Sadly, the terms ‘slut’, ‘slag’, ‘sket’ and many others like these are thrown around in our society today. It is unnervingly normal for a girl to be judged for her own sexual choices and immediately undermined by just one word, slut. The saddest part of this though, is that it isn’t just guys who are brandishing these terms around. Girl-on-girl slut shaming is just as, if not more, prevalent today. None of us girls can hand on heart admit that we have never referred to someone as a slut. Even if we meant it in an off-hand or sarcastic manner, we are still all guilty of feeding the unjust notion that if a female chooses to have sex with multiple partners, she must be a slut.
We’ve all heard the joke before, ‘What do you call a guy who sleeps with loads of girls?’ ‘A lad’ ‘And what do you call a girl who sleeps with loads of guys?’ ‘A slut’. Yet, even though we’ve all heard this ridiculous joke and seem to acknowledge the unfairness of it, our society still completely adheres to the notion. Obviously, the basic argument against this is that men and women should have equal rights, be treated equally in all matters including sex. Therefore, if a girl chooses to sleep with multiple people, whether that’s through one night stands or having lots of relationships, it should be her choice and as with guys, she shouldn’t be judged for it. However, the concept of this goes beyond equal rights for men and women. The bottom line is that, so long as it is consenting, everyone should have the right to sleep with as many or as few people as they choose, regardless of gender. No one should be vulnerable to being judged for their sexual choices.
Therefore, I urge you to stop yourself the next time you are about to refer to a girl as a ‘slut’ because the change in sexual attitudes needs to come from us. If us girls keep referring to other girls as sluts, we are in no position to complain if we ourselves get judged. It’s all very well girls claiming that they are feminists and want equal rights when we still continue to totally undermine the whole notion of sexual equality through the use of just one word. To quote Tina Fey in ‘Mean Girls’, ‘You all have got to stop calling each other sluts and whores. It just makes it okay for guys to call you sluts and whores’. So let’s throw our judgements aside, celebrate sexual liberation for both girls and guys and put an end to slut shaming.
Photo credit: Liorak Photography