“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been called a slut. From the time I was a young girl — even before I was sexually active — it was a label that was placed on me,” Amber Rose told TIME magazine in a 2017 interview.

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The American model and actress decided to reclaim the word “slut” after the word was used to insult her most of her life. In the feature, Rose talks about her struggles with people constantly using the slur against her. She changed the way she dressed and acted, but the insults continued. Finally, she made the choice to embrace her true self and show the world that she owned being a “slut.”

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But what does this word even mean?

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If we go way back to the 14th century, the word was used to describe a man with a “disreputable appearance,” according to the Daily Beast. There was no sexual context and the person being described wasn’t even a woman. 

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Skipping ahead to the 17th century, “slut” was commonly used to describe a “dirty woman,” but only in terms of her appearance and lack of cleanliness. Still nothing sexual here.

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From the early 20th century on, the word “slut” described “a woman of loose morals” or even “a woman with the morals of a man.”

In modern context, a woman can be described as “slutty” or a “slut” if she wears something revealing or form-fitting or if she has a certain attitude about her: one that’s often confident, carefree and a little crass. Neither wearing revealing clothes nor being uber-confident have anything to do with “having multiple sexual partners” — they rather imply that a woman does or wants to have “multiple sexual partners” through the use of the word.

When a woman is called a slut, she is reduced to someone who only has multiple sexual partners — all based on her clothes or confident attitude. 

Rose touches on this in her interview with TIME.

“It is very important for me to let, especially other women, know that it’s okay to not only embrace your sexuality, but embrace the fact that we are smart,” she said.

In addition to reducing a woman to such surface-level characteristics, the word “slut” involves a very glaring double standard in our society as to what is acceptable for women to do versus what is acceptable for men.

If a woman is confident and a little crass, she’s called a slut. If a man acts the same way, he’s “charming,” “intelligent” and “determined.”

Men are able to freely embrace their sexuality all the time: at the gym, the office, at school. Meanwhile, women constantly have to be aware of their appearance when it comes to school, friends and especially in professional settings.

In past centuries, calling a woman a slut was more commonly said by a man. Today, however, the people often using this offensive slur against women are ironically other women.

In order to reclaim the word “slut,” women need to stop using it negatively against other women. The first step to truly breaking the glass ceiling is to come together. As women, we can’t expect to overthrow demeaning slurs, stereotypes or barriers unless we stop putting each other down.

The next step is to redefine the word “slut” in order to reclaim it. All any bully ever wants to get out of being mean to someone is to feel powerful. As soon as you take that power away from the bully, being mean is no longer fun.

This is exactly what women need to do with this word. Who’s to say that they can’t? After all, it belongs to them. 

To all my fellow sluts out there, if someone calls you a slut, say thank you. They don’t know what the word means to you, and they can’t change what it means to you. Be confident, be sexy, be a little crass when you need to be. Be yourself, and if your true self is a slut, then you’re doing great!

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Sophie Lynd wants women to stop putting other women down with the offensive use of this word and to redefine it in order to take it back.

In Review: “The Queen’s Gambit” Should Be Everyone’s Next Binge

As we approach the ninth month of the stay-at-home order, it’s time to say goodbye to “Tiger King” and hello to “The Queen’s Gambit.” The new Netflix original miniseries was released on Oct. 23, and although it is only seven episodes long, its action-packed plot keeps you wondering what will happen next.

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Inspired by the 1983 novel written by Walter Tevis, the series documents Beth Harmon (played by Anya Taylor-Joy) from her life as an orphan in rural Kentucky to her journey in Moscow, where she becomes the greatest chess player in the world. Between Kentucky and Moscow, the show takes place in a variety of locations — from Cincinnati to Paris to Mexico City — during the Cold War era,  bringing the audience on a journey through space and time. 

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Every aspect of this series, from the plot to the costumes to the underscore, keeps the audience completely engaged. Although the premise of the show is about chess, you do not need to be an avid chess player — or even know anything about the game for that matter — to become invested in the tournaments and the suspense as Beth travels from city to city, demolishing her opponents.

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Beth’s character is definitely one of the most intriguing aspects of the show and Taylor-Joy tells her story spectacularly. The combination of Taylor-Joy’s superb acting and the density of the script creates a character that you want to root for against all odds. The audience gets to experience this multifaceted character up close and personal as they can view Beth’s world when no one else is watching. To the world, she strives to appear perfect: a chess-playing phenom who earns a spot in the world championship before the age of 25. But the audience sees a much different story. Along with the struggle of being an orphan, Beth struggles with addiction throughout the entire series, sneaking in pills and drinks when she thinks she’s alone in her various hotel rooms around the world. Allowing the audience to see such personal details of Beth’s life makes her character more human, and thus, more relatable.

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She is especially relatable to other women as she learns to navigate the male-dominated world of competitive chess: another challenge that Beth not only conquers, but absolutely annihilates. As a woman who is also younger than all of her male competitors, she is not taken the least bit seriously at her early tournaments — that is, until she puts her opponents in check (the move that usually signifies the ending of a match) in a surprisingly minimal number of moves. And the cherry on top is that she does so while wearing the most stylish of clothes.

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The costumes are one of the many details that tie the entire series together. Early in the show, thanks to her adoptive mom, Beth learns to keep one eye on the chessboard and the other on the latest fashion trends. The outfits that she wears to her chess tournaments are of course formal, but bold, throwing off her male opponents even more after they realize that they are facing a woman. This is inspiring to girls and women of all ages because we are often made to feel as though we need to conform to the male way of doing things in order to be successful. Beth turns this stigma on its head — and in the 1960s at that.

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Along with the costume design, the underscore, setting and subtle character relationships make this series so well-thought-out and detailed from the beginning to end. As to not spoil the ending, I will just say that the creators find a way to bring everything full circle, making the audience’s investment in staying until the last moment worthwhile. While watching the show once through will of course reveal the ending, watching a second or even third time may reveal new details of the visual elements, like costumes and scenery, as well as the story itself. With its unusual premise and fantastic storytelling — both visually and narratively — “The Queen’s Gambit” is a must-see for anyone seeking some depth in their next Netflix binge.

Rating: 10/10