Slut-shaming

In human sexuality, slut-shaming is a form of social stigma applied to people, especially women and girls, who are perceived to violate traditional expectations for sexual behaviors. Some examples of circumstances where women are "slut-shamed" include violating accepted dress codes by dressing in perceived sexually provocative ways, requesting access to birth control, having premarital, casual, or promiscuous sex, or being raped or otherwise sexually assaulted (which is known as victim blaming).

Definitions and characteristics

Slut

Slut is a term for a woman or girl who is considered to have loose sexual morals or who is sexually promiscuous. It is generally used as an insult, sexual slur or offensive term of disparagement (slut shaming). It originally meant "a dirty, slovenly woman", and is only rarely used to refer to men, generally requiring clarification by use of the terms male slut or man whore.

The first recorded use of the word was in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. He says, "Why is thy lord so sluttish, I thee pray, And is of power better clothes to bey." He is referring to the man's untidy appearance. The word has also been used to refer to dust bunnies, which were called "slut bunnies". There have been attempts to reclaim the word for girls and women, and some individuals embrace the title as a source of pride.

Etymology, common usages and synonyms

The common denotative meanings are a sexually promiscuous woman, or "an immoral or dissolute woman; prostitute." These definitions identify a slut as a person of low character—a person who lacks the ability or chooses not to exercise a power of discernment to order their affairs, similar to terms used for men, such as a cad, rake, womanizer, stud, player, male slut or man whore. The adjective slutty carries a similar connotation, but can be applied both to people and to clothing and accessories, such as Halloween costumes. The lack of a comparably popular term for men highlights the double standard in societal expectations between males and females.

Slut (band)

Slut is a German indie rock band from Ingolstadt, Bavaria. The band's lyrics are written and sung in English.

History

The band was founded in 1994 by Christian Neuburger (vocals, guitar), Matthias Neuburger (drums), Rainer Schaller (guitar), Gerd Rosenacker (bass guitar) and Phillip Zhang the accompanying keyboard artist. After they recorded their first album, Rene Arbeithuber (keyboard, vocals, guitar) also joined. From 1997 to 1998, along with Rene and Rainer's band, 'Pelzig', they lived and recorded in a castle near Ingolstadt. In 2002, two of their singles charted on the DAC: Easy to Love got to No. 8, and Time Is Not A Remedy hit No. 18. In 2005, Slut represented Bavaria in the Bundesvision Song Contest 2005, with the song "Why Pourquoi (I Think I Like You)", placing 12th with 17 points.

So far they have not appeared live in Britain or the USA, despite several extensive European tours to Romania, The Czech Republic, Italy and France.

Discography

Albums

South Lake Union Streetcar

The Seattle Streetcar—South Lake Union Line is a 1.3-mile (2.1 km) streetcar line, covering a total 2.6-mile (4.2 km) route, connecting the South Lake Union neighborhood to Downtown Seattle, Washington. Service began on December 12, 2007. It is one of two lines in the developing Seattle Streetcar system. The line was built by the Seattle Department of Transportation and is owned by the City of Seattle, but the line is operated and maintained under contract by King County Metro.

History

The Seattle Electric Railway and Power Company laid streetcar tracks on Westlake Avenue, along which the present service primarily runs, in 1890. In April 1941, the Seattle Municipal Street Railway converted its last two streetcar routes - 19 Eighth Avenue Northwest and 21 Phinney Avenue - to buses (now numbered 28 and 5, respectively); both used Westlake Avenue to reach the Fremont Bridge from downtown.

Restoration of rail service on Westlake Avenue was originally envisioned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen to help improve the South Lake Union neighborhood, in which his venture capital company, Vulcan Inc., is heavily invested. Allen's main supporter from the beginning was Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, but he was not universally supported by the Seattle City Council, which was concerned about the lack of public support for the line and questioned if it should be moved ahead of Seattle's other transportation needs.