Sexiness/Sluttiness: Same Difference.

Imagine this: You and a couple of girlfriends are leaving the cafeteria after lunch and you see a fellow student wearing a so-called “skanky” looking outfit. You and your friends look at her, then look at each other like “What is she wearing?” But then you all recognize her as she comes closer. It is none other than "Leticia Leslie" your close friend from Psychology 101. You decide to ask her why she is so scantily clad, to which she responds “Oh girl, they had the nerve to make me wear this for my "Dancing All-Stars" audition. I was so mad, but I got in though!!!” You and your friends finish up the chat with Leticia and go on your merry way. You still think she looks like a slut, but you also understand that she was required to dress the part for her dancing audition. This example can be applied to the understanding of the slutty and sexy perception that the public has about certain famous women. People can separate the job “requirements” from the person’s character if their craft is respectable according to societal standards. Tyra Banks was a model, so she revealed her skin to model. Halle Berry is an actress, so she bares her chest for the acting roles that require this of her. Beyonce is a performer, so she wears skimpy outfits to entertain her fans and spectators. The partial nudity is not an actual mandate and these women do not have to expose their bodies, but because being a model, an actress, and a singer are reputable professions in mainstream American society, the public makes this distinction and these women can be accepted as "sexy" and not as "sluts". On the other hand being a video vixen, a bisexual reality dating show star, and a rapper are not ideal professions that mothers would want their daughters to embark on, so famous women like Karrine Steffans, Tila Tequila, and Lil’ Kim are perceived as "slutty" even though they do or did what was expected of their craft as well.

Click the title to link you to a Karrine Steffans interview, you'll be very suprised about what she had to say about one of the aforementioned "sexy" women. Are sluts and sexy women so different after all?