Grazia magazine faced outrage on social media when it asked its Twitter followers “what is it that makes a girl a slut?”.
Reactions on social media were incensed with many people opposed to the nature of the tweet and its content:
The tweet was sent out, Grazia says, as research for a bigger piece on women shaming. Grazia says it published the tweet to garner reaction, and gather thoughts from its readers on the use of the word “slut”, and what kinds of women fit into that category, even though the magazine itself is against any kind of shaming. The initial tweet was explained with this one, 17 hours later:
The magazine has since apologised on Facebook, stating: “We do apologise for any offence caused, but we’re also pleased (thrilled even) to know that so many of our readers are defensive of women and their right to behave in whichever way they please.”
While it’s refreshing to know that Grazia is opposed to shaming, we’re not sure how they can be opposed to something they clearly accept as a real thing. That is: If you are asking “what makes a girl a slut?”, you are stating that such a thing (sluts) exists. Is that not shaming in itself? This led us to a bigger question, who is behind that tweet? And what kinds of conversations and processes are occurring in Grazia office that lends to the publication of such tweets? Did any employee who works for the women’s magazine share their thoughts, opinions or criticisms before they let this one fly?
We don’t know. What we do know is that these conversations are necessary. They are necessary because they influence what makes content responsible, and they are necessary because they can assist publications when it comes to the constructive use of social media. So we put Grazia‘s tweet to our own newsroom, and had five colleagues weigh in on it. Here’s what they had to say: