Slut

[AddleBoy]

@OP
It's a fucking word... If you think a word like "slut" is at the root of your misogynistic discomfort, think again. Blacks didn't gain equality because people stopped calling them "******s." That usually comes after the equality part.

He's right.

Let's take the word, slut, for a minute. "S-L-U-T" The problem you have is not with it's spelling or the way it rolls off your tongue or the way it tickles your eardrum. It's not even the meaning of the word that offends you. Under different circumstances, this jumble of sounds could have been something seen as positive. The problem you have is not with the word, slut, but the fact that it has been given a negative context. You hate that a woman having multiple sex partners or being a woman who has a lot of sex is seen in a negative light. Erasing this word from our collective lexicons will not service to remedy this.

Once you ban the word, some euphemism or some random word will come about carrying the same context. Not even seeing the word as something positive will completely alleviate the problem. The people who still use the word in a negative context will still think less of you. The only change will be that its pronunciation will sound a little less sour to your ears.

You may get rid of the word, but the inequality will still exist.

 

[Rasputin]

That's impossible as you've not sourced them at all. Unless they're placed in context they're worthless.

The big bold text that clearly lead to a link didn't clue you off there? I'm not sure how much more obvious I could have been there mate.

Only they know why they've chosen that particular word. You certainly don't.

They're offensive words, but you can't claim that buy using them they're helping to repress women etc. Faggot is an offensive term, but it exclusively homophobic? Not at all. Fairytale of New York is a good example. Your blogger is just a typical liberal, always looking for signs of society oppressing minorities.

There is only ONE DEFINITION FOR THE WORD SLUT. IT MEANS A SEXUALLY PROMISCUOUS FEMALE. Does this fact confuse you? Do you often assume that people invent random, disjointed meanings for each word they use, even when 99.99% of the world would take a particular term to be insulting? I mean, I was under the impression that when you call someone a slut, that you THINK they are a slut, that you want them to know that you think they are a slut, and that it is GENERALLY NOT A NICE THING TO SAY.

Since apparently I don't convince you though, maybe we should look at what Webster says about this new favorite word of yours:

Main Entry: slut
Pronunciation: \ˈslət\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English slutte
Date: 15th century
1 chiefly British : a slovenly woman
2 a : a promiscuous woman; especially :
prostitute b : a saucy girl : minx

Doesn't look like there's much room for interpretation here, don't you think? Doesn't look like the average woman is going to take being compared to a prostitute for absolutely NO justifiable reason in a positive light? But of course, this dictionary might be far too liberal for your tastes, and they might be biased towards those oh so awful "socially oppressed minorities". However, in THIS debate, unless you are able back up your claims with some form of actual evidence- in other words, with verifiable external sources- your posts are no more meaningful than the indefensible hate speech being spewed from the keyboard by the anti-Semites and white supremacists that frequent online debates.

Wow some bullied poor tammy, why did they use the term slut? Because it's offensive. Or is it because of the PHALLOCENTRIC MALE HIERARCHY? etc etc

It IS offensive. Why? Because girls don't have to actually act sexually promiscuous to be called a slut, and because people are trained to interpret this label as an invitation for sexual harassment. And yes, this is a direct result of the scumbag patriarchy deciding that it would attempt to train women into becoming sexually passive creatures that should be eternally dedicated to whatever man considered them worthy of a relationship. We have lived and still live in a male-centric society which operates at the expense of women. Get over it.

Poor Aisher, not only does she have a stupid fucking name, someone judged her because of what she was wearing poor her.

Because it's clearly it's okay to harass Aisher because her name is unique and she wears a short skirt. It's perfectly fine to connect the way someone dresses with implied sexual label, in public, that is going to stick with this individual and likely lead to further harassment throughout the school year. And of course, it's especially acceptable when it's a teacher talking to a student who DIDN'T ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING WRONG.

If you don't see how ignorant this sort of logic sounds I doubt if you will ever understand why feminists demand women get fair treatment and equal rights.

In case anyone still doubts that this is a serious problem with devastating consequences to families affected by it, here are two recent cases of teenage girls who committed suicide, directly as a result of slut-shaming being used as a form of sexual harassment:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article1054895.ece

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36263424/

Exactly, all people that disagree should be made to shut up. There is only one true ideology, it is mine. etc etc etc etc etc etc

Fine, go ahead and discuss this, just put a big "I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT" disclaimer above all of your posts if you are going to continue to deny that a harmful sexual double standard and slut-shaming exists.

 

[Donald Trump]

The big bold text that clearly lead to a link didn't clue you off there? I'm not sure how much more obvious I could have been there mate.

Hoho Yahoo answers. You should probably go to a hospital seeing as you've shot yourself in the foot. I know very witty etc etc.

There is only ONE DEFINITION FOR THE WORD SLUT. IT MEANS A SEXUALLY PROMISCUOUS FEMALE. Does this fact confuse you? Do you often assume that people invent random, disjointed meanings for each word they use, even when 99.99% of the world would take a particular term to be insulting? I mean, I was under the impression that when you call someone a slut, that you THINK they are a slut, that you want them to know that you think they are a slut, and that it is GENERALLY NOT A NICE THING TO SAY.

Since apparently I don't convince you though, maybe we should look at what Webster says about this new favorite word of yours:

Clearly a fundamental understanding on your part of the malleability of the English language. Even one of your pathetic websites, the tammy one goes on about how slut doesn't have to mean what the Webster dictionary says it does. It's a usually a derogatory term, but by no means a comparison to a whore. If you like, re-read my comparison to faggot.

However, in THIS debate, unless you are able back up your claims with some form of actual evidence- in other words, with verifiable external sources- your posts are no more meaningful than the indefensible hate speech being spewed from the keyboard by the anti-Semites and white supremacists that frequent online debates.

Firstly, the irony of this verifiable external sources etc and you providing me with Yahoo answers. Nice
Secondly, a comparison to white supremacists. Try just a little bit harder.

It IS offensive. Why? Because girls don't have to actually act sexually promiscuous to be called a slut, and because people are trained to interpret this label as an invitation for sexual harassment. And yes, this is a direct result of the scumbag patriarchy deciding that it would attempt to train women into becoming sexually passive creatures that should be eternally dedicated to whatever man considered them worthy of a relationship. We have lived and still live in a male-centric society which operates at the expense of women. Get over it.

Yes it's an offensive term. They wouldn't call her pretty if they wanted to insult her. Again compare this to using faggot to cause offence.
White males are terrible etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc. Ho hum, you're just repeating rhetoric, not an original idea in sight.

Because it's clearly it's okay to harass Aisher because her name is unique and she wears a short skirt. It's perfectly fine to connect the way someone dresses with implied sexual label, in public, that is going to stick with this individual and likely lead to further harassment throughout the school year. And of course, it's especially acceptable when it's a teacher talking to a student who DIDN'T ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING WRONG.

If you don't see how ignorant this sort of logic sounds I doubt if you will ever understand why feminists demand women get fair treatment and equal rights.

In case anyone still doubts that this is a serious problem with devastating consequences to families affected by it, here are two recent cases of teenage girls who committed suicide, directly as a result of slut-shaming being used as a form of sexual harassment:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/humanin...cle1054895.ece

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36263424/

Bad things happen and people top themselves? Gee, perhaps everything that makes a kiddy kill themselves should have its own debate thread. Lost iPods are terrible etc etc. And the teacher who said this was a woman.

Fine, go ahead and discuss this, just put a big "I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT" disclaimer above all of your posts if you are going to continue to deny that a harmful sexual double standard and slut-shaming exists.

I said that a double standard exists. However ths point is that I know what I'm talking about. Femminism has already challenged these double standards and the double standards are accepted by people. My point being that because it is common knowledge this thread is pointless. You ignored that and decided to compare me to anti-semites etc etc and relentlessly spout bullshit about how things are bad for women because white men are bad. You make no difference between the use of the word slut as simply a derogatory term or as term that has comparisons to a whore. But worst of all you are hypocrit. It's ironic because you ckaim to be a femminist, or at least to sympathise with their views yet you don't understand them. You continually paint women as victims of abuse at the hands of society. Your willingness to do so is what makes you a hypocrit.

 

[Shu]

Sorry I read all the way up to this page, tired of reading repeats of the same thing. I believe that the word slut and whore to be actually a very valid word but for very different reasons. WHAT?! SHU?! WHY?!!!!

Just listen up..

One who is not a slut is the following:

1) Women and men both enjoy sex, sometimes to the extent women sometimes enjoy it more.. it's no secret. One orgasm compared to... multiple, get the picture?

2) Women are not freaks for admitting they enjoy sex. Hell, most folks talk about sex like adults where I live, I hear folks even bringing toys/body candies/ special gspot cream... for foreplay. If you were to call women "freaks" then what are men?

3) If the girl is in the dating circuit or not and just wants to have fun, then let the girl be. Sex is great, just use protection and be sure not to sleep with someone you'll regret.

Things that I would use the word Slut for:

1) Long term relationships that are ruined because the girl OR girl gets drunk or whatever else and screws some other fella. The candy is always there folks, but it is just there for looks if you are in a relationship like this.

2) Ones that use sex for their advantage in life. Let's say they dress a certain way to get higher in the job market chain, due to their boss is a womanizing low self esteem ass hole. She sleeps with him, and she moves up or becomes his bitch. I don't usually see the other way around happening.. but I know in some rare cases guys use it as a control tool.

So I still think the word is valid..

 

[Gaige]

I don't really use these words myself. I tend to call people who cheat bastards and such, but I've never really used the word whore.

I have, however, seen people call each other it jokingly. "Hey slut" and the like, and it's OK in that context in my opinion.

I think someone who ruins a committed relationship by cheating deserves to be called this name, guy or girl. And to be honest, yes, it has female connotations and roots, but if I was gonna call a woman a whore, I'd call a man in the same situation one too.

However, in the end it's just a word, and it's come to have that context of a cheating woman beneath the word. But in the end, a word can have all sorts of meanings, like a greeting or a word to judge cheating women. How you take it is up to you, but for now, that word is used, and will continue to be used. You might not like it- I certainly don't- but cheaters of either gender bring it on themselves.

 

[Catnip]

Sorry I read all the way up to this page, tired of reading repeats of the same thing. I believe that the word slut and whore to be actually a very valid word but for very different reasons. WHAT?! SHU?! WHY?!!!!

Just listen up..

One who is not a slut is the following:

1) Women and men both enjoy sex, sometimes to the extent women sometimes enjoy it more.. it's no secret. One orgasm compared to... multiple, get the picture?

2) Women are not freaks for admitting they enjoy sex. Hell, most folks talk about sex like adults where I live, I hear folks even bringing toys/body candies/ special gspot cream... for foreplay. If you were to call women "freaks" then what are men?

3) If the girl is in the dating circuit or not and just wants to have fun, then let the girl be. Sex is great, just use protection and be sure not to sleep with someone you'll regret.

Things that I would use the word Slut for:

1) Long term relationships that are ruined because the girl OR girl gets drunk or whatever else and screws some other fella. The candy is always there folks, but it is just there for looks if you are in a relationship like this.

2) Ones that use sex for their advantage in life. Let's say they dress a certain way to get higher in the job market chain, due to their boss is a womanizing low self esteem ass hole. She sleeps with him, and she moves up or becomes his bitch. I don't usually see the other way around happening.. but I know in some rare cases guys use it as a control tool.

So I still think the word is valid..

This. I agree with this so much. I was hoping you would post in this thread, goddamn. I'm still sort of enlightening myself on this, so there are a lot of holes in my opinions and in a lot of what I say.

I've been so caught up in a lot of the negativity in these words that I forget that they are still pretty valid. In my original post, I said that these words needed to go. Of course, words can't just magically disappear, so I didn't mean literally, not matter how much I ever could have wanted that. And then further into the discussion, someone mentioned changing the context of these words, which I thought was sort of a wonderful idea, but it's an unrealistic one. And then there's your comment, saying that there is a wrong and, I guess, "right" way to use these words. People just need to learn this.





And as for using these words for the intention of offending someone who might not even have anything to do with sex, that's irrelevant. There are too many comments in this thread focusing on using "slut" as merely an offensive term and not by what the definition of it actually is.

 

[SapphireStar]

I think the words are really shameful. =/ Because sometimes people will call a girl a slut because she sleeps around. What if she doesn't want to be in a relationship right now? What if she just wants to have fun? Maybe she just likes having a lot of sex with different people. Maybe the guys she sleeps with all suck and she's trying to find a good lay. There are ALOT of factors to take in when considering it, but as long as people are responsible and being safe when it comes to promiscuous sex, there's no problem with it.

The words definitely need to go. They're utter trash.

True that. I use the word whore sometimes as a joke between female and make friends. Heck I sometimes call my gay male friend a whore and he loves it. The word slut has always seemed too harsh to me, almost like hate. It has bite to it and can be very hurtful. I use the word tart if I really have to. But all the words are aimed at women. What do you call a guy who sleep around? No idea.

 

[Harlequin]

Slut, whore, skank, and the list goes on.

When I'm being immature or just not showing any sort of proper articulacy, I use these words.

I think those words only enhance one's repertoire.

What are your opinions --any at all-- on words like this?

It's not the word so much as it is the sentiment. It's not a question of getting rid of the word to rectify what you see as a problem. If the sentiment remains, which it always will, the words will continue to be used and indeed invented.

First of all you have to consider the reason why women are the targeted gender. Not that I'm condoning it's use, but these words are given to women who run a serious risk of becoming single parents, because lets face it, males can run a mile and there's no obligation to stick around even if it is your baby. Not to mention throughout history it was usually the male's role to make a living and the female's to keep the home. Would a male want to enter such a dynamic with a woman who is known for her promiscuity? For her multiple partners?

I'm not going to speak for the majority of males, but the sentiment and words are there for a reason and you may not think it now but some use the word as a way of protecting females. I know you ladies might find that a touch patronising, but you don't know males inside out.

 

[Tmoo]

so what i'm seeing is, 'women should not be shamed for screwing lots of people'.

that's all well and good, but to be perfectly honest from my probably-patriarchal-pedestal-of-male-dominance perspective, i don't want those words to go away.

OMG, HE DIDN'T JUST SAY THAT. BURN HIS MISOGYNISTIC ASS.

no, hold your flaming swords, i'm not done yet. i don't want those words to go away, because then we'd have to get rid of every other offensive word in the english language. it's only fair; some in the gay community take the word faggot offensively. citizens of north america might take offense at the word 'yankee'. and what of words like yuppie, <insert>-tard, etc? what i'm getting at is, women aren't the only group 'suffering' from derogatory terms.

rather than muck about trying to delete old words, let's invent words for the male side of this coin and call it a day. for instance, ababwa could be the new 'slut' for males! i'm a genius! someone give me a nobel peace prize.

while we're all giving our personal opinions and flaming each other for them, i may as well throw mine out there to be devoured and spat on like everyone else. i don't believe in being promiscuous (gasp! !!!). i would not want to pursue a relationship with someone who has fucked around lots, unless they happen to be a really, REALLY great person (double gasp! !!!1). a woman's sexual history matters to me (triple gasp!!!) and i expect mine would also matter to her (zomgwtfbbq!!!!!11one). are you shocked yet? do you despise me because i detest promiscuity and instinctively bias myself against those who are?

the great thing about having cognitive awareness is that i am allowed to have my opinions and thumb my nose at anyone who attempts to control them. being human is wonderful.

 

[Dee]

They don't really bother me at all because A) they're just words, and B) I'm not any of them. Although I may be a b*tch at times or act like a c*nt, it probably has some merit. xD Meh, they don't really bother me personally. I do use them myself as well, especially with men. I quite enjoy terms like hebitch and manwhore. xD

 

[The Witch]

Well, if they're acting like any of those words--they're those definitions of each of those words. If people don't like them, just stop acting like a slut/whore/skank/etc.

 

[Cardinal Copia]

I certainly don't go and throw around those words, but if a man or woman is bragging about how many people they've slept with to try and bash somebody who is sexually inexperienced, or try and compete with somebody to see who's slept with more people, I will call them a slut. Regardless of if its a man or woman. I've had friends do this in high school. It's stupid. If you have alot of sex thats cool. Just don't throw it in my face and try to use that as something to try and degrade me for not doing.

 

[Dionysos]

I don't use any of these words when addressing a woman because that would be insulting.

I get on with all sorts of people in different ways. A person's sexual business is their own business, and whilst I don't partake in sexual games of musical chairs myself, other people do that sort of thing sometimes. Most of the time, however, I would never know what a person gets up to, and therefore I'd know other aspects of their personality and their other interests, rather than their sexual escapades.

I'd never bring the sexual history of a person up as a casual conversation topic. I don't understand how people enter into conversations of that nature, but I guess people do that sort of thing. It would only matter to me if I was in a relationship with the person, or had fallen for the person and wanted to be in a relationship with them. Then I'd be interested in knowing (if I could politely find out) but I would not call her a slut for her past history, but I would have to steel myself to be more cautious for myself and my own feelings if it turns out she has slept with a lot of people and / or isn't wanting to settle for a long-term relationship.

People have been slut-shaming women since antiquity whilst men are sometimes referred to as heroes for sleeping around. Historically speaking this was often because paternity could not be proved and depended on trust. If a woman slept around and got pregnant then her husband could not guarantee that the child was his. Cheating aside, I think it also goes back to the fact that a woman is trapped with the evidence of her affair in the form of her pregnancy and her child, whereas a man who lay with a girl casually could skip gleefully away over the hill and never see that girl again, and maybe get away with everything. His mates may laugh and cheer with him as he tells his tale, but people of authority might never find out.

I don't think we should be using these words, but if people do use them then it shouldn't only be women who are spoken of in this way. I dislike the image of being a so-called 'manly man' who acts like Bond or Hercules and sleeps with a hundred women. That sort of thing may make a nice wet dream, but not a very moral reality where the feelings of the people involved are concerned.

Down with double standards, etc.

 

[Miasma Dragon]

Yes, I've used such terms. I still do. I call my mom such terms, and I call men similar names. Thing is, it seems to me those most offended by such terms are often antagonists of sexual-positive feminism.