"She's such a slut!"

Slut, whore, skank, hoe, tramp, flusy, and I'm sure there are many more.

These words can very well be used to describe both genders, but I know we are all aware that they are much more commonly used against women. Think about it. Think about how many degrading words we have to describe a women who is sexually promiscuous. I don't think that I'm alone in finding this both off-putting and odd. But my question is, what about men? What is the male equivalent to these words? A 'player'? Oh, I'm sorry, but doesn't that always sound more like a compliment? Hmmm.

Now before I really get started here, let me just say that I have been on both sides of the slut game. I have been called it, and I have called others it. None of which I'm proud of. Sometime last year though, I thought a lot about the meaning of the word 'slut' and others like it, and why we as a society are so quick to brand women with that label. The word 'slut' was a word created by men in 1401, with the meaning "a dirty, untidy, or slovenly woman." Pretty much it was, and still is, a word used to put women down and shame them for being sexual. News flash: women are just as much of sexual beings as men are!

But what most strikes me as odd is that although the word 'slut' was created by men and used by men against women, today I seem to find myself hearing it a lot more by women against women. So what's with all this girl on girl hate? Where is the sisterhood? Women today will call other women 'sluts' for just about anything. If you have big boobs you're a slut. If you enjoy sex you're a slut. If you wear a short skirt, show some cleavage, or hang out with a lot of guys, yup, you guessed it; you're a slut!

But why? Why are we so concerned with how many people a woman has slept with, or with what she chooses to wear? Frankly, none of it is any of our business, and it doesn't reflect who that women is as a person at all. Now of course I'm not saying to go out and fuck anything that moves, not at all. I still feel that everyone should be safe and have self-respect and morals. But I just think that these words are way over-used, and it's not right to judge a person by their number of (supposedly) sex partners.

Since I've came to this conclusion, I have decided to cut the word 'slut' out of my personal dictionary. It's hard, because we have all been socialized to see this word as 'normal'. But besides it being childish and silly, it's just very demeaning. So girls and guys, let's stop shaming women for their sexuality. Start a New Year's resolution (because come on, it doesn't have to be January 1st to improve your ways) and try to stop using words like 'slut' to describe a person. Or try reclaiming them, whichever. Let's just empower women instead of bringing them down. Girls, let's try to stop hating on each other and try bringing back the sisterhood!