The word "whore" and its connotations

I

Idle Mind

What the hell, man?
Valued Senior Member
This discussion was brought up on another message board that I frequent, but since the user base is quite small, and there was an inciting incident that led to things becoming personal, no interesting discussion was really allowed to develop. Since I think it's an interesting thought, why not post it here and see where it goes?

The main idea was that one of the posters claimed that "whore" was as offensive and carried as much weight as an insult as the "n-word". I, as well as a few others disagreed, but what are thoughts around these parts?

*edited typo in the title, hopefully.
 
O.E. hore "prostitute, harlot," from P.Gmc. *khoraz (fem. *khoron-) "one who desires"
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=whore&searchmode=nl

Its just a way to make women feel bad about having sexual desire so that they can be controlled. Its usually used by men against women they cannot control or who frustrate them. Same as cunt.

I see it as a sign of loss of control on the part of the one who says it.
 
I hear the word whore and slut used in derogatory ways most of the time. Hookers are used more frequently as a good connotation meaning someone who accepts money for her "virtues" as a way to earn an income.
 
I understand the meaning of the word, and that it is used in a derogatory sense. But is it as offensive as the "n-word"? Are the implications as strong?
 
I think the word says more about the insecurities of the user than it does about the subject the word is intended to describe. I like to think I would never use the word in anger.
 
Its just a way to make women feel bad about having sexual desire so that they can be controlled. Its usually used by men against women they cannot control or who frustrate them. Same as cunt.
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I disagree with the cunt part. I use that word to describe a woman that is acting like a total bitch at the time; except her behavior is bad enough to the point where 'bitch' is too nice of a word.

Oh, a woman having sexual desire is a very good thing. A woman haphazardly sleeping with many men (who otherwise isn't a prostitute and getting paid for it) with no concern for the outcome is a very bad thing.
I say that because that kind of behavior in a woman usually denotes some mental issue (low-self esteem/requiring constant validation, insecure, lonely, etc.). I would rather not date a woman who cares that little about herself to be giving herself away to all those men.

I do consider the term whore as an offensive term. But it's nowhere near the offensiveness as the N word.
 
mikenostic said:
I disagree with the cunt part. I use that word to describe a woman that is acting like a total bitch at the time; except her behavior is bad enough to the point where 'bitch' is too nice of a word...
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Do you say it to her or just when you tell others about her behaviour?
 
Orleander said:
Do you say it to her or just when you tell others about her behaviour?
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Anything I'd say behind someone's back I'd say it to their face.
Some exceptions would be, if it was at work and I would risk losing my job if I did say something.
There was one time I was talking to a girl and she was talking about nothing but herself and being just aloof. I had finally had enough and told her, 'I'd love to stay and chat, but you're a total bitch' then turned around and started walking away.
She replied with, 'what did you say?'
I said, 'you heard me. I didnt' stutter.' And kept walking.
I've asked other girls before who were acting like that, 'could you fail to act like the total bitch you are currently acting like?'
The way that I feel about that is that sometimes something like that has to be said to someone, for the sole fact of checking them on their behavior. Some people do need to be taken down a notch or two sometimes.
Granted I'll only make a comment like that if the person's behavior is just really over the top.
 
mikenostic said:
...There was one time I was talking to a girl and she was talking about nothing but herself and being just aloof. I had finally had enough and told her, 'I'd love to stay and chat, but you're a total bitch' then turned around and started walking away.....
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aloof? I guess I have a different understanding of what a total bitch is.
 
Whore pops into my head when I think of a woman screwing different men often. Like going to a bar and bringing home a different man every Friday or Sat night.

A woman who likes to have sex a lot of sex with their partner, is not a whore.

Whore and C**T (god I hate that word) doesn't mean the same thing to me.
I find the "C" word a real insult and quite offensive.
 
Orleander said:
My Mom uses the word 'tramp'
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M*W: Back in the early days of my youth, I remember my grandmother referring to a woman of questionable morals as "lady of the evening," "trollop," "tramp" and "harlot." Later in my pre-teen years I recall my mother referring to a sexually promiscuous woman as "slut." I was almost an adult before I remember hearing a woman being called a "bitch." "Bitch" had a much more derogatory connotation then than it does now. Today, the word "bitch" means nothing more than a woman who is hard to get along with. It has nothing to do with a sexual reference anymore. An aggravating neighbor around here, for example, is referred to as a "bitch." It's interesting how words will change meanings as the morals of society change or mature.
 
shorty_37 said:
Whore pops into my head when I think of a woman screwing different men often. Like going to a bar and bringing home a different man every Friday or Sat night.

A woman who likes to have sex a lot of sex with their partner, is not a whore.

Whore and C**T (god I hate that word) doesn't mean the same thing to me.
I find the "C" word a real insult and quite offensive.
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M*W: I hate the C-word, too. Do you think it refers today to a woman who is sexually promiscuous orto a woman who is just an annoying (bitchy) person?
 
Originally Posted by Mikenostic
I say that because that kind of behavior in a woman usually denotes some mental issue (low-self esteem/requiring constant validation, insecure, lonely, etc.). I would rather not date a woman who cares that little about herself to be giving herself away to all those men.
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So you think that the fact a man sleeps with anyone doesn't denote some deep-rooted 'desire for validation' too? It's a silly concept, this idea that women 'give' men sex. And for your information, most women wouldn't want to date an overly-promiscuous bloke either.
 
S.A.M. said:
O.E. hore "prostitute, harlot," from P.Gmc. *khoraz (fem. *khoron-) "one who desires"
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=whore&searchmode=nl

Its just a way to make women feel bad about having sexual desire so that they can be controlled. Its usually used by men against women they cannot control or who frustrate them. Same as cunt.

I see it as a sign of loss of control on the part of the one who says it.
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Fucking whore.

According to SAM, she's already won.
 
Medicine*Woman said:
*************
M*W: I hate the C-word, too. Do you think it refers today to a woman who is sexually promiscuous orto a woman who is just an annoying (bitchy) person?
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I think the annoying, bitchy, maybe manipulative, conniving, deceitful...etc
type woman. I don't really associate the word with sexual behaviors. Although I can picture a man calling his wife/girlfriend a C**T if he caught her cheating or something. I have never been called that. I have heard my partner say it (very rarely) about someone but even them I give him a look and a slap on the arm or something. He knows I really HATE that word, so if he really wanted to do some damage in our relationship he could call me that.
 
copernicus66 said:
Bullshit. Almost every time I have heard the word 'slut' or 'whore' used, it has come from the mouth of a woman. Men tend to love promiscuous and horny women.
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Hmmmm you may be right the women use it more frequently then men. :shrug: I am guilty myself of using it.
I have heard men refer to strippers and hookers as sluts and whores. I also have heard them refer to gold diggers as sluts and whores.
 
shorty:
Hmmmm you may be right the women use it more frequently then men. I am guilty myself of using it.
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I read an excellent article about the repression of female sexuality, and that other females are actually the main culprits. In times long past when society was highly patriarchal, sex was one of the few ways in which women held leverage over men. When women gave away sex 'too freely', the female collective had nothing to bargain with against men, so naturally such behaviour was discouraged in order to retain a sexual edge over men.

Which fits with my own observations that women who were 'easy' were not slandered by men (quite the contrary, they had no complaints whatsoever about no strings attached sex! :D), but were visciously ridiculed by other women.

The only time I've seen a guy label a woman a whore/slut is if she is in a committed relationship with him, and then sleeps around behind his back. But that's monogamy for you.
 
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