Slut-shaming matters because when people are dismissed as sluts, hoes, bops, and thots, they are denied care and compassion as human beings and in a variety of situations, including when they are sexually harassed, sexually assaulted, victimized by image-based sexual abuse ("revenge porn" and "deepfakes"), and need an abortion.
Gloria Steinem's zinger
The Latest on Slut-Shaming + Bodily Autonomy
July 31, 2026
Feminist icon Gloria Steinem reflected on her life and legacy with author, television producer, and friend Amy Richards at the Minetta Lane Theatre in NYC's West Village. Across two evenings, they talked about Gloria's college years, her time living in India, her work as an investigative journalist, decades of political organizing, and the relationships she built along the way, from her college boyfriend to Alice Walker and Wilma Mankiller.
Actor Keri Russell, writer Veronica Chambers, and other notable women also read aloud excerpts of Gloria's correspondence with people in her life, such as Jane Fonda. One unexpected and fascinating moment was hearing the pitch letter Gloria sent a Vogue editor in the 1960s, proposing an article on the bathroom décor of celebrities.
A highlight for me was hearing Gloria reminisce about her groundbreaking 1963 undercover assignment as a "playboy bunny" — a cocktail waitress at the New York Playboy Club, a job that required her to squeeze into a tight rabbit costume. Her exposé in Show Magazine revealed the sexual objectification, humiliation, and financial exploitation that women working in the service industry had to endure.
The audience had the opportunity to ask Gloria questions at the end of each performance. The first question on the first evening was not about Gloria's fearless writing or activism. I was shocked to hear a woman ask: "What do you think about the way young women dress today?"
Gloria didn't hesitate.
"Women," she said, "should be able to dress any fucking way they want."