I'm writing this to send a very important message that I sincerely hope will be heard. Today in our society, words spill out as if they have no meaning.

I'm a 14 year old girl, a normal teen. What I am NOT is a slut, and I can't even count how many times I have been called or referred to as one.

Slut Shaming - the action or fact of stigmatizing a woman for engaging in behaviour judged to be promiscuous or sexually provocative by use of words such as "slut'"or "hoe."

When you are called a slut it tears off a piece of your confidence and self-esteem. I dare you to ask yourselves how many people you have called by these names in anger or in jest, and in most cases as a flippant remark not even related to its meaning.

What is most important to me is the hope that this letter will help make you understand what this does to a girl. And make no mistake, it is always done to a girl.

When someone calls you a word like this, you think about yourself with a tinge of disgust and it leaves you with a feeling of worthlessness. Imagine being called this on a daily basis. For some girls, they hear such insults so frequently it just keeps tearing them down until they don't feel like themselves anymore. It's dehumanizing. When people call you this, and tell you to stop being a hoe or looking like one, it makes you feel shame. But it really isn't about changing how you look, or the clothes you wear - even if you wear baggy clothes and are fully covered so that promiscuous belly button isn't exposed, they may still continue to call you such names. Nothing will please them.

If you are too "skinny" they will tell you that you need to eat, and if you are not skinny enough you are considered "fat". In this society, the society that I live in, our body type doesn't matter. Neither does the way we dress or how we wear makeup; they still call you a "slut". When does it stop?

In school we learn extensively about sexual education, protection & STI's, drugs, consent, internet safety & predators, compassion for sexual and gender orientation, and bullying. I propose that slut shaming be included as a topic all its own.

Slut shaming is the oldest and most basic of gender inequality; it is allowed to run rampant without being addressed while being highly destructive in an absolutely critical time in the shaping of a girl's identity. Amanda Todd. Amanda Todd is considered a case of bullying but I ask you how was she bullied? She was slut-shamed. She was assigned the title of slut over and over and over.

If we were talking about racial slurs, or gender slurs, or homophobia, this would never be tolerated. Bullying is too broad, and doesn't adequately address the weapon of choice which is, in this instance, a verbal slaughter. It is the systematic persecution of women that we look away from, or blame on the promiscuous belly button.

Like many girls and women before me I ask, why am I the problem? Should I have the expectation of a verbal assault from boys and girls alike because I show my belly button? Or maybe when I wear eyeliner? Oh and don't forget about when I wear tight jeans. I guess I will bring a larger bag to carry all the insults on those days. Is this the society you want your friends, sisters, girlfriends, and future daughters to be exposed to? Does this make you proud? Your mother survived this too, how many times was she called a slut or a hoe? How does that make you feel? #iamnotadistraction

How ridiculous would it be if we start measuring the width of a tank top on a guy? There are a lot of boys with mature bodies, but their bodies are celebrated not shamed. They can flex and lift their shirts to show off their abs, and can even go topless. A woman is only free until she develops breasts and then she becomes an object to be simultaneously desired and shamed for being desirable.

Every girl, every person is beautiful and unique and no one deserves this treatment. Girls need to support each other, but we also need systems that help encourage this support. Slut shaming is detrimental to those who let it flow freely from their mouths; you are enforcing your own gender inequality, you are keeping yourself down.

I dare you to embody decency and respect. I dare you to treat others how you want to be treated. I dare you to stop poisoning another generation of girls, powerful girls who will achieve great things, some regardless of the title you choose to assign.

I am asking for respect and decency yes, but really I am asking for HELP.

I am asking for help from my school board to implement education to end the assault on girls, to empower in them the women they are becoming no differently than the transformation from boy to man.

I am asking my teachers, all teachers, to read this to their students.

I am asking for you to consider my plea and to understand the consequences that we, the girls, continue to suffer if this is left ignored or dismissed.

I am asking for your support.

Indie W