A few weeks ago four words appeared overnight on a garage door in Manly in thick red paint, on a hill overlooking the ocean, dotted with frangipani trees and bandicoot holes: Anna is a SLUT. It was painted in large letters throughout the neighbourhood, on low-lying fences, fresh white house walls, and doors. Poor Anna: most likely a boy liked her, or she wore a new dress or kissed someone. All day, painters and house owners stood on footpaths in the sun, scrubbing with bleach and repainting, erasing what was meant to be this girl’s shame.

It was a familiar sight. Scarlet letters have been painted on white walls and pasted on clothes, usually decrying women’s sexuality, for centuries. But it is only now, thanks to the ferocity of the internet, that this phenomenon has become widespread and powerfully illustrated, with explicit images flashed to millions in seconds.

Read full article: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/tables-have-turned-on-slut-shamers-20130125-2dbzb.html