Words Used to Denigrate and Express Hatred Towards Women

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Mon Dec-27-10 09:04 PM
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Words Used to Denigrate and Express Hatred Towards Women

The word “whore” is somewhat unusual in the English language in that it has two distinctly different meanings that superficially appear similar enough to get them confused with each other, thus enabling the use of a word that as commonly used has no purpose other than the demeaning of or expression of hatred towards women, while appearing to be a legitimate word. Let me explain.

Consider a typical definition of “whore”. Part 1 of the definition is in two sub-parts: “A woman who engages in sexual acts for money; ALSO a promiscuous or immoral woman”. The clear implication of these two sub-definitions being linked together in the same definition is that engaging in sexual acts for money or being sexually promiscuous is the same thing as being immoral.

Aside from the fact that I flat out disagree with that assertion, it must be noted that many millions of women – perhaps most – who engage in sex for money do so because they are forced to or because they need the money in order to survive. The insinuation that women who do this are immoral is demeaning – as indeed the word “whore” is specifically meant to accomplish.

Part 3 of this definition of whore is “a venal or unscrupulous person”. This differs from Part 1 in two respects: It is not gender specific, and it makes no reference to sexual activity. More specifically, as used in common usage, that part of the definition usually applies to a person who performs any immoral act for money. As in part 1 of the definition, the word is not at all value neutral – it is always used in the pejorative sense and it is meant to shame and demean. But the part 3 definition is legitimate because it is directed at a person’s actions and not at their genetically determined group identity.

Words as weapons

The word whore as used in part 1 of the definition cited above has no other purpose than to demean women or express hatred and contempt towards them. It is in some sense related to a woman’s sexuality, but it need not be, as suggested by the second part of the definition, which is simply “a promiscuous or immoral woman”.

A recent very popular novel that I read captures that use of the word perfectly. A twenty some year old woman confronts her father, who repeatedly brutalized, raped, and terrorized her mother during her childhood. Attempting to explain to him why she had tried to kill him, she says simply, “You should have left my mother alone”. His answer in defense of his actions was simply, “Your mother was a whore”. That’s all the explanation that is needed because it’s perfectly clear what he means. His several years of terrorizing of his wife were perfectly justified in his mind because she was a sub-human and deserved everything he gave her.

My point is that part one of the definition is an illegitimate use of the word. It should never be used by decent people, just as the N word should not be used by decent people, and for the same reason. These are not words in the ordinary sense of a word, but they are words that are used as weapons – to demean or express hatred and contempt towards both the individual at whom they are directed, as well as towards a whole group of people. As a matter of fact, I looked up the definition of the N word, and found the actual definition preceded by a long paragraph that starts with “The term is now probably the most offensive word in English”, and then it goes on to explain just how offensive it is, to emphasize the point that the word has no legitimate use. Well, the W word deserves a similar type of treatment, at least part 1 of the W word.

But the problem is that the other part of the definition – “a venal or unscrupulous person”, or “a person who performs an immoral act for money” – is a perfectly legitimate word. And it’s not only legitimate, but sometimes I find it difficult not to use. In fact, I have used it myself in the title of a DU post. I used it to refer to journalists who lie and distort for money or fame, and yes, I used it partly to demean them and express my contempt for them. I felt a little uncomfortable using it because of its conflation with the part 1 definition. But I used it because I simply could not think of another word that fit the bill – and I still can’t.

Words used to stereotype and justify the unjustifiable

The way that words are defined and used to characterize people greatly influences how we think of them. Throughout history, pejorative words have been used by societies as weapons, to characterize minority ethnic groups, with the purpose of marginalizing them and justifying confiscation of their property or acts of violence against them.

Naomi Wolf talks about this issue in her book, “Promiscuities – The Secret Struggle for Womanhood”. Most of you probably know Naomi Wolf best for “The End of America”, a warning that fascism is on the rise in our country and we’d better recognize it and do something about it before it’s too late. Before she wrote about fascism and the end of our country she wrote about sex. “Promiscuities” is largely a book about the problems our society causes for women through the conflicting and hypocritical messages about sex that it bombards us with. This is typified by a question a woman in the audience once asked Wolf while giving a speech: “Is Madonna a feminist or a slut?” Wolf writes:

I knew by that time… how old this question was and how mistakenly phrased. Just about all of us, I tried to say… were always struggling to integrate what both stereotypes split off from us. And we always tended to think that we were alone in that struggle. A longing for the male body is often read in our culture, even by women themselves, as being a flaw, a debilitating weakness.

I believe that Wolf’s comment that the question was mistakenly phrased says it all. The word “slut”, like “whore”, is not a legitimate word. It has no other purpose than to express contempt for women. It focuses on one narrow aspect of a person, her sexuality, and implies that because her sexual behavior doesn’t comport with one’s own opinion of what is proper, the woman is not fully human. By making this implication, the word is meant to legitimize ill treatment, including violence. There is little doubt that the use of such words, with all they imply, helps to explain why there are at least 3 million women and girls today who are enslaved in the sex trade against their will.