Reclaiming "Slut"

The word "slut" has long been a derogatory term wielded against women to demean them on account of their sexual activity. Since the coinage of the word, its connotations have broadened to encapsulate not just a promiscuous woman, but one who's appearance, conduct, mannerisms or behaviour are perceived to be suggestive in any way by someone (usually a man). 

The very concept of a "slut", and the fact there is no male equivalent for it directs attention to the hypocrisy and double standards one could only come to expect in a victim-blaming, slut shaming, rape culture and patriarchy. 

Given the sexism underlying the word, recent efforts have been made by feminists to "reclaim" it. Generally speaking, "reclaiming" a word involves the community to whom a derogatory or demeaning word is used against start using it themselves to signal in-group belonging and as a marker of identity to that particular group. The desired effect is that a term like "slut" is rendered unoffensive when utilised between group members (though it is likely to be offensive to those outside of the group). The success of the reclaiming of "slut" has been exemplified in events such as the "slutwalk" - where men and women alike take to the streets to protest sexism and slut shaming in their society.

In a similar sense, the word "fag" and "fag-hag" (a gay slang phrase referring to a woman who associates a lot with homosexual men) have been reclaimed by the gay community to signal homosexual pride and a desire to thwart stigmatisation based on sexuality. 

Another example involves the African community taking back the "nigger" - a word of immense offense that is redolent of a long and disgusting culture of racism. This is perhaps exemplified most obviously in the rap / hip hop / rnb music scene where it is used amongst people of an African ethnicity as a term of endearment which marks the belonging to a particular group.

Even "cunt", which is perceived by many to be the most offensive word in the English language, is in the process of being reclaimed. This movement has been instigated mainly by feminists who are most offended by the fact that a word denoting their genitalia and enforces female body shaming is the most extreme example of profanity in our language.

Of course these examples are not absolute. There still exist many people in the gay community, the African community, the feminist community and as women who would find terms mentioned in this post highly offensive irrespective of the context and would not be proud to refer to themselves as a "cunt" or "slut".