The History of Slang: Part 3
How promiscuity was described through history
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SLUT. A ubiquitous word that we typically associate with promiscuity. However, the word slut wasn’t associated with its current meaning until the 1960s! The original meaning was just a woman who didn’t keep her house clean. A woman, of course, because the word slut is gendered. When most of us hear the word, we immediately associate it with a woman. So much so, that we specify “man-whore” or “man-slut” when we’re talking about a man. The most common term for a promiscuous man who beds women is womanizer, which is a title that carries a lot less weight and social shame than slut.
A few months ago, I posed a question in the newsletter: Can we learn about the evolution of cultural attitudes about gender, bodies and sex by exploring the history of slang? To find out, I did a deep dive on the history of euphemisms for the vagina in May, and euphemisms for masturbation in July. You can read those posts here:
Today, I’m posing a similar question: Can we learn about the evolution of cultural attitudes about gender, bodies and sex by exploring euphemisms for sluts? In 2013, British slang lexicographer Jonathon Green published a timeline of euphemisms. You can look through it for yourself here. I looked through that timeline and gathered other historical information. Here are my takeaways:
First off, it’s important to start off with the archetypes. The promiscuous female archetype is a Jezebel, which of course has biblical roots. A Jezebel is a false prophet/slutty distraction who will ruin your fucking life and has the potential to destroy a whole religion. Compare that to the promiscuous male archetypes: Casanova, Don Juan, Lothario, Romeo. They are smooth-talking cats, sometimes deceitful (Don Juan), and only some will ruin your life (Romeo).
Let’s move onto euphemisms. There are over a thousand euphemisms for a promiscuous woman, but fewer than one hundred common ones for a man used throughout history. Let’s start off in the 1500s when two very common terms were first used. Promiscuous men in the 1500s were called stallions. A woman who enjoys sex with multiple partners was a wench. Here are some other slutty euphemisms for 1500s women:
wagtail, baggage, hobby horse, heifer
In the 1600s, men were very active and so were the euphemisms. Women were often reduced to the receiver or receptacle.
Men: fishmongers, rams, gamesters, fucksters
Women: tom, flap, lay, warm bit and a light wench
Someone call Kid Rock! We’ve found the Bud Light of sluts, the light wench. In the 1700s, there were fewer than ten euphemisms for a promiscuous man that were introduced into the lexicon. Not the case for women, and among the new titles were:
venison, easy prize, cleaver, thorough good natured wench
I had no idea there were so many kinds of wenches and I assume this one is the kombucha of wenches. The 1800s gave us two of the most commonly used euphemisms: tomcat for the men, and a tart for the women. The male euphemisms in the 1800s trended towards professions one could master, while the female euphemisms were a lot less complimentary.
Men: cunt hunter, rump splitter, meat monger, fleece hunter, dollymopper
Women: loose fish, bag, easy piece, fuckstress
The first half of the 1900s gave us some of the most recognizable euphemisms for slutty women:
tramp, floozy, party girl, alley cat, she-wolf, peach
It also gave us lesser-known, but really fun terms like a dirty Gertie and a good time Jane. The male trend continued with themes of hunting and accomplishments.
gashhound, sharpshooter, loverboy, sex machine, educated fox.
Post World War 2, the euphemisms for promiscuous women number in the hundreds, while the number of slang terms for men are a fraction of that. The 1950s introduced us to two of the most common terms: whore (1958), which was previously only associated with the oldest profession and not everyday women; and player (1954), probably the most ubiquitous term for a promiscuous dude. Here are some other terms introduced after 1950:
Men: cocksmith, snatch bandit, poon hound
Women: low rent, ho-bag, turboslut, cum dumpster, thot
The imbalance of these euphemisms wasn't surprising to me. Women have been slut shamed since the beginning of time. For men, being called one of these slang terms can even be aspirational. You can still run for office if you’re a Cassanova. You can be a CEO if you’re a Romeo. You can be a school teacher if you’re a sharpshooter and sex machine, as long as you’re not doing it with students. For women through history, being labeled as any of these euphemisms was a societal death sentence.
One thing that really stands out to me is that there are few words about promiscuous straight women that imply that women enjoy sex. On the other hand, a poon hound enjoys pussy. A cocksmith is a master. You know what a cunt hunter is up to. He enjoys sex, so he’s seeking it out. It’s hard to say the same about a cum dumpster. That’s why women have been working to take the word slut back—a word that has many have been labeled for just having a normal sex life.
So, maybe we need some new euphemisms for women who enjoy sex? Pitch some in the comments. What do I know. I’m just a thorough good natured wench.
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