The term used for an individual who is considered promiscuous or morally unclean is usually applied to women. The absence of a comparable term for me highlights a sexist double standard that diminishes women’s sexual agency.
Slut originates from Old English, and it means a “messy, dirty, or untidy” woman or girl. In contemporary culture, the slur reinforces the social characterization of the ideal woman as demure virgins until marriage (and patriarchal possession).
Slut shaming demeans women because it suggests sexually empowered women deserve negative judgment and social marginalization. It denies women’s choice and women’s autonomy.
The sexualized stigma that comes with the term slut includes judgment s about a woman’s appearance as too sexual—and this is a logic of social control that also contributes to a culture that blames women who are victims and survivors of rape.
Watch: “Slutwalk Documentary” (2013)
In 2011, women in Canada began a SLUTWALK movement that has become worldwide. It protests slut shaming and a rape culture that blames rape on a woman’s appearance or behavior. Women organize marches and speaking events to combat the ways in which “slut” contributes to rape culture and diminishes women’s freedoms.
Read:
Katie Cappiello and Meg McInerny, SLUT: A Play and Guidebook for Combating Sexism and Sexual Violence (2015)
Kate Harding, Asking for It: The Alarming Rise of Rape Culture—and What We Can Do About It (2015)