This may not go down well with some but high-status women from affluent families define themselves as classy compared to other women whom they view as trashy or slutty, a significant study has revealed.
“High-status female college students employ `slut discourse' to assert class advantage and put themselves in a position where they can enjoy sexual exploration with few social consequences,” researchers from University of Michigan have claimed.
“Viewing women only as victims of men's sexual dominance fails to hold women accountable for the roles they play in reproducing social inequalities,” explained lead author Elizabeth A. Armstrong, an associate professor of sociology at University of Michigan.
As part of 'slut discourse', women at the top create more space for their own sexual experimentation at the cost of women at the bottom of social hierarchies, she added.
During the study, researchers examined 53 women (51 freshmen and two sophomores) who lived on the same college dorm floor.
“High-status women conveniently defined the criteria of judgment among women in ways that defined the sorts of sexual exploration they sought as acceptable,” Armstrong noted.
Surprisingly, according to researchers, women who engaged in less sexual activity were more likely to be publicly labeled a 'slut' than women who engaged in more sexual activity.
Another interesting finding was that when low-status women attempted to befriend and go out to parties with high-status women, they risked public humiliation.
The study, titled “Good Girls': Gender, Social Class, and Slut Discourse on Campus”, appeared in the journal Social Psychology Quarterly.