Slut.
It is arguably one of the most demeaning and damaging words in our vocabulary today—yet somehow it is so commonly used amongst males and females on a daily basis. It is used so commonly, that it is safe to assume that at some point in a woman’s lifetime she will be called a slut or some form of it like broad, whore or ho. The list is endless.
It wasn’t until somewhat recently that I realized just how much of an issue “slut shaming” was, but unfortunately during my senior year of high school I experienced it first hand. After going through some personal events, I began to feel the undeniable need to feel loved: a feeling that I think most have experienced or will experience at some point in their lifetime. While I still maintained what I consider to be “high moral standards” in the eyes of our exceedingly judgmental society, I was not only jokingly referred to as “slut” and “ho” by people that I was not only close to, but also behind my back in a more deliberate manner.
After slowly starting to realize how hurtful it was to me, I would voice this opinion by telling people that I did not appreciate being called those names. Their response? That I was too sensitive and I should know that they were “just joking.”
This epitomizes the most mind-boggling part of this concept. We are supposed to take labeling a woman by the decisions she decides to make with HER body as a simple light-hearted joke. Especially at such young ages, I’m fairly certain that the first time I heard these words was in middle school, age 11.
I think most women will agree that at some point in their lives they have felt pressured, either directly by someone or indirectly by society in general, to move too fast sexually. We are constantly labeled by our sexual actions: virgin—prude, or not a virgin—slut. While on the opposing side, men are not “sluts” or “ho-bags,” they are just “having fun” and somehow this is completely acceptable.
The discrimination does not stop with males; the females are just as guilty. Sit down and listen in on any conversation with a group of teenage girls or young adults and I could almost guarantee that these words will be used to describe another female. So no wonder men deem it acceptable to replace our names with such offensive lingo. We allow it by calling each other these names. It is often out of our own insecurities as well. I think this is the saddest part; females have become so insecure about our bodies and the decisions with make with them that we have shrunk down to such a discriminatory level.
According to Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), 44 percent of victims of sexual assault are under the age of 18, and one out of every six American women have been a victim of rape. That is approximately 17.7 million American women being sexually assaulted. Therefore, statistically speaking, it is actually more than likely that the girl you are calling a ho, could have been raped. This alone should be reason enough to stop using such offensive language, just out of sheer respect for the massive amount of people who have been victims of such an incredibly terrible crime.
All of this comes down to one simple point: we are programmed to have sex. It is biology. Whether a woman decides to have sex or not is really no one else’s business other than her own. We should be working together, women especially, rather then tearing each other apart vocally to stop this slut-shaming concept.