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(11-06-2015, 03:08 AM)synaesthetic Wrote: 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.
Pretty sure the proper term for them is "man-ho" or "manslut." I've heard those bandied around a lot, to. But that's neither here nor there, I suppose.
Quote: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.
When I hear the word, "prostitute," I think of a woman selling her body for money. I don't think I've ever had the words "skanky whore" fly through my mind when reading the word or reading a story involving prostitutes, probably because both of those words contain emotion attached to them that would require emotional investment on my part to feel. What I usually think when I hear about prostitutes getting arrested is, "I wonder how she got there? I wonder why no one helped her? I wonder if she's okay?" This is primarily because I've never encountered a prostitute that wanted to be a prostitute.
Quote: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.
I've never encountered this. I am not trans, but quite a few of my friends are. I'm going to have to ask them, but this has literally never come up in conversation or situation with any of them, and several I've been friends with for over a decade or near to a decade.
Quote: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.
I would posit that what's loaded with negativity is the actual job, and sex in general. Changing the word "prostitute" to something else won't dispel that negativity. Or, rather, it will - until people figure out what the new word actually means.
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