Slut

sexually promiscuous woman (derogatory)

Slut is a broad word that usually means a woman who has sex with a lot of people. It is a bad word and is generally meant to be offensive to whomever it is describing. It is an insult, and some people would also call it a swear word.[1][2][3] Originally it meant "A woman of dirty, slovenly or untidy appearance".[4]

People campaining for women's rights and against victim blaming started to organize so-called Slutwalks. This picture was taken on the first one, in Toronto, in 2012. They want to give the word slut a more positive image, too.

The word was used as early as the 1300s. Geoffrey Chaucer used the adjective sluttish (referring to a man's untidy appearance) in The Canterbury Tales. From the late 20th century, there have been attempts to reclaim the word. There have been various SlutWalk parades; sone people see the title as a source of pride.[5][better source needed][6]

References

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  1. "Slut". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  2. "Slut". Reference.com. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  3. SlutWalk Rally Against Sexual Violence Draws Huge Crowd of Feminists Archived 2012-05-04 at the Wayback Machine, Rebecca Nathanson, The Village Voice, October 2, 2011
  4. Shorter OED vol 2, p1921.
  5. Greer, Germaine (2011-05-12). "These 'slut walk' women are simply fighting for their right to be dirty". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 2011-05-14.
  6. Westcott, Kathryn (2011-05-09). "Why is the word 'slut' so powerful?". BBC News Magazine.