# When is it okay to call a woman a slut?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [July 23, 2014, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883 "2014-07-23T22:32:22Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2014, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883/21 "2014-07-24T02:59:30Z")
> [@Shakes](#):
>
> I’m just really confused with the animus in that thread (the one linked in the OP) when you put it in juxtaposition with all the women’s movement\* threads we had on this board last year (or around that time. I’m talking about the threads that rightly resulted in no more boobs jokes in serious threads about women’s issues.).
I’m not sure what you’re juxtaposing with what here, but the Paris Hilton thread is from well before last year. It’s actually almost five years old.
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### Author:  [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2014, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883/22 "2014-07-24T03:19:06Z")
When she leaves the room.
(hat tip: _Hello Ladies_)
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### Author:  [@jayrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayrey)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2014, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883/23 "2014-07-24T03:31:11Z")
> [@Emiliana](#):
>
> Why would you feel the need to call any woman a slut? It’s not polite, it’s not helpful, it’s not meaningful, it’s not particularly insightful or interesting. Ditto for whatever terms are used for men.
Dammit, when are we gonna get a “like” button? I want to use it here!
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### Author:  [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2014, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883/24 "2014-07-24T04:24:09Z")
If she’s standing on your street corner with her skirt hiked up and runs in her stockings. Otherwise, never. Oh, and **elbows** ’ contribution.
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### Author:  [@MrsTime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrsTime)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2014, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883/25 "2014-07-24T05:42:18Z")
I find calling people any names is rather unrewarding. Except on occasion on some message boards questioning someones intelligence does come into play. I would never call anyone a slut.
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### Author:  [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2014, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883/26 "2014-07-24T11:11:16Z")
> [@johnpost](#):
>
> if her name is Jane.
/slowclap
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### Author:  [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2014, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883/27 "2014-07-24T11:22:45Z")
Never. It’s never okay to use slurs. Same goes for bitch, whore, and other mostly gender-specific slurs (not to mention sexual orienation, race, and religion based slurs).
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### Author:  [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2014, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883/28 "2014-07-24T11:49:43Z")
When is it okay to call a woman a slut?
To her face: When she asks you to.
Behind her back: Never.
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### Author:  [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2014, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883/29 "2014-07-24T12:04:59Z")
> [@Shakes](#):
>
> I liken it to the N-word.
Which word is that? I can think of a lot of words that start with the letter N.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2014, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883/30 "2014-07-24T12:18:03Z")
I can’t imagine it ever being OK.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2014, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883/31 "2014-07-24T12:29:13Z")
If her given name is Sluterella and you’re in a hurry.
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### Author:  [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2014, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883/32 "2014-07-24T13:47:47Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#):
>
> When is it okay to call a woman a slut?
>
> To her face: When she asks you to.
>
> Behind her back: Never.
What if you’re doing her from behind?
I’ve never understood what a slut was supposed to be. I don’t think I’ve ever called anyone a slut before.
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### Author:  [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2014, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883/33 "2014-07-24T13:57:37Z")
> [@kayaker](#):
>
> If her given name is Sluterella and you’re in a hurry.
I’ll be stealing the “sluterella” name for use in the future. Thanks for your contribution.
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### Author:  [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2014, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883/34 "2014-07-24T14:04:35Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#):
>
> Which word is that? I can think of a lot of words that start with the letter N.
“Nutella.”
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### Author:  [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2014, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883/35 "2014-07-24T14:04:42Z")
I suppose when doing D/S play. Some like getting kinky that way.
> [@elbows](#):
>
> When she’s a straddle your husband, on your bed?
😃 OK, I can see that. OTOH your husband could be such a stud he has seduced an otherwise highly respectable lady…
> [@kayaker](#):
>
> If her given name is Sluterella and you’re in a hurry.
Hey, is this from the “weird names parents give their babies” thread?
**Miller** : Slutterella Nutella could be a good stage name for a punk stripper. But yes, the whole thing about “[initial]-word” sounds like the principal’s office at grade school. Soon we will be seeing people writing “s-word” and “w-word” instead of slut and whore, which solves nothing.
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### Author:  [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883/36 "2014-07-24T14:07:50Z")
When you get up to wash your face, and you come back to bed and someone’s taken your place.
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### Author:  [@AnthonyElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnthonyElite)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883/37 "2014-07-24T14:07:52Z")
Oh come on people, never? Get a grip! I knew a woman that was sleeping with her boss and got favorable treatment on the job. She’s a slut.
It’s officially okay to call her a slut after she is fired and you won’t get grief for it from your boss.
It is a strange but somehow accurate thing that when you see a woman hooking up with a group of guys she is a slut, when you see a guy hooking up with a group of women he is a legend. Perhaps it is the perceived rareness of the event? Scarcity of resources, or some such?
But in general, if you are calling someone a slut just because they get around you are probably pretty bored with your own sex life.
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### Author:  [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883/38 "2014-07-24T14:11:03Z")
> [@AnthonyElite](#):
>
> Oh come on people, never? Get a grip! I knew a woman that was sleeping with her boss and got favorable treatment on the job. She’s a slut.
So you’re fine with using slurs against women, but only if they ‘really deserve it’. Are you also fine with using racial slurs, but only if they ‘really deserve it’?
> [@](#):
>
> It is a strange but somehow accurate thing that when you see a woman hooking up with a group of guys she is a slut, when you see a guy hooking up with a group of women he is a legend. Perhaps it is the perceived rareness of the event? Scarcity of resources, or some such?
Perhaps it’s because of a sexist double standard?
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### Author:  [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2014, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883/39 "2014-07-24T14:54:45Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#):
>
> So you’re fine with using slurs against women, but only if they ‘really deserve it’. Are you also fine with using racial slurs, but only if they ‘really deserve it’?
“Slut” isn’t a generic slur for a woman. It’s generally used as a slur for a woman believed to be engaging in a certain kind of behaviour. It can also be used for men doing the same.
For me, the only way to answer the question is to decide if, assuming it’s used equally to mean _anyone_ who is overly promiscuous, it’s ever useful to describe someone in such a way. Yes, it’s an insult, but that doesn’t mean it’s never useful.
Personally, I’d feel reasonably comfortable using the word “slut” to describe a man or woman with a history of cheating on his or her partners, or perhaps even making very questionable choices about who to have sex with.
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### Author:  [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-it-okay-to-call-a-woman-a-slut/693883/40 "2014-07-24T14:59:51Z")
> [@Bozuit](#):
>
> “Slut” isn’t a generic slur for a woman. It’s generally used as a slur for a woman believed to be engaging in a certain kind of behaviour. It can also be used for men doing the same.
It’s mostly used for women. Just like some racial slurs are mostly used for specific races, but sometimes used against others.
> [@](#):
>
> For me, the only way to answer the question is to decide if, assuming it’s used equally to mean _anyone_ who is overly promiscuous, it’s ever useful to describe someone in such a way. Yes, it’s an insult, but that doesn’t mean it’s never useful.
>
> Personally, I’d feel reasonably comfortable using the word “slut” to describe a man or woman with a history of cheating on his or her partners, or perhaps even making very questionable choices about who to have sex with.
I’m not comfortable using the word “slut” because I think it has a history of being used to demean women. Just like other slurs against homosexuals and various races/religions have a history of being used to demean people in specific groups.
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