Male and female sluts: shifts and stabilities in the regulation of sexual relations among young heterosexual men

Contemporary sexual relations are marked by a powerful double standard, in which women’s but not men’s sexual behaviour is policed and disciplined. There is some evidence, however, that constructions of sexual reputation are shifting. Qualitative research among young heterosexual men in Australia finds that some express concern about being perceived as a ‘male slut’ because of excessive or inappropriate sexual activity. This signals a slight weakening of the sexual double standard. At the same time, this and other negative constructions of male sexual reputation are policed only by women, and they sit alongside men’s ongoing support for divisions of women into ‘nice girls’ and ‘sluts’. Sexual and gender relations are in a state of flux in Australia, with both growing gender equality and persistent inequalities, the pornographication of popular culture, and increasing assertions of female sexual agency (Flood 2008). The sexual double standard the differential judgement and treatment of women’s and men’s sexual behavior and the policing of female sexual reputation long have been features of the sexual landscape. There is, however, some evidence that these formations are shifting. While ‘slut’ and related terms remain powerful disciplinary mechanisms for regulating women’s sexual behaviour, particularly among young women, such terms also are being subverted and reclaimed. This paper reports on the emergence of a new term in heterosexual sexual relations, the ‘male slut’. In qualitative interviews in Australia, some young men express a desire to avoid this version of male sexual reputation, one earned through excessive or inappropriate sexual activity. The term ‘male slut’ signals a slight weakening of the sexual double standard and an increased policing of male sexual behaviour