7 Terms That Are Used To Damage Women And The Actual Effect They Have
Hey, you over there, calling that girl a slut behind her back. Have you forgotten that ladies are real people, too?
We need to stop being looked at as something to be described and discarded -- women are not objects. We have dynamic identities, multifaceted personalities and a lot more than our skinny arms or kill counts going for us.
It’s time we confront the terms that label women and instead promote the ones that engage women. And ladies, remember: Stigmas are only as powerful as you let them be.
Here are the seven terms that damage women and how we can effectively react to them:
1. Slutty
Quite possibly the vaguest term on the planet (honestly, between LiLo’s sex list and any Lifetime movie, what constitutes slutty these days?), calling a girl slutty -- especially in her pre-pubescent years -- is equating sexuality with shame for the better part of her developing sexual encounters.
This word, and its evil stepsisters “whore” and “loose,” are now only used by vocabulary-challenged frat boys on Listserv email chains and third-string rap lyricists (notice how I don’t use "artists" here, because there is nothing creative about these words).
We’ve become so immune to its slander that now we use "slutty" to describe how women dress, think, feel and behave, and it couldn’t be further from the truth.
Who is to set the standard for how many people a contemporary woman chooses to have relationships with?
When someone calls you slutty, it’s just his or her own manifestation of sexual insecurities. Own who you are, practice safe sexual health and forget about that sexually frustrated high schooler who tried to call you out.
2. Crazy
There’s a far off island where a subspecies of superwomen eat, black-widow-style, the heads off every man who gets shipped there for calling a perfectly calm and collected lady “crazy.”
When a woman shows just a hint of emotion or gets even slightly bothered, men just love to admonish her behavior as “crazy,” fully knowing that doing so will further enrage her.
Next time a man calls you crazy, just remember that there is a plethora of women, now including yourself, who irrevocably know the lack of length this man’s penis endures on a daily basis. And honestly, if a person really is that insane, I believe the politically correct term is “cray cray.”
3. B*tch
The only true b*tch out there is Nana, the female dog from Peter Pan, who let three kids jump out of window without barking for help. We expected better from you.
Women aren’t any more or less b*tchy than their male counterparts; we just affectionately call them “douches,” rather. It’s an arbitrary term that means you don’t like how a female is acting, but in reality it makes you look like the assh*le.
Seriously, though, calling a woman a bitch just proves that you can’t articulate yourself properly. Like, maybe she was a total c*nt, instead.
4. Bossy
Bossy is the latest word to come under scrutiny, and for good reason. It discourages young girls from wanting to pursue higher level positions or female executives from asserting themselves.
Being a natural-born leader doesn’t make you bossy; it makes you a lady boss. Just ask Beyoncé.
5. Skinny arm, thigh gap, bikini bridge
Everyone needs to get over these ridiculous body phenomena, like, yesterday. You shouldn’t aspire to have space between your legs or concavity where your intestines are.
Aim to be a fit, healthy individual, whatever that looks like on you. It’s definitely more attractive than a missing vagina. Like I’ve always said, I’ll have my muffin top and eat it, too, thank you.
6. Easy
Instead of putting a girl down by calling her “easy,” why not reward yourself by asserting that you have impeccable game? Since when does sleeping with gentlemen who respect you and treat you well become a bad thing?
Just because women are less overtly vocal about their sexual desires than men are, doesn’t mean we’re entitled to call the sexually outspoken female “easy.” She’s not microwavable mac ’n’ cheese, okay?
7. Tease
When a guy calls a girl a “tease” or a "prude," he’s really just frustrated at his own inept attempts at landing her, duhhh. If you’re labeled a tease, give yourself a pat on the back for not getting with this total loser.
The term may hurt women, but it’s up to us to rise above and not give credence to it. And being that we’re so fierce as to accumulate all these titles, I think we’ll have no problem doing just that.
Top Photo Courtesy: We Heart It
