Why We Dislike Double Standards
By Lindsay Dolak
So, I have this friend. And she’s a whore—or at least that’s what some girl screamed at her at a party last weekend. Apparently, she slept with that same girl’s ex-boyfriend. My friend told her not to take it personally and that he wasn’t the only guy she’d slept with that month, so it wasn’t like she had a particular agenda against her. So, yeah, she’s a whore with a number somewhere past 12 or 15. Sooo slutty, right?
Why is it then that when a boy bangs as many girls as she’s given it up to does he receive high fives and some kind of golden status in the eyes of his bros while she gets accosted by drunk girls and labeled as “easy” by males and females alike? Is it really so hard to believe that maybe, just maybe, girls simply enjoy having sex?
It shouldn’t be so difficult to understand that just because something doesn’t erect in our pants every time we’re in the mood doesn’t mean we don’t get just as horny as frat guys and the football team on the weekends.
Although it seems that in this day and age the idea of woman as sexual beings is becoming more widely accepted, the dirty side eye glances we still get during our Saturday morning walk of shame paint a different picture. I’m not advocating for random sex and one-night stands, but I am putting into question the double standard. Urban dictionary’s definitions of words like whore and smut only include descriptions of females and have negative connotations. The website defines “whore” as “a woman who sleeps with everyone;” whereas, the website defines “man whore” as “one certain male individual who enjoys the sexual intercourse of others more than average.” Suddenly, the addition of the word man pretty much wipes away the negative association.
It can be frustrating, as a female, dealing with the less than attractive names that come with having multiple sexual partners. Am I, or any other girl for that matter, expected to just wait around for that one guy who can hopefully bring us satisfaction? That is, only after monogamy, of course. Maybe girls shouldn’t be slutty, but neither should guys. Don’t worry, I’m not going to preach the abstinence message to everyone. I’m just going to tell all the hypocritical men of the world with a desire for a girl who’s experienced, but virgin-esque, but not a virgin, to shut the hell up.
The double standards are getting ridiculous and, quite frankly, getting old. A girl is not a sexual deviant even if she sleeps with anything that moves or has a number close to yours, guys. Being a “whore” does not mean all standards have lowered, if not completely disappeared. I know plenty of girls who enjoy the occasional romp between the sheets; it doesn’t mean they’re going to give blowjobs in bar bathrooms. Let’s mature a little and chill with our judgments. I pinky promise to not call you a dirty slut if you swear you won’t call me a whore. Agreed?