A group of politically motivated feminists are calling on all you “sluts” out there to vote!
A new group, RTSV United (RTSV = Rock The Slut Vote), has approached what some have called the Republican war on women by embracing the “slut” label — and attaching their perceptions of GOP stereotypes about women to the word “slut.”
“Our mission is to fight the GOP effort to bully, subjugate and silence women,” RTSV United explains on its website. “We will wrest the power from the word slut and help women get informed, get involved, get registered and vote”
The previously not politically active study guide publisher, Susan McMillan Emry, started the group in early March following The Susan G. Komen for the Cure/Planned Parenthood controversy, an increase in pro-life legislation and radio giant Rush Limbaugh’s controversial comments about contraception activist Sandra Fluke.
Emry explained to The Daily Caller that she was inspired by an article in the Huffington Post by Morra Aarons Mele called “Getting Out The Slut Vote in 2012.”
“With humor, we have created a checklist of the types of women the GOP and their spokesmen consistently paint as ‘sluts,’ and it’s very broad-ranging,” Emry told TheDC. “It’s clear they use words like ‘slut’ to try to shame women into staying quiet about issues involving reproductive rights and sex. Regrettably, from the legislation and the public remarks the GOP and their spokesmen make, they give the clear message that any woman who doesn’t share their point of view is tainted as a slut. Our mission is to take all the power from the label ‘slut’ and defuse it with equal measures of humor and outrage.”
According to the group’s list, the GOP has a very wide definition of “slut”: Anybody who is not a saint is a slut, including Republicans who are against what RTSV United says is the GOP’s war on women.
RTSV United’s point: Those sluts do vote.
Since its inception in early March, RTSV United has amassed a following of “a few thousand members.” Their website launched on March 22.
The group makes no bones about their Democratic bend, declaring above a map their intent to “turn the whole USA blue in 2012,” however they have not endorsed any candidates yet.
“Our mission is to inform and to galvanize women and the men who support them to vote for the candidates they believe support women’s rights,” Emry explained. “In today’s environment, that is clearly usually Democrats and other liberal candidates.”
RTSV United wants women and sympathetic men to register to vote and show up on election day. They have a section on their website to that end.
“Put on your boots and your dogtags — Go Forth, Raise Hell, and Rock The Slut Vote in 2012!” reads their slogan, repeated on their webpage and Facebook page.
In addition to encouraging sluts to get out the vote and offering registration help, the group also has form letters for supporters to send to congressmen to voice outrage or support.
The outrage form letter reads:
(Senator/Representative) ________,
As one of the many women and men you represent, I want to personally tell you how outraged I am by your attack on women’s rights — and your attempts to bully, subjugate and silence women.
This year, I will raise my voice and my vote against your war on women. I will work to ensure you and your fellow Republicans reap unprecedented losses in November.
Sincerely,
(Your Name)
Supporter of RockTheSlutVote.com (optional!)
While some elected officials might find themselves in the group’s crosshairs, Limbaugh remains a favored target with the group, which hawks, among other generic items, t-shirts, tank tops, buttons and bumper stickers with the slogan, “Rush Limbaugh Thinks I’m A Slut: Show the GOP they will never silence you or your vote!”
Indeed, over the weekend at a Unite Women rally in Sacramento, Calif. the group held a “Rush Limbaugh Thinks I’m A Slut” drawing to award two college students $500 to help “defray the costs associated with obtaining ‘slut’ status in Rush Limbaugh’s world!”
“Obviously we are embracing the word SLUT with irony and humor. To turn the tables,” Emry added. “For all the humor, this is literally a deadly serious issue for women. Women’s rights. We’ve lived through the end of an era we don’t want to revive again.”
