Editing Slut (section)

== Alternative usages and culture ==

=== General ===

{{See also|Slut-shaming}}
[[File:SlutWalk NYC October 2011 Shankbone 25.JPG|alt=A group of people walk in a demonstration (a [[SlutWalk]]) in [[New York City]]; many of them carry signs with slogans relating to and condemning sexual assault and discussing public perceptions thereof|thumb|There have been various efforts to both criticise and reclaim use of the word ''slut''.]]
The word ''slut'' is used as a slang term in the [[BDSM]], [[polyamory|polyamorous]], and [[LGBT|gay and bisexual]] communities.<ref name="Easton">{{cite book |last1=Easton |first1=Dossie |last2=Liszt |first2=Catherine A. |title=The Ethical Slut: A Guide to Infinite Sexual Possibilities |year=1997 |publisher=Greenery Press |location=San Francisco |isbn=1-890159-01-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/ethicalslut00doss/mode/1up |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=January 2022}}{{clarify|date=May 2025|reason=Slang for what, precisely?}} A parallel exists between the female term ''slut'' and the term ''[[gay]]'' for males. Unlike women, who are usually policed for being sexually promiscuous, men are often criticized for not being masculine or dominant enough, thus questioning their [[heterosexuality]]. Unlike women, who are expected to be sexually chaste, men are expected to be sexually active, thus having more sexual freedom.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Flood |first=Michael |year=2013 |title=Male and Female Sluts. |url=https://works.bepress.com/michael_flood/25/download/ |journal=Australian Feminist Studies |volume=28 |issue=75 |pages=95–107 |via=[[Taylor & Francis]] Online |doi=10.1080/08164649.2012.758024 |s2cid=54991899 |access-date=10 August 2018 |archive-date=6 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706130953/https://works.bepress.com/michael_flood/25/download/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Although ''slut'' is rarely used to describe heterosexual men, it is commonly used among gay males. When discussing sexual activity, ''slut'' is used to shame [[gay men]] for taking sexual risks, such as [[unprotected sex]] or having multiple partners. However, if used in a humorous way, ''slut'' may also favor sexual freedom and mark the shift from traditional gender roles in gay men.<ref name="McDavitt">{{cite journal |last1=McDavitt |first1=Bryce |last2=Mutchler |first2=Matt G |title='Dude, you're such a slut!' Barriers and facilitators of sexual communication among young gay men and their best friends. |journal=Journal of Adolescent Research |date=2014 |volume=29 |issue=4 |pages=464–498 |pmc=4239541 |pmid=25419044 |doi=10.1177/0743558414528974}}</ref>

With [[BDSM]], polyamorous, and [[non-monogamy|non-monogamous]] people, in usage taken from the book ''[[The Ethical Slut]]'', the term has been used as an expression of choice to openly have multiple [[Domestic partnership|partner]]s, and revel in that choice: "a slut is a person of any gender who has the courage to lead life according to the radical proposition that ''sex is nice and pleasure is good for you''."{{r|Easton|p=4}} A ''slut'' is a person who has taken control of their sexuality and has sex with whomever they choose, regardless of religious or social pressures or conventions to conform to a strait-laced monogamous lifestyle committed to one partner for life.

The term has been [[reappropriated]] to express the rejection of the concept that government, society, or religion may judge or control one's personal liberties, and the right to control one's own sexuality. In April 2013, Emily Lindin, founder of the UnSlut Project, created a blog to share her stories on sexual bullying to "provide some perspective to girls who currently feel trapped and ashamed". The blog now consists of entries from members of all ages, ethnicities, and genders. The film, ''UnSlut: A Documentary Film'', coincides with the project and is screened across the country.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.unslutproject.com/about.html |title=The UnSlut Project |last=Lindin |first=Emily}}</ref>

The double standard associated with slut-labeling is part of the modern day [[rape culture]]. Rape culture is "the casual debasement [of women] ... that has become such a part of our lives that it is often invisible."<ref name="auto789">{{cite web |last1=Breger |first1=Melissa L. |title=Transforming cultural norms of sexual violence against women. |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Transforming+cultural+norms+of+sexual+violence+against+women.-a0397454239 |publisher=Journal of Research in Gender Studies |access-date=10 August 2018 |date=1 July 2014 |via=Free Online Library}}</ref> Though people in society are vocally anti-rape, there is an insinuation that certain types of rape are acceptable or that women are voluntarily taking actions that justify sexual advances. "For example, women continue to be blamed if they are raped because of how they are dressed, the assumption that women purportedly lie about being raped remains popular, and certain women, such as married women or women of colour, are still considered 'unrapeable'".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://search.rdsinc.com/texis/rds/suite/+_tOeXBniwFqo15nGW_68TFqnh1ccewx1qmMwwwewhanme_9rQeiyowww/showdoc.html?thisTbl=CWI |title=Login Required |website=search.rdsinc.com |access-date=29 January 2018}}</ref>  The word ''slut'' and the double standard it contains reflects the gender norms and gender biases<ref name="auto789"/> that are prevalent in a culture in which rape is constantly justified. People from all sects of society contribute to this justification.<ref name="Mahler">{{cite web |last=Mahler |first=Jonathan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/11/us/politics/sexual-assault-survivor-reaction.html |title=For Many Women, Trump's 'Locker Room Talk' Brings Memories of Abuse |date=11 October 2016 |work=The New York Times |url-access=limited}}</ref>

There have been many movements or "[[SlutWalk]]s" taking place around the world to regain a sense of pride in women. Many slut walks or movements protest against the idea that a woman's appearance, often considered promiscuous, is a justification of sexual assault and rape. The participants in these walks protest against individuals that excuse rape due to the woman's appearance, including [[victim blaming]] and slut shaming; slut walks have now become a worldwide movement.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.slutwalkdc.com/ |title=SlutWalk DC |access-date=3 December 2015 |archive-date=8 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208141313/http://www.slutwalkdc.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Women of color===
{{Globalize|1=section|2=US|date=September 2020}}
The word ''slut'' means different things to white women and [[people of color]], especially black women. ''Slut'' has different associations for black women. [[Anna North]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' covered [[Leora Tanenbaum]] who stated, "As Black women, we do not have the privilege or the space to call ourselves 'slut' without validating the already historically entrenched ideology and recurring messages about what and who the Black woman is."<ref name="North">{{cite web |last1=North |first1=Anna |title=Should 'Slut' Be Retired? |url=https://op-talk.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/03/should-slut-be-retired/ |work=The New York Times |date=3 February 2015 |department=Op-Talk |url-access=limited}}</ref> She argued that, for black women, the word ''slut'' does not mean anything very harmful due to the history of being treated as slaves in the past. Black women's "relationship to the term ''slut''" is informed by a history of racism and slavery, of "having been seen as objects of property, not just for the sexual gratification of those in power but also for reproduction of whole generations of slaves, which involved rape most of the time."<ref name="North"/>

Most of the SlutWalks were coordinated by white women, and some black women felt uncomfortable when joining. Sociologist [[Jo Reger]] writes: "Women of color ... argued that the white women organizers and participants had not considered the ways in which the sexuality of women of color had been constructed through a history of oppression, rape, and sexual exploitation."<ref name="Reger">{{cite journal |last1=Reger |first1=Jo |title=The Story of a Slut Walk: Sexuality, Race, and Generational Divisions in Contemporary Feminist Activism |journal=Journal of Contemporary Ethnography |date=2015 |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=84–112 |doi=10.1177/0891241614526434}}</ref>{{rp|88}} People of color, especially black people, had been avoiding words like ''slut'', ''jezebel'', ''hottentot'', ''mammy'', ''mule'', ''sapphire'', or ''welfare queens''.{{r|Reger|p=88}}

Model and actress [[Amber Rose]] was one of the first people to conduct and take a lead for a SlutWalk for people of color. "The Amber Rose SlutWalk Festival is a completely inclusive space. This event is a zero tolerance event and we do not condone hateful language, racism, sexism, ableism, fat-shaming, [[transphobia]] or any other kind of bigotry. Further, we recognize that shaming, oppression, assault and violence have disproportionately impacted marginalized groups, including women of color, transgender people and sex workers, and thus we are actively working to center these groups at our events."<ref name="auto">{{cite web |last1=Rose |first1=Amber |title=The Amber Rose Slutwalk |url=http://amberroseslutwalk.com/general-information/ |website=About the Walk |publisher=Amber Rose |access-date=1 December 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203060548/http://amberroseslutwalk.com/general-information/ |archive-date=3 December 2016}}</ref>