Jesus. I doubt that this woman is interested in knowing more about Jesus.

Slut-Shaming Within the Church

Unfortunately, the Church often teaches an unhealthy understanding of female sexuality to young Christian women. Speaking as a young Christian woman, I can confidently say that I hear a  lot about modesty, a lot about “not being a stumbling block,” and a lot of messages that make me feel like sexuality, both mine and that of any guy around me, is bad and my fault.

Often, Christian pastors and leaders tend to treat sexuality in a certain way. In youth group, whenever a sex talk is given, the message is usually the same: guys are lustful and girls need to be aware of that and not do anything to encourage it. These messages often ignore any conversation of a girl’s lust or sexuality.

Instead, this discourse disempowers women by ignoring their sexuality and telling them to cover up their bodies because of the more important sexuality of guys around them. In a way, this discourse objectifies women. It treats a Christian woman, not as a passionate follower of Christ with the power of the Holy Spirit inside her, but rather as an object existing for someone else’s sexuality.

Slut-shaming teaches a girl that she is nothing more than her mistakes, perpetuating the lie that we can be justified through our works. It makes a Christian woman feel, when she messes up, when she goes too far with her boyfriend or wears a skirt that’s too short, that she’s a temptress and a slut. This practice tells a Christian woman that she is defined by her sin and she should feel shame and guilt because of it—teaching that is in complete opposition to the gospel.

The Response of Believers

As Christians, we need to think about how we’re treating these issues. We need to examine our own hearts, questioning whether we’re perpetuating these harmful ideas. We need to communicate to everyone around us—non-believers and believers, men and women—that through the gospel of Jesus, we are no longer defined by our sin.

God has freed us from sin, so that we no longer have to walk in the shame or the guilt of what we’ve once done. He has given us a new identity, and shame has no part in that new identity.

Annie Paige is a media intern for Campus Renewal Ministries. She is a Senior at the University of Texas, studying English and Radio-Television-Film. She is also involved with Sigma Phi Lambda, an all-female campus ministry.