reading response - women & walking

Walking After Midnight: Women, Sex, and Public Space is the fourteenth chapter from the book Wanderlust: A History of Walking by Rebecca Solnit. This reading corresponds to the topic I chose for my presentation - women & walking.

In this chapter Solint discusses what women experience and how they are viewed when they are walking at night. She stresses on the fact that women are limited to everything surrounding walking - where, when, how, why and who women walk with are all under scrutiny.

I found this reading to be quite eye-opening. I didn't realize that in Britain during the 1800's a woman could be arrested for walking at night because it was assumed that she was a prostitute. This was a way to restrict and control women's sexuality. The inequality that women experienced was profound - men were not treated in the same way at all.

Solint also talks about how the way women walk is eroticized and how it is often believed that women have sexual motives when they walk. Women do not have the same freedom as men when they walk.

Women are harassed, threatened, questioned and looked at when they walk. Women are frequently scared, worried and careful when they walk - especially at night.

This reading seemed to be written from a largely feminist perspective and rightly so. This is a female issue and Solint writes about it very well. She touches upon all aspects of women and walking and how women are disadvantaged when it comes to walking, among other things.


This reading relates very well to the SlutWalk phenomenon that originated in Toronto and has spread to cities all across the world.

On January 24, 2011 Toronto Police Constable Michael Sanguinetti is quoted saying, "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized." This statement was met with great controversy and uproar. It sparked the very first SlutWalk that took place in Toronto on April 3, 2011. This protest march gathered over 3000 people and was a way for women to reclaim the term "slut" - the idea is that women should be free to wear whatever they wish and walk wherever they choose without feeling threatened. Dressing in a "slutty" way is not consent for sexual conversation or contact of any kind.

Here are some images of SlutWalks in different cities: