I find the phrase "slut shaming" offensive

[fried eggs]

If two people commit consensual adultery, both parties are wrong and other people have the right to call them out on it. Labeling it as "slut shaming" implies 2 things: The first thing it implies is that Monica behaved slutty and the second implication is that people are unfairly chastising her for acting slutty. Having sex doesn't make one a slut. Neither does having sex with a married man. Criticizing an adulterer is not slut shaming. It's calling out dishonest and hurtful behavior.

[BainsBane]

1. If you're going to criticize every adulterer

You'll have time for nothing else. Monica is old news. Her 15 minutes was over 15 yrs ago. I see no reason to devote any gray matter to her or her affair with Bill Clinton. Just because something is on TV doesn't mean we need to worry about it.

[KittyWampus]

2. I find it grossly over-used.

[NYC_SKP]

3. It never occurred to me to apply that term in association with what happened with Monica and Bill.

I'm sorry that the whole thing has been resurrected.

[cyberswede]

4. "Slut shaming" means the person *isn't* a slut (and should not be shamed for her behavior)

Slut shaming is defined by many as a process in which women are attacked for their transgression of accepted codes of sexual conduct,[5] i.e., of admonishing them for behavior or desires that are more sexual than society finds acceptable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slut-shaming

[fried eggs]

5. That's my interpretation of the meaning, but it's a really off-putting phrase

that has no place in the Monica/Bill discussion. I really don't care about the Bill/Monica thing, but I saw the phrase "slut shaming" thrown around 1 too many times.

[uppityperson]

6. If two people commit consensual adultery, it is up to those involved to decide if they are wrong and

no one else has the right to call them out on anything.

[fried eggs]

8. True, in theory, but when you're a public figure the whole world will have an opinion.

But I don't want to get too far off topic. The point I'm trying to make is that the phrase "slut shaming" implies that the woman in question is a slut.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

20. What other forms of behaviour that hurt other people do you apply that to? N.T

[TorchTheWitch]

7. I've always hated it and for the same reason

It still identifies a woman as a "slut".

I even just made a post using the expression, and it made me cringe. Now I just have to edit it. I don't want this expression I dislike so much becoming normal to me.

[G_j]

9. I thought it to refer to trying to shame someone by accusing

them of being a slut.

[Luminous Animal]

15. That is exactly what it means.

[Skip Intro]

10. What does make one a slut? n/t

[fried eggs]

11. It's not a term I use, but from my understanding

it's used to describe

1) a man or woman who consistently has many different sex partners and/or
2) a man or woman who consistently and reliably has sex with any random person (or stranger) who asks for it and/or
3) allowing multiple men/boys to take turns having sex in one sitting

[Donald Ian Rankin]

21. Poor housewifery, originally.

It's only acquired the connotations of promiscuity more recently; originally it came from "slattern".

"Farewell, rewards and fairies,
Good housewives now may say
For now foul sluts in dairies
May fair as well as they".

[Warpy]

12. The phrase is disgusting and the people who look down their long blue noses and practice it

are far worse.

The truth is that this is none of your business. Why not take the time you presently waste on thinking about a tacky affair with an overheated groupie and see to something that needs attention in your own life? My guess is that you're like the rest of us and there is plenty out there for you to do.

This fascination with the sexual hijinks of the rich and/or powerful is a distraction, anyway, from the far more pressing issues of the day, like increasing funding to alternative energy to decrease global warming and raising the minimum wage to the point people can live on it without food stamps and Medicaid.

[YoungDemCA]

16. Well said.

I, for one, don't want to know what goes on in the bedrooms of the rich, famous, and/or powerful. They're people, too, who have to brush their teeth, use the toilet, and put their pants on one leg at a time-just like the rest of us! And besides, I (and most others here) don't even know them on a personal level, fer crying out loud! Do we really think we are accomplishing anything productive by finding out what (or who, if you prefer) other people are doing in bed?

And agreed, there are so many more important issues. Far, far more important issues. Enough of this tabloid gossip; it's embarrassing.

[Warpy]

17. I used to sell health foods a long time ago

and people would use us as their confessional. I learned to smile and nod pleasantly when they'd start describing their kink and I kept thinking over and over that I really didn't want to know that much about them or anybody else.

That applies to the rich and/or powerful. I just really don't want to know.

[Luminous Animal]

13. Stop calling women sluts (as Ms Lewinsky has been called many times on DU recently)

and I will stop using the phrase "slut shaming".

[MohRokTah]

14. Bill Clinton behaved slutty as well.

Just sayin'.

[Hekate]

18. Careful of the S-word tonight. There's tetchy folks out there in DU-land.

Apparently my qualifying my judgments regarding the Newt Gingrich/Ken Starr/Clinton/Lewinsky nightmare by calling both of the consenting adulterers "fools" was inadequate to cover for my having used the dreaded S-word regarding the female party. My post got hidden, which is nearly a first for me, but I had company in my cell as there were several other hidden posts in that particular thread as well.

[riderinthestorm]

19. My teenage daughter was "slut shamed" by her high school peers.

There's a specific definition.

Use it.

Know it.

Its not offensive. Its descriptive.