Riverdale: 10 Times The Female Characters Were Slut-Shamed

Riverdale scores much higher than other CW teen dramas in the misogyny and sexism department. Since the show is more current than others like Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars, it is a lot more female-empowering than the others. Riverdale’s characters like Betty and Veronica are openly feminist, they regularly challenge the patriarchal norm, fight for their place at the table, while characters like Toni, Cheryl, and Kevin give representation to the LQBTQIA+ community.

However, even the most well-intentioned shows can slip when it comes to slut-shaming. Female and female-identifying characters are often given flak for their sexuality on television, while men get a free pass. It’s worth noting that some of these instances of slut-shaming on Riverdale took place in episodes that addressed the regressive practice, while some just flat-out shamed the women on the show. You decide.

10 When Veronica Hooked Up With Chuck

Before Veronica got together with Archie, she was just a new girl in school, excited about her dating prospects at Riverdale High. So, in season 1, she decided to go on a date with Chuck Clayton from the varsity team, which turned out to be a humiliating experience for her.

A harmless make-out session between Chuck and Veronica was painted out to be something more than just that by Chuck, and he told the whole school that she had given him a “sticky maple” — whatever sexual activity that was a euphemism for. The girls in school, as well as some of the Bulldogs, seemed proud of the slut-shaming Chuck had subjected Veronica to.

9 When Ethel Spoke To Chuck

Similar to Veronica, Ethel was subjected to sexist ridicule by Chuck and his disgusting football team friends. She made the mistake of helping Chuck with homework in the library for ten minutes, and he lied to the whole school that he had hooked up with her.

A fraction of the Bulldogs maintained a book full of “conquests” by their teammates where they reduced women to their shape and size and awarded points to each other. When Ethel tried to take it up with the school Principal Mr. Weatherbee, he dismissed her pleas by stating that there was a lack of proof.

8 When Polly Dated Jason

Even though Jason was dead by the time this news came to light, it was a fact that Jason was also slut-shaming Polly with his teammates while he was dating her. He was party to the heinous practice of recording and assigning points to the girls that he had any relations with, and Polly was one of them.

According to Chuck, Jason had called her “a prissy prude” by day and “a freak in the sheets” by night. Even Cheryl, ever-protective of her brother, had to concede that he wasn’t as pure as she thought he was when she saw Polly’s name in the book.

7 When Betty And Veronica Fought At Shadow Lake

This was a low moment for both the best friends as they slut-shamed each other very unnecessarily — in front of their respective partners. When Jughead, Betty, Veronica, and Archie had gone for a weekend retreat to Shadow Lake, Betty got the news that Hiram had bought The Riverdale Register, which ignited a fight between the two couples.

While bashing it out about Hiram, Betty brought up how Veronica had Archie twisted around her finger and other body parts, and Veronica shamed Betty for having sex with Jughead in her Dark Betty costume, which Betty had told Veronica about in confidence.

6 When Alice Kept Forcing Betty To Be A “Decent Girl”

It was no secret that Alice was not a good parent to either Polly or Betty. She had an oppressively strict standard that she held both her daughters to and most of that involved clamping down on their sexuality. Whenever she spoke to Betty, she kept talking about how Jason had corrupted Polly, just because they had had sex (consensually.

She kept telling Betty that she needs to be “decent”, which to her meant not dating Jughead or dressing a certain way. One time, Alice even shamed Betty for wearing scarlet lipstick and physically wiped it off to replace it with a “less promiscuous” pink.

5 When Cheryl Called The River Vixen Sluts

When Betty, Josie, and the other girls at Riverdale High were discussing Veronica’s ordeal with Chuck and comforting Ethel because she, too, had gone through the same humiliation, Cheryl crashed the conversation.

She was flippant about the whole situation and claimed that “boys will be boys” and told them to suck it up. After this, she called Betty and Ronnie sluts and told them to go join the River Vixens practice session, for which she was severely scolded by Veronica and warned not to use the word for any other woman in the school.

4 When Betty Shamed Veronica For Partying

Veronica momentarily lapsed into her party girl ways from New York when her friend Nick St. Clair came to Riverdale, and indulged in Jingle Jangle and a lot of drinking.

Betty, unmoved by her friends’ revelry, told Veronica off for her slip in judgment, but not without chiding her for her “plunging necklines”, which wasn’t relevant to the argument. Granted, Betty had been forced by the Black Hood to cut Veronica out, but slut-shaming Veronica was not the way to do it.

3 After Nick St. Clair’s Party

Right after Betty’s outburst, the drug-induced haze ended and so did Nick’s party. When Veronica sat down with Nick to wind down and talk, he tried to come onto her repeatedly, even though she had made it very clear that she was with Archie.

When Veronica rejected his advances, Nick essentially shamed her for being a tease and flirting, and then thinking she was too good for him, even though she hadn’t led him on at any point. Her confidence in her sexuality didn’t sit well with shady Nick at all.

2 When Penelope Blamed Cheryl For The Attempted Assault

Nick St. Clair was depraved, amongst other things, and he roofied Cheryl’s drink and attempted to rape her before Veronica and Josie rescued her with the other Pussycats. Cheryl got tons of support from the other girls on the show, and even from Veronica’s parents, but not from evil Penelope.

Cheryl’s own mother thought that nothing had happened to her daughter and that Cheryl must have said or done something to invite the attack on herself, and resolved to drop charges against Nick.

1 When The Ghoulies Called Betty And Veronica Skanks

Betty and Veronica set up an elaborate trap to track down the Sugarman, who was behind the supply and manufacture of Jingle Jangle in Riverdale. They trapped and followed a dealer to the Jingle Jangle lab, where Archie and Jughead were already having a face-off with the Ghoulies.

Both the best friend pairs were surprised to see each other, but the Ghoulies told Archie and Jughead to call off “their b******” and control their “skanks” while referring to Ronnie and Betty, which was disrespectful and not disputed by the boys.

About The Author