Al Jazeera America: “There is no such thing as the slut”

Sluts take up more space in our imagination than in anyone’s bed. Like its cousin “whore,” a slut is never about what you did there and with whom you did it but rather what is said about you. “Whore” is an older term, but the conceit is the same: A woman’s sexual value is thought to be interchangeable with her social value, power and influence. Armstrong and Hamilton tease these apart helpfully and reveal that slut stigma cannot be challenged by a rejection of the label. That denial is already built in. It gives the label its power. That is, there’s no sense in insisting you aren’t a slut; you’re supposed to do so.

“There is no such thing as the slut,” by Melissa Gira Grant for Al Jazeera America