Is "Tramp" an acceptable word?

[Heddi]

apparently it is.

just wondering if you all see that as any different than "whore" (which is not an acceptable word)

[Beaverhausen]

1. I know what you mean - why do all derogatory terms for women...

...have something to do with their sexual activities?

[Heddi]

2. because I don't want this thread to be locked

I'm not going to link to the post I'm talking about. However, I did make the comment asking whether or not it was possible to disagree with one's views without resorting to sexist language.

I got no response except more vitrol from a woman who feels that because of her personal situation, she can use sexist language to demean other women :eyes:

[smbolisnch]

3. I know where this is coming from and I agree.

Wholeheartedly. :pals:

[Eloriel]

4. I was thinking about this very question today

after remembering my own sexual harrssment experience which I posted about in the "groping" thread. Dipping back into that made me realize (again) -- at a REAL visceral level, let me tell you -- how utterly demeaning these sexual violence activities realy are.

There isn't much you can do to a woman that makes her feel more worthless than to violate her privacy and her personhood on the basis of her sexuality. You want women as a class to feel really bad about themselves, to feel worthless, all you have to do is demean them based on their sexuality, again and again and again, as part of the culture. Rape works very well, of course, but so do the mini-rapes which are known as sexual harrassment.

It is probably THE most effective way to dehumanize and degrade half the population. There is nothing that makes you lower as a human being than not having full control and that includes a modicum of dignity about your personhood. Nothing, absolutely nothing.

[Heddi]

5. The most baffling thing to me

is how it is SO second nature to call a woman a name that demeans her sexuality because you disagree with her opinions.

I've never seen any man on here called a "pimp" or a "gigilo" because he was a right winger, had a differing opinion, etc.

But it's common that if a woman is a republican, speaks about something that someone disagrees with, etc, she is AUTOMATICALLY criticized for being a wh*re, tr@mp, $lut, etc. Why must one be promiscious in order to have a differing opinion? I wonder if right-wing nuns, with vows of chastity, are called the same thing? Sadly, I'm sure they would be.

Of course, there's also the opposite. Cold fish. frigid, needs to get laid, on the rag, needs a good fu%k, etc.

So we're either frigid, or promiscuous. Which is it?

Why can women not be held to the same standards as men--they are right wingers, therefore, well, they're right wingers. They're anti choice, etc etc. Why must there always be a sexual connotation made with regards to women, ESPECIALLY women we disagree with?

Check out any Candy Crowely thread. Not only is she a W*o#e, but she's fat as well. So it's not JUST about sexuality, but her looks as well--almost as if the message is "If you thought being a $lut was bad, just look at her--she's a fat f'ing WHALE at that!!!!"

I go away from DU for a few days to take a trip, and I come back and it's like I never left. I used to say "boys will be boys", but apparently there are plenty of (self-proclaimed, although I can't vouch for sure) women who are just as willing to denegrate their own gender with such awful slurs and comments. But see, it's okay if THEY call someone a bi^ch because, hey! I'm a woman too :eyes:

[Hello_Kitty]

7. Eating and Sex

Probably the most enjoyable activities there are, so of course they are the Cardinal Sins of womanhood. They are only to be engaged in under the complete control of a man or the watchful eyes of society.

I remember seeing a segment on the news about a study that was conducted where people watched women and men eat. The subjects overwhelmingly expressed disapproval of women eating a large amount of food, even if the woman they were watching was thin! No such judgments were made of men eating, regardless of their weights. After I saw that I realized that I often feel embarrassed eating in public and that most women I know apologize for eating - "Oh, I really shouldn't! Maybe just a bite..." It's like this display of penance you have to put on for eating.

As for sex, fuhgeddaboutit!! Women who enjoy it, especially with (gawd forbid) more than one partner, are deviant dirty freaks. Or sluts. Or whores. Pick your poison.

I think the reason people resort to the weight/sexuality attacks so quickly now is because you can't really get away with condemning a woman for speaking her mind anymore. You can't just say "Damn I wish she'd shut up and get back in her place!" It's too blatantly sexist. So you attack the 2 easiest and most hurtful targets. The ones that cut a woman right to her core.

It's really shitty.

[Heddi]

8. what you said about women v. men eating

interesting study. I think Dateline did a segment on that.

They also did one where they had overweight people and skinny people go up to people in a line (like the bank, or post office) and ask to cut in line. A far majority of the people in line let the skinny people (male and female) cut, but very few of the overweight participants were allowed to cut in.

I remember being little, sitting at the dinner table, eating spaghetti. If I got sauce on my chin, I was told to wipe it off, that I looked like a slob (or was acting like a slob). However, grandad, sitting at the head of the table, was covered in sauce and no slobbish mention to him.

As a girl-child, I was always reminded to 'act like a lady'. Sit like a lady, act like a lady--wtf? I suppose it's a projection of the innocent, demure woman who would NEVER let a wayward hair fly, or a nail get chipped. Altho as much as I was taught to 'act like a lady', my family was really open as far as me being a tomboy growing up, fishing, playing in the mud and with toy cars instead of barbie. Selective gender roles, I suppose.

And yes--sex and food are considered gluttonous by some. Anyone who engages in either (god forbid BOTH) at levels beyond accepted norms is considered wonton and worthless. I remember in high school knowing several young girls who were rather promiscious. Most of them were average weight, skinny. There were 2 who were overweight girls. I suppose that all of them were seeking some kind of acceptance from males, but it was almost unthought of to criticize the 'attractive' girls for sleeping with every boy in class, but it was all out funny to laugh at the fat girls who were 'tricked' into sex by a popular male, who toyed with her affection long enough to get a BJ. Double standard because of body size. One is acceptable and "hot", the other is comical and derided.

It is real shitty.

[Kerrytravelers]

6. No.

Not tramp, slut, whole, ho, cunt, bitch... anything of that nature is completly unacceptable.