How One Target Of Slut-Shaming Is Now Fighting Sexual Bullying

When Emily Lindin was 11 years old, her peers decided that she was the class "slut." For the next few years, she was psychologically tormented, called "slut," "ho," "whore," and more, both online and off. She recorded those torturous preteen years in her diary, and today, that diary is available in the form of Lindin's new book UnSlut: A Diary and a Memoir. Raw, illuminating, and frequently painful, the book features direct excerpts from Lindin's diary, alongside commentary from her adult perspective. This isn't the first time she has published her childhood writing: In 2013, rocked by the suicides of assault and slut-shaming victims Rehtaeh Parsons, Amanda Todd, and Audrie Pott, Lindin created The UnSlut Project, an online space in which she posted individual entries from her diary, and encouraged others to share their stories of being harassed. "At the time [of the abuse], I didn't feel comfortable confiding in my parents or other adults in my life," Lindin writes on the project's website. "I would have loved to have some reassurance that this time would pass and my life would get better... I decided to create The UnSlut Project in the hopes that my own diary entries from ages 11-14 could provide some perspective to girls who currently feel trapped and ashamed." The project struck a nerve, eliciting accounts from people of all genders and ages, reminding us that slut-shaming is pervasive, insidious, and even fatal. Read on for an excerpt from Lindin's book, and click through The UnSlut Project to learn more about her work that offers hope to people, especially girls, who wonder if they will ever escape sexual bullying.