The recent publicized suicides of Phoebe Prince and Hope Witsell illustrate the worst case effect of s.-bashing. S. Bashing, a form of bullying characterized by insults aimed at a girl's actual or perceived sexual behavior to shame, degrade and quickly dehumanize the victim, is a topic rarely discussed. In fact, many adults carelessly toss around words such as whore and s. without giving much consideration to the damaging effect they can have.The use of a word such as "s." polarizes girls into two categories, good girls and bad girls. It's the Madonna/Whore Complex, the Ho vs. Housewife. "Good girls" aren't sexually active (at least not outside of a committed relationship) while "bad girls" express themselves sexually. There is no in-between and thus any girl is at risk of being branded wi...

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