This Woman Is Calling Out Slut-Shamers On Twitter

Sexist double standards are rife in both the real world and the online one, but if you're a man on Twitter who likes to criticize women who post pictures showing a little skin, you'd better be careful you don't do the same — because one woman is using the hashtag #ShirtlessShamers2016 to call out the sexist double standard of men who slut-shame women online. How? By reposting the men's own revealing Twitter pictures, of course. Let me explain At least once a day, for a goal of 365 days, Lindsay — aka @CardsAgstHrsmt — finds a man on Twitter who is shaming women for posting "revealing" pictures. Then, she digs up a picture of that tweeter where he's shirtless. Finally, the results: The man's half-naked body next to his sexist tweet decrying someone else's half-nakedness, next to Lindsay's own commentary, all filed neatly under the hashtag #shirtlessshamers2016. Busted!

This absolutely made my morning. When women try to put double standards and sexism in the spotlight, we often aim to do so diplomatically; we know that there's the danger that people won't take us seriously otherwise. However, upon spending some time on Lindsay's Twitter page, I think I prefer her method. It's witty, it cuts to the chase, and it so beautifully exemplifies this ugly case of gender inequality. I can't think of anything more perfect than proving what a hypocrite some online slut-shaming troll is.

To get the full effect, I suggest you spend the next hour scrolling through Lindsay's Twitter feed, like I just did. Girl's got charisma. Some men aren't taking too kindly to her work, and she's not afraid to speak up. There's something to be said for "killing them with kindness"; there's also something to be said for killing them with logic.

This isn't Lindsay's first rodeo, either. If she looks familiar, it's because she's the same woman who created Cards Against Harassment, which is a selection of 10 "business cards" that women can print up and hand out to men on the street who behave inappropriately toward them. She decided to do this after a personal experience with harassment sent her over the edge: A stranger on an escalator was touching her hair and calling her "blondie." Um... ew.

So Lindsey designed these cards and started passing them out to street harassers. She even filmed some of these interactions to capture the men's responses. Some apologize, while some stick to their guns; but according to Lindsay, the most common response is absolute shock. They supposedly didn't even realize they were being offensive. What we see as catcalling, they say they see as a compliment.

#ShirtlessShamers2016 is her next step in pursuing gender justice, so let's take a closer look at some of the gems that have arisen from it, shall we?

I'm not sure what's worse: The hypocrisy or the horrible execution of the English language.

Lindsey's adventure and the SshirtlessShamers2016 campaign reveals more than the fact that men who believe women should be ashamed of their bodies exist; she reveals the downright abuse that is taking place against women online — from the verbal variety ("if I eva have a daughter, ill teach her the values of respect, self control, and self discipline. Not to become a slut") to threats of physical abuse ("my daughter come home wit a face full of makeup and her nipples pierced Ima beat her ass once for every product she got on"). She's proving that this issue isn't as simple as what we're wearing or not wearing. It's about the standards society thinks we have based on our appearance, and how they're used to justify abuse and bullying.

Here's a hint: Abuse and bullying are never OK.

Images: burdun/Fotolia