Karley Sciortino is self-professed slut. Image: Supplied. Karley is a self-professed slut, and wants you to start calling yourself one, too. Before I interview Karley Sciortino, a woman hailed as the "real-life Carrie Bradshaw ", I spend some time pondering her area of expertise - namely, slutdom. For a few minutes, I stop to seriously consider what it means to be a 'slut': On it's face, a seemingly harmless four-letter word yet - and, ask any woman, she'll agree - one stained with stigma.
I mean, what is a slut, by definition? Is there some sort of elusive threshold by which we measure a woman's sexuality? I also wonder whether I, a something single woman, fall into this category, myself. And well, I eventually conclude that, even if I do, it's not something likely to go at the top of my resume - or this story. Sciortino - an effervescent sexpert who will "try anything once" - has, more or less, made a living from being a slut.
Then there's her sex and relationship columns for Vogue , where she discusses anything from dating apps to sexual fantasies. And most recently, the TV version of her book in the form of a brand new docuseries by SBS and Viceland, delving more into the uncharted waters of female sexuality. At the heart of all this, though, is a single mission. Basically, Sciortino wants more women to own their slutiness, embrace their inner kink , and, frankly, for women as a whole to reclaim the word that's been used to strike at our dignity, for aeons.
Sciortino can still remembers the first time she saw the word being used in such a flippant way: She was at a Kathleen Hanna concert and the singer had the word blazoned across her stomach in a cherry-red lipstick.
What is a slut? It's at this point I attempt to set the record straight - asking Sciortino, what exactly is a slut? So being a slut is kind of a choice, you know? Personally, I've always struggled with the double-standards placed on men and women in this area - it feels like men who sleep around are let off with a 'boys will be boys' while girls who do the same end up on some sort of blacklist.
