No Sluts Please, We're Singaporeans

Superman dresses like this

The good news is that SlutWalk Singapore had a better turnout than the Occupy Wall Street "protest" at Raffles Place. Still the reported 650 was a pale shade of the 10,000 that showed up for a Pink Dot celebration on 18 June 2011.

The bad news was that the ladies that were at Hong Lim Park on 4th Dec were all "staidly" dressed. Maybe it had to do with the dress code stipulated by the organisers - come as you are, whether in t-shirt and jeans, in fishnets, in a sari, in a jacket, or in a tudung. All the eager photographers who converged at the event venue had to contend with, nay, hope for a sighting of a wet t-shirt at least since the skies did sprinkle some showers of blessing intermittently.

Constable Michael Sanguinetti, who started it all when he dispensed grandmotherly advice at a York University safety forum by preaching that “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order to not be victimised,” would be a welcome male guest in most Asian homes. Especially those with female members yet to tie the wedding knot. Organizer Vanessa Ho even hid her active role in putting together SlutWalkSG from her from her parents "because of their conservative values". Just like some young women's choice of clothing are also kept secret from mom and dad, if they value the free board and lodging provide by same doting parents.

Women may or may not admit that they dress the way they do to attract men's attention. The difference comes about when the attention is welcomed, as in a eligible suitor of significant financial means, or unwelcome, as in the gawking stare of a casual road sweeper. Even Jimmy Carter confessed that he had an eye for the ladies as well as the White House, " I've looked on a lot of women with lust. I've committed adultery in my heart many times." Bill Clinton's weakness was a visible thong.

You don't need grandma to remind you to be streetwise, forewarned is forearmed. Even alpha males avoid walking into a dark cul-de-sac at Geylang since those fake Rolex Oyster Perpetual watches are so damn realistic even in broad daylight. You don't want to lose an arm, or worse, just because of the right or freedom to wear whatever you want.