There's no such thing as a slut!!!!!! I want to shout it from rooftops. From moving cars. To a crowd of a million people. And with a megaphone.
To me, terms like "slut" and "whore" seem so outdated. Those were terms we used in, like, middle school to describe the way a girl dressed who you didn't like. We didn't know what those words actually meant and we for sure didn't know if she fit into the definition of a slut or whore. We didn't know about her actions or behavior. But we learned. By ninth grade of high school I was done calling girls sluts and whores and usually just used it as a term of endearment for a best friend who I joked around with a lot. Nothing serious.
But while I grew up, I can't help but notice girls are still calling each other these catty names that don't really mean anything. And I'm sick of it. What does it mean to be a slut? I've read things stating back in the day, a slut was a girl who couldn't keep her room clean and other definitions that wouldn't describe a slut by today's standards. So a slut is a girl who can't keep her room clean? I know a lot of sluts then. But I never would call anyone a slut in terms of having a lot of sex and enjoying it.
What do these words mean? How can it be defined? The meanings are ambiguous, and, again, outdated. Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines slut as "a promiscuous woman" or "a saucy girl." I would love to be called saucy! According to Huffington Post, "[t]he first usage of slut is from 1386 in 'The Canterbury Tales.' [Geoffrey] Chaucer used the adjective 'sluttish' to refer to a man who is dressed in dirty and untidy clothes." Damn, I know so many sluts by that definition too. I guess I never should have stopped using the word now considering I know so many men who can't dress themselves.
Sluts don't exist. And neither should slut shaming. Slut shaming is shaming a person for being sexual (even once) or having multiple sexual partners in general. Slut shaming shouldn't exist because sluts don't exist. Why do we slut shame? Why isn't it socially acceptable to have sexual experiences with someone and just get on with your life? Why is there a double standard for men who have a lot of sex and are applauded for it? The way our culture has been shaped and skewed for centuries is the reason for the misunderstandings based around sex.
Tina Fey's character Ms. Norbury in "Mean Girls" says, "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." You wear revealing clothes? Fab. You have sex with a number of partners? I'm happy. You think you shouldn't be shamed for what you do in your life? Same here. Society has viewed sex as either right or wrong, instead of something that just is.
Even Charles Bukowski (who was drunk half his life) said in a letter, "There is no such thing as a whore" (but also has a poem titled "To The Whore Who Took My Poems" so I'm not exactly sure where he stands). But what is wrong with being a slut, a whore? I would be proud to be either. In terms of 21st century thinking, women know the power of their sexuality and are not ashamed or insulted by it. Women can be empowered by their sexuality, or not. There is nothing wrong with either, but just don't call her, him, anyone slutty.