5 Reasons to Stop Using the Word ‘Slut’ to Describe Women
You can stop using the word ‘whore’ too, and any other combination of words that degrade another person for their sexual choices.
It doesn’t matter how many people she’s had sex with, how she dresses, or what flavor toothpaste she likes to use. Her toothpaste could be a tube of semen, albeit unsanitary, you still shouldn’t call her a slut. The reasons why:
1. It’s an entirely sexist word.
Regardless if it’s used by a man or woman, it’s sexist in nature. The word is rarely used to describe a man, yet it’s used to humiliate women for their personal choices on a daily basis. This breeds a culture where a man’s sexuality is glorified, and a woman’s sexuality is caged. This is unhealthy for obvious psychological reasons, but it goes so much deeper. On to the next…
2. It creates rape culture.
When a man’s sexuality is glorified in comparison to a female’s, it signifies priority. It creates a sense of entitlement a la: “My sexual desires are more important than what she wants.” This foundation for rape culture is amplified by the objectification of women throughout the media, and there you have it: rape culture. Rape is bad (duh) and there’s an entire generation of people (I’m talking about our kids, y’all) we need to educate more effectively in order to have a positive effect on the rates in which people are sexually abused in America, but we can start with something easy like removing a word from our vocabulary.
3. It’s super childish.
Really? Seriously? You’re kidding, right? Why the fuck do you even care? I just don’t get it. If I hear “she’s gross” one more time, I might just explode. As a nation, it’s time to grow up. Name-calling wasn’t even cool when we were five; let’s start acting our age and treating each other with respect. You probably pick your nose in the privacy of your bedroom (I know I do); what others’ do in the privacy of theirs is none of your business and definitely not something you should be judging.
4. Your insecurity is showing.
It’s plainly obvious that you’re doing it out of your own insecurity or jealousy. Being insecure and jealous are completely natural human emotions and are nothing to be ashamed about. However, if your tactics to make yourself feel better are to bring other people down, then it becomes a problem (and it doesn’t even work, by the way). Instead of slut-shaming, try rooting for your fellow human beings to get frisky! It feels good and it’s fun, why wouldn’t you root for it? Even if your beliefs say it’s wrong to have premarital sex, those are your beliefs, not theirs. You can still root for their happiness.
If you begin to see the best in others, you also begin to see the best in yourself. If everyone does this, and we build each other up instead of breaking each other down, we’ll all feel a little less insecure.
5. It’s downright mean.
You think that calling her a slut behind her back makes it any less mean? For every time you say it behind her back, someone else says it to her face. By saying it at all, you’re perpetuating the notion that it’s okay to be mean to each other. I don’t need to tell you why this is a poor road to travel down.
Sexuality is a touchy subject (heh heh). For many of us, sexual insecurities are fierce and thriving within our hearts, and the last thing we need is judgement and degradation from other people. The title of this article mentions reasons to stop calling women sluts, but really, you shouldn’t use it as a descriptor for anyone. In the end, if you’re still using the words ‘slut’ or ‘whore’ to describe people in 2014, then you’re a part of the problem, and I will gladly say that your face.
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