‘Okay, but we are not whores you know’

Abstract

The use of the term ‘whore’ is commonly directed at young women, and has, for this reason, been widely debated in the Swedish media and elsewhere. In the article, I focus on Latina girls’ experiences of being called ‘whores’ in Sweden. Individual interviews and focus group discussions were used for generation of data. Their narratives are analysed from a perspective that highlights how gender and ethnicity intersect in this highly sexualized word. In my analysis, I explore the diverse meanings of the term ‘whore’, and how discursive categories such as ‘immigrants’ and ‘Swedes’ are elaborated. The study suggests that meanings of the term ‘whore’ shift within a multiplicity of relationships and contexts and might, among other things, be associated with toughness. In conclusion, while women of diverse backgrounds are called ‘whores’, the connotations of the term depend on how this sexualized issue interacts with local constructions of ethnicity and femininity. These different constructions also shape the girls’ possibilities of negotiating their subject positions.