Slut

I have a confession, when I was a teen I used the word slut, and not just a little bit.  It was one of my favorite four letter words, not the favorite, but one of them.  I had a mouth that could make a sailor blush.  When I turned 18, I made some major changes in my life and left most of my four letter vocabulary buried in the past.  I have used the term a few times within the past 20 years, but not much.

 Sitting in class and we played a little word associating game, when someone in the class of 70 people shouted “slut”.  After class I went to the front of the room, and stopped the Professor from erasing all the words that would be associated with a promiscuous woman and studied them for a moment wondering if there was a blog post in there somewhere. (We did the exercise for men as well, and as a society we really do glorify men sleeping around and punish women for doing the same thing.) After a few moments; I had decided that I didn't think there was anything worth my time; Phil (the professor) had other ideas when he said “you need to do the word slut!”  I told him I would at least think about it.  Obviously since I am now writing, I have given it a lot of thought, and decided to do a little background research.  What I found was a little more than surprising, and as a result; I have my new post!

I stumbled across the Online Etymology Dictionary, and it was extremely helpful; the majority of the history is taken straight from that site. The history of the word was a little shocking and fascinating, especially when I read that Geoffrey Chaucer used the word sluttish to describe a dirty man as early as 1386. I should mention dirty as in actual dirt! So, in the late 14^th century the term we know now, was only used as a label for a filthy, messy, slovenly man.   Some say that it comes from the Middle English word slutte (early 15^th century) meaning dirty, unkempt or slovenly woman.  From the middle of the 15^th century, it was also used to describe a kitchen maid.  There is a word in German “schlutt” which means slovenly woman, and the Dutch have a word “slodder” meaning a careless man.  We can look through history, and many languages that all have words that are close to slut that mean, foul, dirty, etc... The word as we have come to know it in modern times; a woman of loose morals is believed to have its roots from about 1660 when it was used as more of a playful term not having anything to do with sexual promiscuity.  We can find the word actually used in the connotation we associate it with as early as 1715, in Thomas Hearne’s book Acts of the Apostles when he writes “nor was she a woman of any beautiful, but a nasty slut.”  I can genuinely say, that I would have never in a million years guessed that the word slut had such a colorful history. Then again, if there is anything I have learned by doing this blog, it is that most of the negative words we have in our modern world are deep rooted in Middle English (late 12^th-late 15^th centuries) and started out completely innocent.

In 2011, a Toronto police officer told students at York University to avoid sexual assault they should avoid “dressing like a slut.” Playing devil’s advocate for just a moment, how many times have you said something and it came out way more offensive then you had intended? I know I have, and more than just a few times.  I am not dismissing a woman’s desire to dress any particular way, but what I am saying is maybe before you go out (regardless of the place) you think about what image you are trying to portray. I think back to when I was in high school, and the way I dressed sometimes.  You know what? I think I might have been portraying myself in not so positive a light.  Either way, the major backlash started what has become known as the Slutwalk, where those who march protest the excuse that the way women dress is an excuse for assault and also to empower victims. This movement has spread across the border into the United States with walks taking place in many different states.  I honestly can think of a few different things to call a walk, but I have to tip my hat for the awareness to rape and rape survival that the walk has drawn.

I will probably forever associate the word with a person of loose morals regardless of gender.  I know it isn't the world’s viewpoint, but as for myself; I do not understand the desire some people have to sleep around with a bunch of different people.  I just don’t get it, and I guess I never will.