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I've said about five times now on this thread that it's not the word, it's the intent. If you use the word slut as a means of inserting your moral superiority or finer character over a woman then there's not much question of how that person should react to it. The same way one might react if they are unfairly called a liar. To place the burden of "dealing with it" on the accused is typical.
I've no doubt that there have been times in my life when the "societal standards" would consider me to be a slut. Ironically, the only time I was ever actually called a slut, I wasn't acting like one, lol. But luckily for me, I've pretty much been an active observer and critic of the hypocrisy of "societal standards" since about the time I first entered jr. high school and saw them in action. Particularly in regards to the expectations of women's behavior and in the veritably brutal way these expectations are perpetuated by women themselves.
So calling me a slut doesn't hurt me, in fact, sometimes I enjoy it very, very much. But that doesn't absolve someone who looks down on me or any other woman for being promiscuous or kinky or dressed provocatively from being an asshole. Nor does it disguise the fact that they react that way because they are quite threatened by it.
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Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce
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