If you have any doubt, check out Slut The Play , written by high school students who based the play on their own experiences with how the word can tear down a teen's confidence. The word has had something of a cultural moment in recent years thanks to the now-global SlutWalk , with celebrities like Amber Rose leading parades and wearing an outfit covered in slurs. Watch the video above for even more responses. Even in my 20s, I was more sensitive to the word, probably because so many of us were experimenting sexually, dating multiple people, dressing provocatively, etc.
Not that any of those things are negative, but if someone wanted to shame you with the word 'slut' โ a friend, a guy at a bar, a nasty relative โ it was easier to do. Now, in my 30s, the word feels much less relevant to my life. Nobody really says, 'hey look at that slut buying diapers.
In my day-to-day life I don't hear it used in a harsh way, if I hear it at all. I have no personal interest in reclaiming the word, but instead in making systematic social changes that undermine the belief system that gives it power.
But you know what? I like the idea of reclaiming, of stripping the word of its power, rendering those who use it with malice, powerless. I think at this point โ at all points โit's about doing everything we possibly can to drown out the voices of those who oppress, by making the voices of the oppressed as loud as we possibly can.
I'm into it. A woman who makes her own decision on who she wants to engage in sexual activity with. Society has painted such a terrible picture that goes with the word 'slut' โ it's pretty disgusting. But for me, hearing that word doesn't upset me. I don't allow it to bother me the way that I feel other women would be bothered by being called that name.
