Ah the slut, we all know her very well. She is the girl slurring out “another vodka tonic please”, the girl wearing a dress that looks like it would fit your ten year old sister perfectly (as a t-shirt), the girl stumbling home with your crush. She is the girl that other girls whisper about and that the boys will happily stumble home with.

If anyone outside your social circle called you a slut, you would be pretty pissed. So I must ask: why is it that when my best friend greets me with a cheery “Hey Slut” I am not in the least bit offended? Rather I know that we have reached an extreme level of closeness?

I can’t count the number of times I’ve called my friends sluts as a term of endearment. One of my best friends, Lauren, is better known to me as ‘Laur-Whore’. And how many times have you come across pics online titled: “me with my favorite sluts!”

Why is it that close groups of girls can call each other a name that society has deemed taboo for others outside that circle to label her as? Much like the N-word, Slut is most often used in a derogatory and demeaning fashion. So why do both African Americans and women alike, make light of words that have historically taken away their place in society to be seen as equal? And instead, belittles them and places untrue and unfair stereotypes upon them? Read More »

Slut. Whore. Easy. Lush.

No, not listing my nicknames. Just writing down a few adjectives usually used to describe girls who get around. Girls who aren’t rigid when it comes to sharing a bed. Girls who are getting more ass than a lot of us.

I grew up whispering those names just as much as everyone else around me. She’s such a slut! I’d say, watching some chick walk down the hall. Apparently she went home with him, I’d sneer, doesn’t it bother her to be so easy?

But then I grew up a little, got out of a long term relationship, and found myself in the shark infested waters of New York City. Dating here is basically akin to pinball; people bouncing off one another until they land inside a nice cozy pocket and rotate around for a while, or bang off obstacle after obstacle, never getting anything more than a headache. Finding a strong relationship here is like finding a pair of shorts that actually make your legs look good.

(Okay. Two analogies in a row. Onward.)

The more I started dating, and the better I got to know myself, the more I started to question those tricky adjectives. In the year 2007, we’re still calling girls who like sex sluts, while guys who like sex are just…guys who like sex? What’s so bad about liking sex anyway? What’s so bad about sleeping with a lot of guys? Read More »