We hear this word all our lives, but we never question the damage it does to our society. Men call us this all their lives. When they’re young, they say girls have cooties. When they’re older, they say women are “sluts.” After so many years of being called a “slut,” one starts to believe it to be true. All women get called this at some point in their lives, both in a degrading way and in a joking way. When a woman calls her friend this, even if it is not meant in a harmful way, they are disrespecting their own sex because this only reinforces the dominant position that men have over women. When women call each other sluts, it just makes it okay for men to call us that. No one should use this word to describe anyone, even in a nonchalant way, because it only gives men more leverage over us. It is the time that we see this word for what it is and stop using it against each other.

First, let’s talk about what this word means when it’s applied to both a woman and a man. Typically, people use the word “slut” as a derogatory way to refer to someone who is comfortable enough with their sexuality to sleep with multiple people or sleep with someone they are not dating. When a man is known for sleeping around, other men usually praise them for it, as he has shown his dominance through his conquests. On the other hand, when a woman is known for sleeping around, she is shamed for it by both men and women, as she is therefore “dirty” and cannot control her libido. Sex seems to always be on the man’s terms and never on a woman’s. These are the types of double standards that women have to go through every day. Men are taught to demand respect and degrade women since the day they are born, and women are taught to cater to men and accept disrespect just to get by in this patriarchal world. Women should defend their right to be respected and valued just as much as any man, but instead, we give men the power to belittle us by calling each other “sluts” and judging each other based on stereotypes men gave us.

Not only is it time we remove this word from our vocabulary, but it is high time that women take back the power that men have stolen from us all these years. It is the time we raise our children to be blind to gender stereotypes, teach our sons that making sexist jokes is not okay, and teach our daughters that no man can make her do anything she does not want to. This world, full of victim blaming and slut shaming, is in dire need of a change in attitude as far as women are concerned, and the only way to make this change is on an individual level. I encourage both men and women to stop using the word “slut,” in addition to paying more attention to the sexist injustices of society. To all the women out there, I urge you to find strength in your femininity and don’t be afraid to demand the respect you deserve from men. Together, we can change this “Man’s World” into “the People’s World.”