“What a Slut!,” Emily Medosch (2016) — Inquiry 3

Writer’s memo

In this assignment, we had to pick a public issue that interested us, and do some research to come up with argument on this topic, then defend it. I liked the assignment the best because I feel that this is more of what we would have to do in the real world: research and figure things out for ourselves, then decide why we think what we do. The first part of this assignment is determining what a public argument consists of. I decided that a public argument is an issue that has publicity around it and large groups involved in it. For example, I chose slut-shaming as my public argument because it involves a few large groups of people. In my paper, I reference homosexual males, heterosexual males, and women as a whole. That includes a vast majority of people, and thus qualifies as a public argument. It also has multiple perspectives and has many arguments that can stem from it. I chose specifically that slut-shaming is only negative in regards to women. Other arguments that could be made is if slut-shaming is done by one group more than another, why people slut-shame, or even why slut-shaming is perceived as negative. There are many different sides that you can be on for each of these arguments. Some challenges that I had with this assignment was being unbiased so I could try out the Rogerian Argument. While I did not have to be completely unbiased, I felt that if I remained objective, I could do better research and have a paper that more accurately shows each side. Another challenge was figuring out what to use for research and what quotes would work with my paper to strengthen it. However, this assignment was very helpful for future research papers that I would have to write for other classes because I have the basic process down now and feel confident in my ability to find good articles to support my arguments. Another difficulty that I had was coming up with a central idea to connect my three perspectives. With the Rogerian argument, I was not directly taking one side and pointing out the negatives with the others. I had to accurately portray each side, with all the positives and negatives. However, the conference helped me figure out what my central argument was and how to portray that without attacking the other sides.

 

What a Slut!

“Slut” is a term everyone has heard in some context at some point in their lives. When one hears this word, their automatic reaction is to think of a woman. The idea of slut-shaming has a direct association with women, specifically women with multiple sexual partners. There has always been a double standard in regards to how men and women are treated regarding this subject. When men talk about how many sexual partners they have, they are praised; yet, when women do the same thing, they are ridiculed and become known as a “slut.” A good portion of people think of slut-shaming, and automatically assume that it is a straight male harassing a straight female about her sex life. However, research shows that slut-shaming is also moving into other groups such as homosexual males and heterosexual males, but with a positive connotation rather than a negative one.

The way that homosexual males use the term “slut” is different from the way some may initially think. The connotation of “slut” usually means a woman that people view as dirty based off how many people she sleeps with or how she dresses. However, the term is not limited to this group. Homosexual men use the term to show concern for their friends’ safety. Bryce McDavitt did a study and interviewed homosexual males to better understand how they feel about the use of this term, “slut,” and he realized that they were using it in a different way than what most people are used to. He writes, “Seemingly judgmental language, such as ‘slut’ and ‘whore’, when applied by young gay men to each other, may also be part of an interpersonal bonding process that helps to generate a sense of shared culture and connectedness” (McDavitt 489). If one of their friends comes home from a night out, and says that they did not use a condom, one will call the other a “slut” to point out how dangerous this is and possibly get the friend to change that habit. This still keeps the negative connotation with the term, but uses it in a way that is helpful to others, rather than tear them down, building a better relationship as well. The ones that McDavitt interviewed give off the idea that being sexually active is not a bad thing, no matter the number, as long as both partners are being safe. McDavitt observed this and wrote, “Still, judgmental comments about sexual behavior may be ‘heard’ by young gay men as an implicit confirmation of heterosexist social norms, even as their use in certain contexts may support opposite norms favoring sexual freedom” (McDavitt 490). While judgment is bound to happen no matter what group one is, in this community, the idea of slut-shaming is not prominent, and when it is brought up it is to point out how dangerous someone’s actions are.

Along with homosexual men, heterosexual men use the term “slut” amongst themselves in some occasions. It is not uncommon to hear straight men slut-shaming women, however, the use of the term “slut” in reference to men is a very rare occurrence. The sexual double standard allows for men to be as sexually active as they like with little to no repercussions. One researcher was curious to see if the idea of a male “slut” was even a possibility, and wrote the following: “Terms such as ‘male slut’ and its equivalent are all but invisible in popular culture, at least from a casual Google search” (Flood 98). The idea of shaming a man for having sex is almost unheard of. However, women are beginning to be turned off by men who brag about their sexual conquests. Using “slut” to refer to men is still not a regular occurrence, but the idea of not wanting to be with someone based on their sexual history is becoming a prominent thing for women. While shaming men for taking part in sexual activities is not as blatant as it is with women, the idea of not wanting someone who has had many sex partners is becoming a consistent thing among genders.

Females are slut-shamed, without a doubt. It can be seen everywhere, from the dress codes at schools, to the way media portrays certain women, to the way women talk about each other even. Slut-shaming is not simply men branding women as sluts, but women also attack other women with this term “slut”. The idea seems to be ridiculous; why would women call each other “sluts” when they themselves hate to be referred to as a “slut”? It is possible that some use it because they are jealous or simply because they assume that this woman is “sleeping around,” and they consider that to be a bad thing. One writer commented on how easy it is for a woman to be labelled as a “slut” by saying, “Young women have been labelled as sluts because of kissing young men over a regular period, having casual sex, dressing in sexy ways, being different or an ‘outsider’, being disliked or envied by other girls, going through puberty and developing breasts earlier than other girls, being raped or fighting” (Kreager and Staff 2009, 148; Tanenbaum 1999, 1127 qtd Flood). Women will mercilessly assault other women with this word simply because it can easily ruin a reputation. Slut-shaming does not have to mean that a woman is actually sleeping with multiple persons, and this is where things can get misconstrued. Walking down the street, women can be heard talking about other women’s sex lives without even knowing them. They make other women seem dirty or like they are below them simply because of how they are dressed. This is the group that makes slut-shaming bigger than it should be, and then they are also offended when men make comments similar to the ones they were making earlier about another girl. Slut-shaming has traditionally been men degrading women about how they are dressed, and would call them “sluts.” However, other women also attack women. Some view girls that dress provocatively or engage in casual sexual relations to be desperate for that male attention. Two female reporters wrote an article about slut-shaming, and in it, they wrote, “it could also be refusing the destructive and projective force of ‘slut shaming’: that familiar form of sexual regulation that circulates between girls and women when they attack other women for dressing like ‘sluts’ and ‘whores’ to ‘get male attention’” (Ringrose 335).  While some women do feel the need to show more skin to attract guys, that does not mean that every girl in a shorter skirt is dying for male attention. To some women, it does not matter if these girls they are commenting on are actually engaging in casual sex or not, they will still call them a “slut” based solely off of what they are wearing. One researcher that was previously mentioned, Flood, notices this and writes, “More generally, ‘slut’ is used as a common term of abuse for women, which may have nothing to do with their alleged sexual behavior” (Flood 96). These other women are tearing down other women with slut-shaming.

The idea of being a “slut” is in almost every group of people, however, it is only negative in reference to women. Homosexual males use it to remind one other to be safe when engaging in sexual intercourse, and it also unifies the community. In regards to heterosexual males, it is used almost as a praise, but behind being a “slut” is starting to become present. Women are the only group where “slut” is an insult and is incredibly negative. One group of researchers went so far as to say that women are discriminated against based on their sexual lives. They wrote, “This discrimination is sustained through ‘‘slut-shaming,’’ which is the act of attacking a woman’s character based upon her perceived or real sexual activity” (Papp 57). Slut-shaming is a public issue. Women are attacking other women when they should be working together to get the same freedoms as men, such as freedom to indulge in sexual intercourse without being viewed as a lesser person. People, especially women, throw this word around like it is nothing, but it can destroy a reputation. Whether the woman actually engages in casual sex or not is of no importance to others. Slut-shaming does happen every single day, but only hurts women.

 

Works Cited

Armstrong, Elizabeth A., Laura T. Hamilton, Elizabeth M. Armstrong, and Lotus J. Seeley. “”Good Girls”: Gender, Social Class, and Slut Discourse on Campus.” Social Psychology Quarterly 77.2 (2014): 100-22. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Oct. 2015.

 

Dockterman, Eliana. “When Girls Use the Word ‘Slut’ to Bully Each Other.” Time.com (2014): n. pag. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Oct. 2015.

 

Flood, Michael. “Male and Female Sluts: Shifts and Stabilities in the Regulation of Sexual Relations Among Young Heterosexual Men.” Australian Feminist Studies 28.75 (2013): 95-107. Academic Search Complete [EBSCO]. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.

 

Mcdavitt, B., and M. G. Mutchler. “”Dude, You’re Such a Slut!” Barriers and Facilitators of Sexual Communication Among Young Gay Men and Their Best Friends.” Journal of Adolescent Research 29.4 (2014): 464-98. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.

 

Papp, Leanna J., Charlotte Hagerman, Michelle A. Gnoleba, Mindy J. Erchull, Miriam Liss, Haley Miles-McLean, and Caitlin M. Robertson. “Exploring Perceptions of Slut-Shaming on Facebook: Evidence for a Reverse Sexual Double Standard.” Exploring Perceptions of Slut-Shaming on Facebook: Evidence for a Reverse Sexual Double Standard (2015): 57-76. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.

 

Ringrose, Jessica, and Emma Renold. “Slut-Shaming, Girl Power, and ‘Sexualisation’: Thinking Through the Politics of the International SlutWalks with Teen Girls.” Gender & Education 24.3 (n.d.): 333-43. Academic Search Complete [EBSCO]. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.

 

Shaw, Edwina. Slut. N.d. Short story found on database (Academic Search Complete).

 

Tanenbaum, Leora. “I Am Not a Slut: Slut-Shaming in the Age of the Internet.” Bitch Magazine 66 (2015): 60-61. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.