Slut! Growing Up Female with a Bad Reputation (Paperback)

by Leora Tanenbaum (Author) "Women living in the United States are fortunate indeed..." (more)
Key Phrases: sexual double standard, New York, Spur Posse, Glen Ridge (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The statistics are daunting: "Two out of five girls nationwide have had sexual rumors spread about them," reports Leora Tanenbaum. "Three out of four girls have received sexual comments or looks, and one in five has had sexual messages written about her in public areas." The 50 women interviewed for this book differ greatly in ethnic background, age, and economic status, but they share one thing in common--each of them, along with Tanenbaum herself, was labeled a "slut" in junior high or high school. (And, as recent cases involving Anita Hill and Monica Lewinsky demonstrate, a woman can face such taunts no matter what her age or professional level.) As such, they became victims of a double standard that winks at sexual promiscuity among teenage boys but insists that young women remain virginal and pure. Even worse, the slut bashing is perpetuated in nearly every case by female classmates. In addition to insisting that schools get serious about combating sexual harassment, Tanenbaum urges the development of sex education programs that acknowledge responsible alternatives to abstinence, programs that would recognize the sexual desires of young women (and men) without condemnation. Her social critique is solid, but it's the personal accounts of emotional abuse--and, thankfully, perseverance--that will thoroughly convince you that the current tolerance of slut bashing is simply unacceptable. --Ron Hogan --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From The Washington Post
"Through bitter experience, either their own or a friend's, [young women] know that Leora Tanenbaum is right."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; 1 Reprint edition (August 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060957409
• ISBN-13: 978-0060957407
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #316,274 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Books for Social Workers", March 13, 2003

By	L. Barconey (Bronx, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Social work professionals working with adolescents will most likely find themselves facilitating discussion, designing a program, teaching a class, or providing counseling around the issues of teen sexuality. Adolescent attitudes about sex, sexual practices and perceived sexual practices; peer conflict and conformity practices; and teen alienation of "outsiders" are topics which social workers must be knowledgeable of, and, more importantly, able to discuss with teens: freely, objectively, and without prejudice.

One's own prejudices are called into question immediately upon picking up Slut! Growing Up Female with a Bad Reputation, by Leora Tanenbaum (2000). The title, as "in your face" as
graffiti on a bathroom wall, is perfect: to be considered a "slut," with all its negative sexual connotations, generally has little to do with actual sexual practices, and everything to do with sexual stereotyping and gender roles. "Slut" is a term that has absolute power only for girls, never for boys
-- it's used not only to condemn and restrict the sexual girl, but to structure the social realm of girls' adolescence and create insider and outsider status. Additionally, "ho," "slut," "freak," "skeeze," and all the other terms used to put down girls by other females and teenage boys serve to reinforce the paradox of teenage sexuality: sex is everywhere, everyone is doing it, you should be doing it, did you
do it? Why did you do that!!?? Or: if all the girls around you are "nice girls", and only a couple of "sluts," then who are all these boys having sex with?

The fear of being branded a sexual female is directly related to the dueling religious and historical concepts of woman as either pure, good, virginal, and eternally unspoiled (Mary; Princess
Kitty; Melanie Wilkes), or earthy, evil, scandalous and sexual (Eve; Anna Karenina; Scarlett O'Hara). Tanenbaum summarizes the history of female sexuality, culminating in a discussion of the
impact of the feminist movement of the 1960's and 70's on female sexuality, and the subsequent retreat and backlash from that movement.

The ongoing split of female sexuality into one of the two categories, with the attendant moral associations, continues, with ever more disparate images thrust at young women from movies, television, and magazines. Even this book, with its brightly colored cover shouting "Slut!" provoked a number of eyebrow raisings and pointed questions: I can't say I would have been reading this book in public 11 years ago as a high school senior, for fear of association. It is just that fear of association which is then used as a method of controlling female sexuality -- and girls' behavior in general -- is one of the major causes of slut-bashing, as noted by the author.

Within the realm of girls, "slut-bashing" is a form of control. Again, "sluttiness" is rarely about actual sexual behavior; generally it's related to a girl breaking the mores of her peer group, whether inadvertently or intentionally, and her subsequent punishment: it's the present day equivalent of the scarlet letter. Tanenbaum notes that there is no single definable behavior which leads to being branded a "slut;" the ambiguous nature of the placement of the "slut" label serves its purpose. It's an umbrella term to punish, stifle, and isolate certain girls.

Since this book's publication, several other books have been published noting the pressure of sexual stereotyping and gender roles on girls' behavior toward other girls. The example of the
outsider being punished as a "slut" is one of three (the others are the sexual girl and the girl who is raped); however, Tanenbaum's use of the "outsider" role, within the feminist framework, enables the reader to understand that the outsider status, fear of this status, and girls' general outsider status
in comparison to boys is the larger issue. All girls are essentially victimized in this way; in the panic to attain some level of status (again, in comparison to the boys) girls turn on each other. Girls may be singled out and branded for being masculine (called a lesbian: again with its sexual connotations
but with additional social cost) or being fearless and putting themselves in potentially dangerous situations, or expressing interest in sex -- all things that are relegated to the realm of the masculine, and celebrated when exhibited by boys. When girls exhibit these behaviors, they go against the status quo and are judged and punished by their peer group.

One point that is not distinguished by Tanenbaum is the certain type of freedom accorded to girls who have branded others as "slut." These girls are generally doing the same sexual
experimenting as their peers: however, once someone else has been branded as slut, the focus of the peer group has been taken in another direction, leaving them opportunity to do what they want to do without a great deal of fear or recrimination.

As a discussion facilitator, the book, with its "taboo" title and topic, is extremely useful: Tanenbaum's narrative includes many personal accounts which will encourage discussion among
teens in group and classroom settings; her use of popular culture references bring examples home to teens as well as adults; and her informal writing style will be comfortable for teenage girls as well as professionals. Additionally, her thorough appendices assist the reader when looking for
additional materials to give to clients; Appendix B includes information from different sources, including webzines, magazines, organizational contact information, and a range of teaching tools.

For the new professional working with teens, the book is of great importance. Social workers are human (we are!) and as such we may carry our own stereotypes and hidden hurts with us from our own adolescence; whether we were "sluts," "slut-avoiders," or "slut-bashers," this book enables us to view our own experiences, and the experiences of our teenage clients, within a feminist historical perspective. If we haven't come to terms with our own issues about "sluttiness," sexual behavior, and sexual attitudes, how can we expect our clients to do the same?

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a riveting read - close to heart, August 7, 2001

By	Shannon B Davis "Nepenthe" (Arlington, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have recommended this book to everyone I know, and I hope that I will be able to pass it onto my daughters. Or rather, I hope my daughters will not be in a society that encourages the sexual double standard and punishes young women for natural feelings.

The book is non-fiction, and the author interviewed many women and girls about their experiences. Some of the book is quite academic, quoting from various studies and going over the history of this kind of behaviour. Other parts are retellings of people's experiences, and analyses of those.

Reading this book brought back many memories and emotions. I realized that my experience as a teenager was not unique. I had already done my own thinking, but it was great to read that someone else had come to the same conclusions. That there still is a sexual double standard, despite the sexual revolution, and that women are punished by both men and women for having sexual urges.

One redeeming factor was that she definitely doesn't place all the blame for the harassment on teenage boys. She talks a lot about competitiveness between girls and how the girls are usually worse to each other. Kinda like the person who seems most homophobic is the gay one? Yeah, like that. And also about how often the adults don't report it, or stop it, or ignore complaints because they see it as correct behaviour that keeps girls in line even as it is damaging their self-esteem forever.

It's amazing, the more people I talk to about it, the more people bring up their own experiences. Everyone knows someone who experienced the phenomena, or they went through it themselves. Even so-called "good girls" will be able to relate to the book in that the ways in which they constrained themselves.

It's about time someone wrote a book about this.

46 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A topic that needs exploration but in a more objective manne, May 28, 2000

By	E. M. Carey "LGW" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Slut: Growing Up Female with a Bad Reputation (Hardcover)

I enjoyed reading Slut when a preview copy found its way into the office where I worked at the time. The personal stories were very touching and I feel that this is a topic - the labeling of women or girls who do not fit within traditional roles - definitely needs more exploration. But my main problem with the book was that the author, while admitting that the sample from which she worked was far from random, still extrapolates from it, making claims such as girls who were designated sluts seem to become more successful or driven or whatever. What about those she interviewed who didn't fit that mold? It left me wondering if she chose the stories that she did because they fit within her hypothesis. I was disappointed that, despite her own claim of subjectivity, she made conclusions that she extended to a larger group.

On the flip side, it's an interesting book to read, to learn of the personal experiences of girls who've been tormented by the label and how they have overcome it or moved on. If the author could have refrained from her generalizations, I think the stories would have been powerful enough to stand on their own.