Unfortunately, girls live in a world where the topic of sex seems to only be reserved for men. Discussing it, wanting to do it, or even liking it is all criteria for being called a slut or whore. But men, however, never face this judgment or embarrassment, in fact, they're praised for it.
Why is it that being sexy or having a sex drive is all reserved to men? It's the classic cliche: women are prudes if they show no interest in sex yet are sluts if they do. Girls who sleep with several people are whores where as men who do it are just "men being men". We're not allowed to show skin, talk about masturbating, or have interest in sleeping with more than one person without having a red "A" stamped on our foreheads. It's been seen throughout history and literature and is still an issue we face everyday. Lesbian relationships are constantly being fetishized in media and porn and are continuously asked when in a girl-girl relationship, "so, who's the guy?" Why is it that a manly presence needs to be in every sexual or romantic relationship between people? Men hold a monopoly on all things sexual.
There is a constant judgment on women for ever showing the side of them that men are so freely able to embrace. Women are forced to feel ashamed for the number of sexual partners they have, for wanting to have sex, or for even discussing sex. They need to hide this part of them because if the stigma sticks with them, they instantly have a horrible reputation following them around that they're trashy, slutty, and therefore less-than everyone else. This ridiculous norm has made it harder and harder for women to accept themselves and be proud of who they are. Just because a woman is or isn't having sex, doesn't mean they are any more of less of a person than anyone else.
I remember the first time hearing the word "whore": it was written on a bathroom stall in 4th grade. I asked my friends about it and they all told me it was a "girl who had too much sex". From such a young age, I was taught by the people around me that girls couldn't have sex, wear revealing clothes, have big breasts, be obviously flirtatious, or even hang out with just boys without getting judged and picked on for being whorish. How ridiculous is that? That at the age of only 9 I was told that even just hanging out with a group of kids the opposite sex somehow made me a slut?
However, you'll never hear the word slut or whore when referring to men. If they have a one-night stand or kiss someone they aren't dating or sleep with several people in a short amount of time, they're considered to be a "stud", someone to look up to, someone to aspire to be. For men, they're simply showing their manhood. Why is a woman any less of a person for doing the same exact acts as a man? Compare a man and woman who have both slept with 6 people; who would you consider to be "slutty?"
Sexually active girls are more likely to be bullied, judged, and picked on, meaning they have lower self esteem and less confidence than most people would like to assume. Men are praised, rewarded, and seen as something to look up to for being sexually active. The double standard needs to end.
Stop calling other girls sluts. Stop judging women for making their own fucking choices for their bodies. We are just as sexual as men, stop thinking we're any less as a human being because of it.
