The Slut Factor

Now, I am going to say something that scares a lot of people, male and female.

I am a feminist.

It sounds like such a dirty word, but yes, it's true, I am a feminist.

Now, this does not mean that I am a fem-Nazi, or a lesbian, or that I plan on shaving my head or burning my bra any time soon. It means that I believe men and women are 100% equal in every way. Yes, that is what feminism means. Unfortunately, it's been tied to a lot of negative connotations, which is why that word seems so scary.

So I am the first person to point out unjust male/female stereotypes. For example, I have never appreciated that when men sleep around, they are Gods, titans, heroes, but when women do, they are branded as sluts, whores. It's obviously completely unfair, but for some reason, it's such an ingrained part of society.

Even though I am protesting it right now, I am just as likely as anyone to talk negatively about girls that I don't like or respect. In fact, earlier tonight one of my friends told me he was going to see a girl that I know slept around a lot in college and my response was, "Ew, that slut?"

Which is horrible, right? Especially in light of the fact that I was really hurt when a friend of mine recently told me he had been under the impression that I was "kind of slutty."

Now, I am aware that I am no angel. After all, I'm young, single, and living in Manhattan. But I am definitely on the tamer side compared to most of my counterparts, and just happen to be very vocal about my conquests, when there are any. I mean I write a blog about my love life, so obviously not too much is sacred with me.

But I can't deny that it hurt my feelings that my friend thought that about me, and it really made me reconsider what kind of image I'm putting out there for the world.

Note: I just realized by pure coincidence this post ended up directly on top of the one where I am contemplating a career as a prostitute. So yeah, that maybe cleared up some of the confusion in my head about why people have the wrong idea about me...