Brianna Mitchell

SBS 318-Film Essay,

July 23, 2013

2nd Session Summer 2013

The S Word
The movie S.L.U.T.S shows the use of various words, how the words affect society,
and its affect on society especially the women that are referred to as sluts. Patricia DiTillio and
Rina Barone share their journeys and how it has shaped their lives. Sluts starts with Rush
Limbaugh calling Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke a slut because of her stance on having
employers should cover contraception. Limbaugh wants Fluke to post the videos of the sex she is
having because he is the one paying for her contraception. Which causes me to question which
is cheaper paying for the contraception or paying for a child through government assistance.
Slut is defined by one man in the movie as whoever is on his dick at the time, or sluts
are not dated just taken home for sex. According to Merriam-Webster slut is defined as a
slovenly woman, a chiefly British term; a promiscuous woman; or a saucy girl.1 While Urban
Dictionary, defines sluts as a woman with the morals of a man or a derogatory term that refers to
a sexually promiscuous person, usually female.2 I personally like the definition of a slut being a
women with the morals or a man.As the economy, law, religion, sexual mores, education, and
culture were forcibly opened up to include women more fairly, according to Naomi Wolf in
The Beauty Myth is true of the time but now is false. A woman who has sex with more than
one man whether she is in a relationship or not is shunned or seen in a negative light, but is not
seen the same in men. A man who is promiscuous is congratulated and seen as a stud. In todays
society the Declaration of Sentiments by may be seen as outdated but the resolves can still be
applied. That the same amount of virtue, delicacy, and refinement of behavior that is required of
1
2

Merriam-Webster, Slut Merriam-Webster. n.d. Web. 22 July 2013. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slut>.

Urban Dictionary: Slut." Urban Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 July 2013. <http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=slut>.

woman in the social state, should also be required of man, and the same transgressions should be
visited with equal severity on both man and woman.
Should words such as slut be censored? Probably. But once we begin to censor words
what stops them from censoring us altogether. Certain words are used in certain situations and
with certain people. I know who and what I am so someone calling me a slut is on them as a
person. If you are jealous or just unhappy with yourself that you need to try to bring me down oh
well. As my mother always said, Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never
hurt me.