Friday, March 16, 2007

I Prefer To Be Called A "Garcon De Joie"*

An offhand remark elsewhere brings us the question: "How many partners does it take before one is 'officially' a slut/whore/skank/misogynistic-term-for-promiscuous-women- propagated-by-a-sexually-repressive-patriarchal-culture-obsessed- with-and-frightened-by-female-sexuality?"

Personally, I don't think sluttiness is a number or a frequency, but a state of mind. A true slut (as opposed to someone who is labeled that in jest by friends or by catty girls in high school in a volley of psychological warfare) is a slut not because they're sexually promiscuous, but because they're using sex for the wrong reasons: in a misguided effort to boost self-esteem, as a reaction to emotional trauma earlier in life, a manner of getting back at someone, a reaction to peer pressure, or some other maladaptive behavior. Enjoying sex and having multiple partners is not sluttiness; an unhealthy attitude towards sex that causes one to seek out sex for the wrong reasons is sluttiness.

But what do you guys think? Number, frequency, attitude? What makes a slut?

(* I have to thank Note for introducing me to that lovely synonym for "boy whore.")

2 comments:

Bigg said...

I would say a slut is one of those people who thinks that they're just popular, not promiscuous...

Anonymous said...

I think passing the two different partners in one 24 hour period is a good qualifier. Of course, you could also consider that successful.