Ashlynn Conner, a 10-year-old girl from Illinois, committed suicide Friday after enduring bullying at school, including comments that she “looked like a boy” after she got a short haircut.
Her family says the bullying had gone on for several years. Bullies made fun of Ashlynn, a fifth-grader, for how she looked. They called her a boy and said she was “fat,” “ugly” and a “slut.”
The day before she took her life, she told her mother she wanted to be homeschooled because of the bullies. Her mother said she’d discuss it with the principal that week.
My heart is broken. We cannot let this go unnoticed. Rest peacefully, Ashlynn. Prayers go out to her family and friends.
Ten. Years. Old.
This is why slut-shaming and fat-shaming and sticking to rigid, ridiculous gendering of appearance are horrible things.
Yeah, they’re fifth graders. They’re ten or eleven years old. And I for one am not surprised that they know the word “slut.” They know what they hear from older kids and from adults and from what they watch on TV or see in movies. People have clearly used these words around them and modeled these behaviours in the presence of these kids.
I’ve seen people wondering how ten year olds even know the word “slut.” When I was in fourth grade (1996-97 school year) a kindergartner called me a bitch. Kindergartner. So no, I am not surprised that a ten year old knows the word “slut.” I’m saddened and angered by it, but I’m not surprised.
In memory of Ashlynn Conner, age 10 (TW: suicide, bullying, tragedy)
Kirkwall Was Totally Built On a Hellmouth 