Sluts: Anthology is the first release from writer Michelle Tea’s highly anticipated publishing company, DOPAMINE Press. This anthology of essays, also edited by Tea, delves into what it means to be sexually promiscuous in current American culture, with each writer exploring a different bent. In the opening essay, linguist Amanda Montell takes a compelling look at the history of the word slut, noting that it began to carry less derogatory weight in the ’90s when works like The Ethical Slut embraced the phrase as something positive. Montell wisely notes, “‘Slut’ zapped the deliciousness out of sex for women the way words like ‘guilt’ and ‘glutton’ rob food. These labels are bars on a window, our bodies wrongly imprisoned.”
Later, in the enthralling personal essay “Summer of the Strap-On,” Chloe Caldwell writes about her queer sexual awakening after leaving her cheating husband. Jenny Fran Davis’ essay contemplates desire while at a mermaid-themed bar in Montana, while McKenzie Wark connects finding her inner slut with fully embracing her identity as a trans woman. As a whole, this anthology celebrates the moments when women (and even men) push back against societal shaming and conditioning to embrace sexualities, gender identities, and desires that bring them joy.
Image Via (DOPAMINE/Semiotext(e))
–Adrienne Urbanski
