A Girl's Definition of Slut
By Lindsay Dolak
In honor of Halloween weekend coming to an end, here’s an article about sluts and whores. Yup, here’s looking at you girls!
Urban Dictionary defines a “slut” as “a woman that enjoys performing sexual acts with multiple partners,” or “a woman who sleeps with many men.” Generally speaking, very accurate definitions. However, how does the definition change when defined by a girl? Allow me. For the sake of the argument, we’ll call the slutty girl, ‘Girl B,’ and the girl calling her out at a party, ‘Girl A.’ Girl B, the “slut,” as defined by Girl A, is another girl who is prettier, possibly thinner, maybe hooked up with Girl A’s boyfriend, generally gets more male attention, and looks better in that skin tight American Apparel dress than Girl A. It’s like a degrading math problem.
Let me introduce myself: I’m Girl B. I have been called a slut more than once in my life by other girls probably for reasons similar to those in the definition above. Shout out to all the girls who just called me a hypocrite, but let me finish (pun intended?). I’m also Girl A. I have called other persons of my gender similar derogatory names and, I’m willing to admit, that I’ve probably only been justified in doing so a few times.
How can that be? Well, chances are that four out of every five girls I have ever called a slut or a whore would not fit Urban Dictionary’s definition. These girls don’t get with every guy that solicits them on the weekends. They don’t have countless sexual partners. Hell, some of them might even be virgins. Why are they sluts then? Because they were prettier than me, they were getting more attention than me; they got with the guy I wanted to get with. The actual reasons don’t matter. The fact is that girls call each other these names out of insecurity, jealousy or you name the character flaw. Sorry to say it, but it’s the truth. If you’re a girl and you can honestly say that you don’t agree a little bit, then who’s the hypocrite now?
Ms. Norbury, the high school calculus teacher in the movie Mean Girls, said it best: “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.” We open up the name-calling platform to our opposing gender when we partake in the ridiculous and derogatory actions ourselves. What would Elizabeth Ann Seton think of our woman-bashing behavior?
I’m not requesting that we all band together in a feminist sweep to end the degradation of girls and I’m not asking anyone to fake friendliness to a girl they might dislike, but before you waste your breath calling someone a slut, whore, skank, or all of the above, recall the last time a girl called you one of the above names and how you probably laughed it off, thinking of her as jealous or threatened by you. Chances are, you’ll still call out Girl B. At least you’ll be one step closer to admitting she most likely falls into my personal statistic: she is one of the four out of five girls of which your words truly do not apply.