Slut-shaming is a discriminatory practice that targets individuals who deviate from traditional gender norms, regardless of their gender identity, sexual orientation, behaviour, or appearance. Offensive terminology is considered a ‘performative act’, actions that create and shape social realities. In this context, language and labels serve as instruments of social control and regulation, not merely describing reality but actively reinforcing and legitimising specific groups and categories. This article aims to explore potential processes for positive resignification of terms and representations associated with the label ‘slut’. A sample of 26 participants were recruited to participate in focus groups to explore their experiences of slut-shaming. Using discourse analysis, the article delves into offensive terminology, examining how it reflects and reinforces symbolic power relations. By exploring the symbolic meaning of insults directed at both genders, the study aims to reveal the interplay of power, dominance, and resistance in linguistic interactions, providing a deeper understanding of how slut-shaming operates within this cultural framework. The analysis reveals elements specific to the offensive terminology used in slut-shaming, drawing both on participants’ personal experiences and theoretical frameworks. The findings emphasise that slut-shaming victimisation is not a uniform experience; rather, it is shaped by various social and cultural factors. Participants’ narratives reflected the intricate emotional conflicts they experience, stemming from pervasive cultural norms that influence identity formation through the use of derogatory language. These cultural patterns contribute to internalised struggles, revealing how offensive language plays a pivotal role in reinforcing gendered power structures and allows the perpetuation of slut-shaming.
AlmazanVABainSF (2015) College students’ perceptions of slut-shaming discourse on campus. Research in Higher Education Journal28: 1–9.
2.
An Open Letter from Black Women to the Slutwalk (2016) Gender & Society30(1): 9–13.
3.
ArnotMAraújoHDeliyanniK, et al. (2008) Changing femininity, changing concepts of citizenship in public and private spheres. In: ArnotM (ed.) Educating the Gendered Citizen: Sociological Engagements with National and Global Agendas, vol. 7. London: Routledge, pp. 95–111.
4.
ArmstrongEAHamiltonLArmstrongEM, et al. (2014) Good girls: Gender, social class, and slut discourse on campus. Social Psychology Quarterly77(2): 100–122. https://doi.org/10.1177/0190272514521220
5.
ArmstrongEAGleckman-KrutMJohnsonL (2018) Silence, power, and inequality: An intersectional approach to sexual violence. Annual Review of Sociology44(1): 99–122.
6.
AttwoodF (2007) Sluts and riot Grrrls: Female identity and sexual agency. Journal of Gender Studies16(3): 233–247.
7.
AubertAMolinaSSchubertT, et al. (2017) Learning and inclusivity via interactive groups in early childhood education and care in the hope school Spain. Learning Culture and Social Interaction13: 90–103.
8.
AustinJL (1962) How to Do Things with Words: The William James Lectures. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
9.
BacioMRinaldiC (2019) The queer researcher: Challenging homonormativity in research and educational settings. In: MagaraggiaSMauererGSchmidbaurM (eds) Feminist Perspectives on Teaching Masculinities: Learning Beyond Stereotypes. London: Routledge, pp. 29–43.
10.
BartkySL (2014) Foucault, femininity, and the modernization of patriarchal power. In: MeyersDT (ed.) Feminist Social Thought: A Reader. London: Routledge, pp. 92–111.
11.
Bay-ChengLY (2015) The agency line: A neoliberal metric for appraising young women’s sexuality. Sex Roles73(7–8): 279–291.
12.
BeanTDanhLTMVanVP, et al. (2024) Vietnamese youth’s perception on slut-shaming on Social Media. Trends in Psychology. Epub ahead of print 2 July. DOI: 10.1007/s43076-024-00393-0.
13.
BergerPLLuckmannT (1966) The social constructions of reality. Garden City, NY: Double Day and Company.
14.
BijelićN (2008) Sex education in Croatia: Tensions between secular and religious discourses. European Journal of Women’s Studies15(4): 329–343.
15.
ButlerJ (1990) Gender Trouble. London: Routledge.
16.
ButlerJ (1993) Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of ‘Sex’. New York: Routledge.
17.
ButlerJ (1997) Excitable Speech: A Politics of the Performative. New York: Routledge.
18.
CappottoCRinaldiC (2016) I copioni sessuali di William Simon e John HGagnon. Studi Culturali Rivista Quadrimestrale2: 209–242.
19.
CervoneCAugoustinosMMaassA (2021) The language of derogation and hate: Functions, consequences, and reappropriation. Journal of Language and Social Psychology40(1): 80–101.
20.
ChimomboMRoseberryRL (2013) The Power of Discourse: An Introduction to Discourse Analysis. New York: Routledge.
21.
CookJHasmathR (2014) The discursive construction and performance of gendered identity on social media. Current Sociology62(7): 975–993.
22.
CrenshawK (1993) Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. In: WeisbergKD (ed.) Feminist Legal Theory: Foundations. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, pp. 383–396.
23.
CroomAM (2013) How to do things with slurs: Studies in the way of derogatory words. Language & Communication33(3): 177–204.
24.
DavisKZarkovD (2017) EJWS retrospective on intersectionality. European Journal of Women’s Studies24: 313–320.
25.
DelonM (2020) 9 Casanova, from Man to Myth. In: StefanovskaM (ed.) Casanova in the Enlightenment: From the Margins to the Centre. Toronto, ON, Canada: University of Toronto Press, pp. 141–149.
26.
DilleyRHockeyJRobinsonV, et al. (2015) Occasions and non-occasions: Identity, femininity and high-heeled shoes. European Journal of Women’s Studies22(2): 143–158.
27.
FjærEGPedersenWSandbergS (2015) ‘I’m Not One of Those Girls’: Boundary-work and the sexual double standard in a liberal hookup context. Gender and Society29(6): 960–981.
28.
FlickU (2016) Qualitative data analysis 2.0: Developments, trends, challenges. In: DenzinNKGiardinaMD (eds) Qualitative Inquiry and the Politics of Research. London: Routledge, pp. 119–139.
29.
FoucaultM (1975) Surveiller et punir: Naissance de la prison. Paris: Gallimard.
30.
FoxNJAlldredP (2013) The sexuality-assemblage: Desire, affect, anti-humanism. The Sociological Review61(4): 769–789.
31.
GalinskyAHugenbergKGroomC, et al. (2003) The reappropriation of stigmatizing labels: Implications for social identity. In: PolzerJ (ed.) Research on Managing Groups and Teams: Identity Issues in Groups, Vol 5. Leeds: Emerald Publishing, pp. 221–256.
32.
GalinskyADWangCSWhitsonJA, et al. (2013) The reappropriation of stigmatizing labels the reciprocal relationship between power and self-labeling. Psychological Science24: 2020–2029.
33.
García-GómezA (2011) Regulating girlhood: Evaluative language, discourses of gender socialization and relational aggression. European Journal of Women’s Studies18(3): 243–264.
34.
GhenoV (2022) Femminili Singolari+: Il Femminismo È Nelle Parole. effequ.
35.
GillR (2007) Gender and the Media. Cambridge: Polity Press.
36.
GreenAI (2008) The social organization of desire: The sexual fields approach. Sociological Theory26(1): 25–50.
37.
GrindeB (2021) Sexual behavior in modern societies: An interdisciplinary analysis. Sexuality & Culture25(6): 2075–2091.
38.
GrindstaffLWestE (2011) Hegemonic masculinity on the sidelines of sport. Sociology Compass5(10): 859–881.
39.
HallKBorbaRHiramotoM (2021) Language and gender. In: StanlawJM (ed) The International Encyclopedia of Linguistic Anthropology. Hoboken, NJ : Wiley Blackwell, pp. 892–912.
40.
HawkesG (1996) Sociology of Sex and Sexuality. London: McGraw-Hill Education.
41.
HollandJRamazanogluCSharpeS, et al. (1994) Power and desire: The embodiment of female sexuality. Feminist Review46(1): 21–38.
42.
hooksb (1989) Talking Back: Thinking Feminist, Thinking Black. Boston, MA: South End Press.
43.
hooksb (2009) Reel to Real: Race, Class and Sex at the Movies. London: Routledge.
44.
HamurcuAU (2022) The metaverse, online communities, and (real) urban space: Theory synthesis and adaptation. Urbani Izziv33(2): 73–85.
45.
KaraianL (2014) Policing ‘sexting’: Responsibilization, respectability and sexual subjectivity in child protection/crime prevention responses to teenagers’ digital sexual expression. Theoretical Criminology18(3): 282–299.
46.
KhanTHMacEachenE (2021) Foucauldian discourse analysis: Moving beyond a social constructionist analytic. International Journal of Qualitative Methods20: 16094069211018009.
47.
KleinmanSEzzellMBFrostAC, et al. (2009) Reclaiming critical analysis: The social harms of ‘Bitch’. Sociological Analysis3: 47–68.
48.
LakoffR (1975) Language and Woman’s Place. New York: Harper & Row.
49.
Lévi-StraussC (1949) Les structures élémentaires de la parenté. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
50.
LordeA (1984) Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches. New York: Crossing Press.
51.
MaltzDNBorkerRA (1982) A cultural approach to male-female miscommunication. In: GumperzJJ (ed) Language and social identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 196–216.
52.
MercierE (2024) Exploring everyday slutshaming: The role of family and the male gaze in reproducing women’s sexual shame. Sexuality & Culture29: 864–882.
MianoPUroneC (2023) What the hell are you doing? A PRISMA systematic review of psychosocial precursors of slut-shaming in adolescents and young adults. Psychology & Sexuality15(1): 97–113.
55.
MiddenE (2012) Feminism and cultural and religious diversity in Opzij: An analysis of the discourse of a Dutch feminist magazine. European Journal of Women’s Studies19(2): 219–235.
56.
MillerSA (2016) ‘How You Bully a Girl’: Sexual drama and the negotiation of gendered sexuality in high school. Gender and Society30(5): 721–744.
57.
NguyenA (2008) Patriarchy, power, and female masculinity. Journal of Homosexuality55(4): 665–683.
58.
O’NeillM (2013) Prostitution and Feminism: Towards a Politics of Feeling. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
59.
PascoeCJ (2005) ‘Dude, you’re a fag’: Adolescent masculinity and the fag discourse. Sexualities8(3): 329–346.
60.
PascoeCJBridgesT (2018) Fag discourse in a post-homophobic era. In: GruskyDHillJ (eds) Inequality in the 21st Century. London: Routledge, pp. 353–358.
61.
PilcherJCoffeyA (eds) (2018) Gender and Qualitative Research (1996). London: Routledge.
62.
Popa-WyattMWyattJL (2018) Slurs, roles and power. Philosophical Studies175: 2879–2906.
63.
PulidoCMViduARacionero-PlazaS, et al. (2021) I do it, but I decide with whom. Frontiers in Psychology12: 673617.
64.
ReganPVMeyerEJ (2021) Queer theory and heteronormativity. In: NoblitGW (ed.) Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
65.
RinaldiC (2016) Sesso, sé e società. Per Una Sociologia Delle Sessualità. Milano: Mondadori.
66.
RinaldiC (2023) La violenza come pratica collettiva di produzione delle maschilità. In: GiurintanoCRussoF (a cura di) Aspetti e questioni multidisciplinari della democrazia paritaria: lo spazio pubblico e privato dall’antichità ai nostri giorni. Napoli: Editoriale scientifica, pp. 353–380.
67.
RingroseJRenoldE (2012) Slut-shaming, girl power and ‘sexualisation’: Thinking through the politics of the international SlutWalks with teen girls. Gender and Education24(3): 333–343.
68.
RobertsC (2013) Early puberty, ‘sexualization’ and feminism. European Journal of Women’s Studies20(2): 138–154.
69.
RomanoM (2022) Occupying the streets, occupying words. Reframing new feminisms through reappropriation. Discourse & Society33(5): 631–649.
70.
RusbridgerR (2008) The internal world of. Don Giovanni. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis89(1): 181–194.
71.
SantosAC (2013) Are we there yet? Queer sexual encounters, legal recognition and homonormativity. Journal of Gender Studies22(1): 54–64.
72.
SantosAC (2019) One at a time: LGBTQ polyamory and relational citizenship in the 21st century. Sociological Research Online24(4): 709–725.
73.
SantosSJGarraioJde Sousa CarvalhoA, et al. (2022) A space to resist rape myths? Journalism, patriarchy and sexual violence. European Journal of Women’s Studies29(2): 298–315.
74.
SapirE (1921) Language. New York: Harcourt Brace.
75.
SavageE (2011) Politics of Slut walk. Eureka Street21(10): 29–30.
76.
SbisàMAustinJL (1987) Gli atti linguistici: aspetti e problemi di filosofia del linguaggio. Milano: Feltrinelli.
77.
ScoularJO’NeillM (2007) Regulating prostitution: Social inclusion, responsibilization and the politics of prostitution reform. The British Journal of Criminology47(5): 764–778.
78.
ThorntonAM (2022) Genere e igiene verbale: l’uso di forme con ə in italiano. Annali del dipartimento di studi letterari linguistici e comparati. Sezione Linguistica11: 11–54.
79.
TolmanDLAndersonSMBelmonteK (2015) Mobilizing metaphor: Considering complexities, contradictions, and contexts in adolescent girls’ and young women’s sexual agency. Sex Roles73(7–8): 298–310.
80.
UroneCPassigliaGGraceffaG, et al. (2024) Pathways of self-determination: A constructivist grounded theory study of slut-shaming vulnerability in a group of young adults. Sexuality & Culture28(4): 1339–1368.
81.
VaillancourtTSharmaA (2011) Intolerance of sexy peers: Intrasexual competition among women. Aggressive Behavior37(6): 569–577.
82.
ViduATomásGFlechaR (2021) Pioneer legislation on second order of sexual harassment: Sociolegal innovation in addressing sexual harassment. Sexuality Research and Social Policy19: 562–573.
83.
WaltersSD (1996) From here to queer: Radical feminism, postmodernism, and the lesbian menace (or, why can’t a woman be more like a fag?)Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society21(4): 830–869.
84.
WeatherallA (2002) The politics of language and communication: Revisiting the roots of feminist psychology. Feminism & Psychology12(3): 330–334. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353502012003005
85.
WhorfBL (1956) Language Thought, and Reality. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
86.
WilligC (2008) Introducing Qualitative Research in Psychology, 2nd edn.Maidenhead: McGraw. Hill/Open University Press.
87.
WilligC (2013) Discourses and discourse analysis. In: FlickU (ed.) The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Data Analysis. New York: Sage, pp. 341–353.
88.
WilliamsH (2021) “You can spot them a mile off”: Young women’s negotiations of class and the sexual culture of shame. Sexuality & Culture25(4): 1273–1289.
89.
YangY (2020) What’s hegemonic about hegemonic masculinity? Legitimation and beyond. Sociological Theory38(4): 318–333.
