• Machinist@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    It’s probably the word ‘whore’. Similar to ‘cunt’, it hits a little different from ‘prostitute’ or ‘pussy’.

    Culturally, ‘whore’ is an acceptable word for me to use. Any permutation of the N word is not.

    I’ve spent a fair amount of time among drag queens(not necessarily sex workers but there is overlap), strippers, prostitutes and crack whores. Most of them are decent folks in hard times. It is rare that people willingly choose sex work, instead, it’s usually desperation and addiction. A desperate population does desperate things like petty crime.

    • Valmond@lemmy.world
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      16 hours ago

      Everything you say feels A-ok (except you americans have a weird way forbidding words) but I think you missed my point. Whore is a way more loaded word than cunt, and in many ways, it’s not just an insult but also misogynist and so on, if used as an insult. So you can throw it around when it isn’t (my little cookie whore! or something I guess) but you can’t balance that off with the insult part, because it’s just too raw and bad IMO.

      Sorry for the word salad!

      • Machinist@lemmy.world
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        9 hours ago

        Whore isn’t really gendered? There are more female whores than male whores in sex work but there are more male whores in politics than female. It is an insult about submission and service with a sexual connotation.

        I think you’re seeing a difference in cultural weighting of common profanity. I’m from the deep south of the US.

        I’m used to cunt being considered more offensive than whore. Whore is a milder obscenity than fuck, shit, or cunt. It is similar to slut, dick, or piss.