RUNNING HEADER: SEX SHAMMING

Literary Analysis
Yesenia Contreras
University of Texas at El Paso
Professor Nugent
RWS 1302

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Abstract

Sex shamming is a double standard that exists in our society today between men
and women allowing men to be above terms such as slut and whore but degrading
women as a whole. This allows men to be superior in the aspect of anything that has to do
with sex or social acceptance of women wanting to be open about their sexuality or who
they are. As a society, the perspective of men and women is unequal in judgment and
respect. Sex shamming divides men and women in every social aspect of being confident
of what we stand for. Thus, creating a bigger public issue to change the perspective of
women verse men in society. Sex shamming creates a label that does not allow women to
find their own identity.

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Sex Shamming Aimed Towards Women: A Review of Literature

In our society today women face the issue of being degraded, and constantly taken
under a double standard when discussing their sexuality versus how men are portrayed.
The term slut is defined as 1. A woman who has many sexual partners. 2. A woman with
low standards of cleanliness. Within that definition it proves to show that the derogative
term slut is mainly aimed towards women excluding men from the meaning behind
Slut and the way it is portrayed in todays society.
It is frowned upon when a woman freely expresses her sexuality as an individual
only because she is a woman. It is not only wrong as a human being to single out only
women and not men because of the number of sex partners we decide to have but a a
society. As a society we allow it to be okay for the term slut or whore to define
women or degrade us. Where as compared to men who get a high five or some kind of
praise because they scored one. We live in a society where men and women are not
viewed or judged equally. Men have always been set to be the dominant, the elite.
Which then leads into gender roles and stereotypes that label women in a negative
prospective putting us below men. It is not socially acceptable for women to be confident
in their sex lives or their sexuality in general like men are able to be. Men are excluded
from any type of negative judgment or portrayal just because they are masculine and
cannot be defined by a terms that would damage the image of being a male compared to a
woman.
Through the examination of how we have reached this point with society and the
common debate of how women are constantly upheld with the double standard for their
sexuality verse how men are seen, we can use the following questions to understand and

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trace down how we have attached the term slut and whore to women and excuse men
from the same behavior traits women have.
1. Why is there a double standard when it comes to women with the topic of their
sexuality and style?
2. Why are men excluded from the term slut, furthermore are there terms to shame
male sexuality?
3. Does media influence gender roles?
4. How can we stop it?
Why is there a double standard when it comes to women with the topic of
their sexuality and style?
Interview: Women Studies Professor Ruth McDonald
When asking Professor McDonald this question she began with the idea that the
term slut did not just appear that in order to understand why women are constantly
implemented with the term slut we have to understand where it began and how the
origin of these stereotypes have attached themselves to women and not men. McDonald
believed that from the beginnings of defining gender roles women have constantly been
expected to be the household wife who is pure, and follows at every beck and call the
man would have. We were always expected be to the nurturer or the women who is dumb
witted and cannot manage on our without the reliance or dependency of male figure in
our life.
She recommended that in order to view these stereotypes as they are in viewed in
society I should look into how women are expected to act in past traditional roles and
how it is still a current expectation in other parts of the world and to compare how this
image has evolved in our society but yet is still existing today.

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Dating back to the tradition American household the man is the provider, the one
who deals with the finances, and is the one that should be dependent on. That the male is
flawless and is incapable of making mistakes and if it falls upon the male where he is
wrong the wife should be completely supportive and overlook the issue as if it never
happened. Where as if the woman makes a mistake it is the worse thing that can happen
or if the wife is not the conservative, pure, supporting women she is expected to be then
she is considered immoral and is not worthy of everything the male figure does for the
family. It is also comes to topic where if the women does not fulfill her duties to her
husband it is not the fault of the husband if he commits adultery or is unfaithful because
the fault does not fall them for not being satisfied.
You can also compare the tradition of Islamic family that currently exists today.
The women falls completely under circumstances of satisfying the male figure in every
aspect. She needs to be the support system in any situation. The rights of the husband
over the wife include him completely being the head of the household and if the women
ever comes close to being the main provider it goes against the basic traditional Islam
family household, no one is allowed to visit unless there is approval, may not leave
without permission, must cook and clean for him, to be thankful for everything he does
and to never be selfish and to completely put the family before the well being of herself.
In this family tradition it is even acceptable for the male figure to strike if she goes
against the authority of the male.
McDonald explained that with these types of examples you could see that the
women role is to be inferior to the male supporter. To be the picture perfect wife
stereotype. Through the faults of this stereotype it leads into the different judgment

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women and men receive in societys perspective of how men are excused from certain
behaviors compared to how women are treated because of it. An understanding of this
stereotype comes from the beginnings of the definition of the roles men and women play.
Due to that image McDonald believed that this is the reason why gender
behaviors differ in perspective. That we have the origin to blame for the label placed on
what a women should be which leads to the backlash of sex shamming. Women are
discriminated by their sexual behaviors because it rebels against everything the
traditional idea of a woman should be, and how she should act and look. The double
standard of women wanting to be outspoken, have multiple sex partner, or exposing
themselves like men is an outrage because it is not what women she be or stand for. That
is why men are able to be confident in their sex life or the masculinity because it
strengthens their image. The common gender role for a man is being tough, strong,
provider, the elite.
Why are men excluded from the term slut, furthermore are there terms to
shame male sexuality?
It is that understood that since men are elite, it is not their fault when it comes to
pursuing women such as having multiple sex partners because they are viewed in having
no control over lust. It is acceptable for them to have open sex lives and be proud of it.
That it is their right to carry out their sexual desire. Where as women should be wise and
intelligent and know better than that, that women are not capable of having an open sex
life because of the common image of women being pure and having morals and values.
This is why women receive negative judgment because women should never ever be
what a man is. Men may not be completely excused from having multiple sex partners

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but it is like a slap on the wrist where as women are completely judged and seen as
whore. But in todays society men have been put under the term man whore but it is
socially not taken seriously more as a joke to build their masculine identity. The term
man whore does not carry the same weight as the terms slut or whore because it is
obvious that those terms are more aggressive then man whore read in an article by
Natasha Devin. I also read in the same article that there may not be terms equivalent
terms to slut or whore but there are terms that affect men not in the sex life circumstances
as women but terms such as pussy whipped to make men feel weak.

Does media influence gender roles?

Through social media gender roles are constantly being addressed and
influenced in the way they originally were introduced such as the male being superior or
the female being desired due to physique or being the weak nurturer. We repeatedly see it
in movies and music videos. Seen the example of a music video Anaconda by Nicki
Minaj she dresses and performs as the record label chooses, to be desired by society in
what is viewed wanted from women. You can also see it in movies like Safe Haven by
Nicolas Sparks where it is a story line of woman who does everything and anything for
the male and yet is seen weak because she leaves him. These gender stereotypes are also
influenced by twitter, instagram, and facebook. The terms Slut and whore are thrown
around and taken too lightly giving society the green light to think it is acceptable to use.
Read in an article by Leora Tanenbaum she explains how the term slut is exchanged as
a greeting in discussions between friends or how girls are judged upon appearance on
social media and defined and the consequences of it. That we are taking these stereotypes

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to lightly if we want this to come to end in our society. With social media being a huge
component in society all over the world the labels and stereotypes will always be
projected whether it is a negative or positive perspective.

How can we stop it?

With women being more vocal on what we stand for and how we should
be equally respected as men in todays society it raises a higher social issue creating a
bigger roar to make it stop. From an article by Sean Jameson he states that it can be
stopped by not jumping to blame a woman for something that happens to her, accepting
womens sexual choices and needs as their own, refraining from criticizing a womans
outfit, providing support to woman who are raped, being open about sexual urges and
desires respectively to both genders.
But in understanding where stereotypes originated from with speaking with
Professor McDonald I personally believe that the judgment on males verse women will
never go away because it is in implanted in our brains as an understanding of the
evolution of men and women. It is what we are taught when we are young that these
traditional gender roles are supposed to be like this through biblical teachings, history
lectures, and from what we originated from. That this idea of women being inferior will
always be there.

Conclusion

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The overall understanding of gender roles and stereotypes of slut shamming

leads back to the origin of how we have evolved today. Yes, slut shamming is inequality
between women and men but it is also a reflection of society and what we have evolved
to. It is wrong for women to be taken under a double standard when it comes to sex or
how we decide to establish ourselves in todays society because will constantly be viewed
from that perspective. The only thing we can do as women is know and understand that
we should be degraded by this just because of a label but do and be who we to be
regardless of the perspective.

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References

Part 1: The Duties of Women. (n.d.). Retrieved April 04, 2016, from http://www.alislam.org/principles- marriage-family-ethics-ayatullah-ibrahim-amini/part-1duties-women

Islams Women - Fiqh of Marriage - Rights and Duties. (n.d.). Retrieved April 04, 2016,
from https://www.islamswomen.com/marriage/fiqh_of_marriage_8.php

Devon, N. (n.d.). Is there a male equivalent to calling a woman a 'slut'? Retrieved April
04, 2016, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11159850/Is-therea-male-equivalent-to-calling-a-woman-a-slut.html

Jameson, S. (n.d.). The REAL Reason We Treat Girls Like 'Sluts' (And How To Stop).
Retrieved April 04, 2016, from http://www.yourtango.com/experts/seanjameson/slut-shaming

Tanenbaum, L. (n.d.). Salon. Retrieved April 04, 2016, from

http://www.salon.com/2015/02/09/youre_such_a_slut_sexual_validation_in_th
e_age_of_social_media/

Gender Roles in the U.S. - Boundless Open Textbook. (n.d.). Retrieved April 04, 2016,
from https://www.boundless.com/sociology/textbooks/boundless-sociology-

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textbook/gender-stratification-and-inequality-11/gender-and-socialization86/gender-roles-in-the-u-s-498-7851/

Sex Shaming [Telephone interview]. (2016, March 29).

Dennis, J. (2015). Sex-Shaming Is Ridiculous and Harmful Heres Why. Retrieved

April 04, 2016, from http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/11/sex-shaming-isharmful/

A Gentleladys Guide to Ending Slut Shaming. (2013). Retrieved April 04, 2016, from
http://broadzine.com/2013/01/10/a-gentleladys-guide-to-ending-slut-shaming/

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