# Women: do you forebear from using words like "slut" & "tramp" in regards to other women? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 26, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339 "2011-05-26T19:21:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339/21 "2011-05-26T21:41:32Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > \*This is especially fun when I do it with my brother. It is triply fun when he and I are insulting each other’s mother IN FRONT OF OUR MOTHER. She is also amused by it, so it’s all good. Well maybe if your mom wasn’t such a whore, you’d be more amicable to the idea of throwing the term around! ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339/22 "2011-05-26T21:46:18Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > I’ve been known to use those words when describing clothing, but I don’t think I’ve ever used them for people. I might think a girl is making some poor choices, but I wouldn’t talk about her like that. Good point - I do talk about clothes like that. I might use the term “ho-slut” in a humorous way to talk about another woman or myself, but not in a sincere way. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339/23 "2011-05-26T21:49:48Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > Well maybe if your mom wasn’t such a whore, you’d be more amicable to the idea of throwing the term around! Yeah, but then how would my brother get his college fund? Those dimes aren’t gonna earn themselves! ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339/24 "2011-05-26T21:52:04Z")
Would never seriously say it to someone’s face, but that’s more of a don’t swear at anyone’s face sort of thing. But yes, I am not the Social Justice Police and dish out gendered insults like candy. I do, however, usually refrain from ‘cunt’. I think that’s because I was socially conditioned to see it as even worse than ‘fucker’. ---
**Author:** ![carlotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@carlotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlotta)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339/25 "2011-05-26T22:16:54Z")
Yes, I do so forbear. Honestly, even in the privacy of my own head I pretty much only use such words to refer to myself: “God, I can’t believe how slutty I was that first year of college” “I love dressing like a tramp.” (true and not true. I love dressing trashy in front of a mirror and my husband, but I simply don’t the want the attention it brings outside the house). ---
**Author:** ![Implicit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Implicit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Implicit)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339/26 "2011-05-26T22:43:34Z")
I generally avoid gender or sexualized slurs. Asshole, moron, or twit cover most needs. I don’t mind bitch and bastard in a joking way; they call me a bitch and I call them a bastard, tit for tat, so to speak. ---
**Author:** ![alexandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@alexandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alexandra)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339/27 "2011-05-26T22:49:58Z")
No, I don’t. It comes from a double standard and it’s judgemental and scornful. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Rosetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Green\_Rosetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Rosetta)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339/28 "2011-05-26T23:03:33Z")
I don’t ever use it in reference to other women unless it is to her face and meant as a joke. I might call an article of clothing “slutty”, but I only use it as a kind of jokey compliment (“That mini-skirt is so slutty! I love it!”) Having sex is fun. Why would you be down on someone for having a lot of it? It’s her life. ---
**Author:** ![MaddyStrut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@MaddyStrut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaddyStrut)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339/29 "2011-05-26T23:05:35Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > I’ve been known to use those words when describing clothing, but I don’t think I’ve ever used them for people. I might think a girl is making some poor choices, but I wouldn’t talk about her like that. Same for me. I don’t think I’ve made a deliberate choice not to refer to a woman with terms like that, but I can’t remember actually doing so (except as a joke among friends). ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339/30 "2011-05-26T23:35:58Z")
Generally no. I learned the old-fashioned version of the word “slut” first - the maid who has to do the dirty work of emptying chamberpots and cleaning the ash from the fireplace. From there, it morphed to lazy housekeeper, and from there to a highly-sexually active woman. I can’t quite figure that out. On the other hand, I broke up with a guy who was a total sexual slut. While I realized that many of his encounters were just sex (no emotional involvement), I was afraid I’d get a disease. But as a male friend pointed out to me a couple of years ago, “slut” just means she likes sex with different partners. It doesn’t mean she is stupid, can’t hold a good conversation or win at war games. I’ve always thought “tramp” was a silly word too. I’d be more likely to say, she “gets around” or she’s “been around”. But hey, that’s me now. When I was 15, I’m sure I thought “slut” about a few classmates. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339/31 "2011-05-26T23:47:00Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I know two women, the best of friends, who address one another as _Bitch_ all the time, explaining that it stands for _ **B** __eing **I** n **T** otal **C** ontrol of **H** erself._ :rolleyes: - the acronym is just stupid. I don’t really blink at a woman calling another woman a bitch, but when a woman uses that catchphrase, my opinion of her plummets. I’ll use “slutty” or “trampy” to refer to things; I don’t use “slut” or “tramp” to refer to people. I also put “bitch” in a different category. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339/32 "2011-05-27T01:33:50Z")
**Skald** , I think the word you mean is “forbear.” Unless you’re asking women if their ancestors used these terms. ::runs and hides:: ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339/33 "2011-05-27T02:55:10Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Could you imagine using (or accepting) _slut_ as a nickname in a similar way? I don’t think I’ve ever used the word “tramp” unless singing along with Sinatra, but I often use the words “slut” and “whore,” but never to indicate sexuality. I’ll often use “slut” in I guess a neutral manner in order to refer extreme fondness/weakness for something. E.g. I’d describe someone as a total foreign film slut, or board game slut, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the person sleeping around. Sure, we all know what the origins of the expression are, but we all understand I’m not calling the person skanky. Now that I think about it, I suppose it’s somewhat negative to call someone a [blank] slut, as it suggests the person has no standards when it comes to that thing, but it’s always meant lightheartedly, and no one gets offended. I also refer to anyone who I don’t like as a whore, regardless of their sexual behaviors, or my perception thereof. People apparently find this odd. I once referred to a woman I hate, who I am almost certain is not promiscuous (or sexually active at all, for that matter), as “such a whore” and my friend thought it was a hilariously off-base way to describe her. Whatever. The woman may not have had sex in 15 years, but she’s still a goddamn whore if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339/34 "2011-05-27T09:44:06Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > I would refer to a woman like that, but not because she has large volumes of sex. To me it would indicate a person who doesn’t value their sexuality, and uses it as a way to get people to like her instead of being self-confident in the frist place and exercising her sexuality consciously. Yeah, when I use similar terms in Spanish (I don’t use them in English) it’s not about her sex life, it’s about how she sells herself. If the only thing of value that she thinks she has is ownership of breasts, she’s also going to be the kind of woman who’s threatened by any other breast-owners and generally a bad person to associate with. ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339/35 "2011-05-27T12:44:49Z")
I don’t generally call anyone a slut or a tramp, although I may go with “bitch” on occasion, which has no sexual connotation to me. One of my favorite words, however, is “skank.” I just like the sound of it. I refer to my overnight bag (that I take when I stay at my boyfriend’s) as my Skank Bag, mostly to get my momma to smile. Skank skank skank! See how fun it is to say? ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339/36 "2011-05-27T12:51:30Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > If the only thing of value that she thinks she has is ownership of breasts, she’s also going to be the kind of woman who’s threatened by any other breast-owners and generally a bad person to associate with. Thank you, I think I am going to remember and use this in the future! Other breast-owners, haha. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339/37 "2011-05-27T13:26:46Z")
I am offended that you limited this idea to women. If I call a person, man or woman, by those words, it’s because they apply. Men are tramps and sluts, too. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339/38 "2011-05-27T14:48:15Z")
“Cheap” and “Trashy” are the gender-neutral terms I prefer to use. And if someone’s being bitchy, aren’t they also being an asshole? Call me old-fashioned, but when I think of a tramp, I see a disheveled stubbly guy with his earthly possessions in a bindlestiff. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339/39 "2011-05-27T16:19:47Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > Similarly, the usage of slut or tramp in the past has been used to demean women because of their sexual exploits. However, I see an inherent difference between a woman who is comfortable in her sexuality and sleeps with lots of men, and a person who is a slut or a tramp. The difference to me is in how that person uses sex to define themselves. If it is, “I am a strong woman, I am having sex because it makes me feel good,” great, that woman is not a slut. She’s sexually empowered, knows she has the power to say when and how and yes and no, and it’s an expression of her as a woman. If it is, “I am insecure about myself, and I know it’s easy to sleep with men and that gives me the pseudo self-confidence to think that people like me for who I am,” then yeah, you’re a slut. You’re sleeping with people to cover up inner deficiencies, whether that be due to insecurity, psychological trauma, whatever. But it’s just my perception of the term. I’m partial to this sort of definition, since it can be equally applied to men. Guy who has lots of sex with lots of different people? Not necessarily a slut. But he is a slut if he’s just trying to fuck the nearest warm body just to prove to his “studliness” to his friends. Similarly, if he’s just using women as masturbatory aids, then he’s a (selfish) slut. By this definition a lot more men are sluts than women… ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339/40 "2011-05-27T17:33:35Z")
I would never call a woman that or refer to someone that way. But I was just raised to be polite and not call people names. I might think it though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-do-you-forebear-from-using-words-like-slut-tramp-in-regards-to-other-women/583339.md?page=3)