Member's Muse

The Slut

The word "slut" in itself has a demeaning tang to it. Like the word "scab," the sound alone tells us that it can't be all that pleasant. The origin of the word "slut is uncertain. The dictionary defines "slut" as "a dirty and untidy, slovenly woman; a woman of loose character; a female dog."

A slut, however, need not be dirty. The woman perched at the bar, demurely dressed in proverbial gingham, neatly packed and ordered, and ready to fence and protect if needed, paints a pretty picture of Pollyanna innocence. Her blue eyes weepily dance a waltz aound the room as she gingerly sips her beer. "I'll have another please," she shyly says to the bartender, as her eyes coyly scan him from head to toe. She repeats this
patteren over and over, climbing the fence with every sip.

Looking for reassurance in any way, she gropes for strokes with comments like, "I'm so ugly. No one will ask me to dance; even my thighs are fat!" Nonetheless, her pupils pinned, she targets the room for a likely victim. Ms. Hyde has emerged from her counterpart - Dr.Jekyll.

Her obsession takes over; driving effortlessly and knowing the way, she saunters over to her prey and asks, "Would you lik to dance?" Her body language leaves no question as to what the evening will bring.

Then again, there is the woman who has no such pretense. She's the woman with "slut" tatooed all over her body. Thighs bared and buttocks pinched, she seductively grins over her naked shoulder whan a drunken admirer belts out, "Hey baby, give me some fries with that shake!" Stopping, she beckons him with a crooked finger, and murmurs, "Your place or mine?"

While each of the women differ in their appearance and attitude, they share many similarities. They dread the dismay of giving too much or not getting enough; they fight with the need to be needed; and they struggle the terror of being alone. They possess the same physical composites and they hold the same emotions; but they share a really important denominator...they are both human beings.

If a strong factor here is "being human," does that mean that a man can be a slut also? If the definition of a slut is "a dirty, immoral woman," then what do we call a dirty, immoral man? Words such as "bum" or "tramp" are defined as "a idle or good-for-nothing person; a loafer of poor quality." The word "pimp" states "a person who helps others indulge in low desires, passions or vices". They each refer to people, meaning man or woman. "Stud" refers to a collection of horses kept for the purpose of breeding, while "gigaloo" (the only word associated specifically to males) is described as "a man who is paid to be a dance partner; an escort to women." Synonyms of the word "slut," such as whore, prostitute, or harlot, not only depict "a dirty, unclean woman"...but a woman who sells or gives sex as well, which leaves us with little or no terminology other than "a male slut" for a man with the same disorders.

With the realization that "a slut" has no gender, it inspires the questions of how and why? What are the motives and make-up of a slut? Perhaps sometime in their lives, probably starting early in childhood, the "slut" was overwhelmed with "too much" or "too little." Either ignored and rejected, or smothered and stifled, they somehow lacked the nutrition neecessary to grow and expand. With that first sexual encounter, " the slut" had a taste of phsical closeness, a physical tenderness that easily substituted and immediately filled a deep-seated yearning for love and self-worth.

Pathetically insecure, "sluts" clamor for affection and attention, and are loved-starved in the sense that they never get enough. It's a vicious circle. and the more they look for love in this self-destructive manner, the more it seems to elude them, leaving them victims, feeling even more lonely and depressed.

In desperate situations, "the slut" seems to hope that two negatives might somehow create a positive...but instead, will plunge deeper into the depths of hollow emptiness. Left with maggot-infested morals and actions of a rutting sea animal, "the slut" becomes trapped in a web of self-hatred. Forever deprived and maniacally possessed, "the slut" becomes a slut of the soul.