(11-06-2015, 02:56 AM)LiadansWhisper Wrote: Well, I've never really seen "slut shaming" come up insofar as a serious thread on this forums. Â When what I've always understood to be sex-related slurs are used, it almost always in a joking manner between friends in a banter thread or something similar.
I don't think anyone is advocating for slut shaming by any means. Â But I am rather uncomfortable with the idea that we're changing the meaning of words because one person has a problem with it and purports to represent an entire industry made up of probably hundreds of thousands if not millions of others.
Someone just slut-shamed in this thread on the first page, calling a former guild member a "ho." And I see it from people I play with in-game all the time. It's casually accepted in our culture that we should describe women who have lots of sex as being "hos" or "sluts" who are somehow not doing the right thing (because we accept that sex is somehow shameful), but men who have lots of sex are just doing the man thing right.
Slut-shaming is so ingrained into our culture that most people don't even notice it unless it's beyond audacious and blatant.
I can also understand why the word "prostitute" is considered harmful to sex workers. It has harmful connotations. When people say the word or hear the word applied to a person, especially a woman, they're not thinking about good things. They're thinking about a "skanky whore" who is dishonest and a bad person who sells her body for money. The word prostitute has been loaded with negative connotations by our media, our law enforcement and our politicians.
The word prostitute is also often automatically assumed to apply to trans women, especially trans women of color. Even white trans women have to deal with this assumption, though. I can barely dress appropriately for hot weather without encountering at least one creeper per week who tries to get me to suck his cock behind a dumpster for money. I don't dare dress in an intentionally provocative manner unless I've got a bunch of friends with me.
You may not accept the word as being a slur, and technically it isn't so in that you're correct, but it's absolutely loaded with negativity in all kinds of ways. If you don't think so, ask any random woman if they're a prostitute. Chances are they won' reply with a simple, "No, my occupation is..." response.
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