tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3187736688415411594.post2800933584325287559..comments2023-12-09T10:51:01.395-08:00Comments on Shelby Cross, Writer: The New Meaning of WhoreUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3187736688415411594.post-38580783433000198012013-10-21T07:53:25.859-07:002013-10-21T07:53:25.859-07:00Why it's not ok:
1) because it makes no sense...Why it's not ok:<br /><br />1) because it makes no sense. The message is supposed to be "no girls would be our friends unless we paid them," but these girls ARE friends with them without being paid. The more consistent term would be "slut," not "whore," because they'll be friends with anyone. <br /><br />2) because according to the current logic, they ARE insulting the girls. They are saying "you are friends with guys who no one would be with unless paid, and you aren't even getting paid. You are wet blankets who hang out with losers for free. You let yourself get nerd-raped every day."<br /><br />And/or they are saying "you are not actually doing a good job of being female, because if you were, you wouldn't hang out with us for free, like you are. REAL girls don't want to be our friends. You therefore are not completely feminine. You can be EITHER be a real nerd OR a real girl, not both."<br /><br />2) because it names the girls on the basis of their position vis-a-vis the boys. They are not named for their own identities, but rather for what they are in relation to the male members of the group. <br /><br />3) because the girls might be saying it's OK just because they don't feel comfortable expressing that they don't like it. They might feel uncomfortable deep down and not want to admit it to themselves. Or they might admit it to themselves and not to the boys. Or they might feel OK with it now and wonder, 10 years from now, suddenly "why the hell did I let those guys call me a 'whore'? Why did I let them do that?"<br /><br />4) because even if the girls really are OK with it, it still doesn't mean that it's OK for your kid to do something a little asshole-y. Getting permission from 2 particular girls to be sexist doesn't make it OK.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3187736688415411594.post-60121793070385693712013-10-16T19:16:56.376-07:002013-10-16T19:16:56.376-07:00It's a lot like how I feel about the word &quo...It's a lot like how I feel about the word "cunt" - somewhat confused. Added to the fact that it's a harsh sounding word (so is "fuck" for that matter) it has always had a conflicted, misogynist context for me. Why would a man describe a woman contemptuously as that which he spend most of his live trying to get into? But used within the context of a consensual sex act, that’s another story.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07120721608355157088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3187736688415411594.post-48503209660868676932013-10-15T16:10:17.803-07:002013-10-15T16:10:17.803-07:00... because to reclaim a word, to strip it of the ...... because to reclaim a word, to strip it of the negativity attached to it, it's the oppressed who have to take it on -- actively, proudly, not as a nod to the class who uses it to oppress them, but of their own volition. It can be ok for a woman to call herself a whore or a slut or even a bitch, if she's doing it not out of ignorance but with full knowledge of the word's cultural connotations. I have certainly known "whores" who have chosen this label and wear it with pride (check out the Poetry Brothel project, for one example). But until this word loses its negative, scornful meaning and stops being a tool of shaming and bullying women for their sexuality, it will not be alright to use it to address a woman, either to her face or behind her back, and say it's ok because the women acquiesce. Especially when these women are young girls who may not fully understand the implications of such terms, or may be too shy to reject them. As you correctly pointed out, it's hard for women to be "nerds" -- these girls may simply be happy to be accepted as part of the "boys' club" and thus agree to any labels. While they may be aware enough to understand the joke and be ok with it, I still don't think that it's ok, given that they didn't start it.... I fully agree with your gut instinct on this one! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05157516055886999884noreply@blogger.com