[lbo-talk] sluts and whores

[Gar Lipow]

On 6/3/06, Yoshie Furuhashi <critical.montages at gmail.com> wrote:
> I think it's possible to neuter the terms sluts and whores in rich
> nations sometime soon, as the value of female virginity goes down.  By
> now, it's already the case that a majority of men prefer sexually
> experienced women to virginal ones in all contexts, from marriage to
> one-night stands.  Since the demand for female virginity has gotten so
> low, it's lost its erstwhile premium.
>
> It's probably not possible, however, to desexualize these two terms
> altogether.  The fundamental problem, as far as these two terms are
> concerned, is less sexism than negative attitudes toward sex for sex's
> sake and sex for money's sake, the attitudes shared by some feminists
> as well as sexists.
>
> --
> Yoshie
> <http://montages.blogspot.com/>
> <http://mrzine.org>
> <http://monthlyreview.org/>
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>

I think thought that double standard is still strong. I also think
things such as use of the terrm "himbo" and applying the term "slut"
to men may represent a very *slight* weakening of it. But as you say
in the wrong direction - moving from a double standard slightly in the
direction of devaluing sex by all genders.  I don't think devaluing of
virginity weakens the double standard as much as you  think. It has
moved from condemning people (mostly women) who have any sex before
marriagne to those who have more than the acceptable amount of sex, or
the wrong kind of sex. "Acceptable amount" and "wrong kind" have no
consistent defintion; but the people who condemn it know it when they
see it. You can mine K's posts in archives - especially over the last
six months for examples.