--- title: Why Amber Rose Decided to Reclaim the Word 'Slut' description: Amber Rose has opened up about why she chose to reclaim the word "slut" rather than allow it to be used against her in a derogatory manner. canonical: https://time.com/4961144/amber-rose-slut-walk-essay/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-28T16:41:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:47:39.611Z og:title: Why Amber Rose Decided to Reclaim the Word 'Slut' og:description: "The term 'slut' never seemed to go away" og:url: https://time.com/4961144/amber-rose-slut-walk-essay/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltca119e441f0f0d02/6988a828bc6cfc51c23dec0d/gettyimages-599939538.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Dancing With The Stars Cast Visits Planet Hollywood og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Amber Rose Decided to Reclaim the Word 'Slut' twitter:description: "The term 'slut' never seemed to go away" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltca119e441f0f0d02/6988a828bc6cfc51c23dec0d/gettyimages-599939538.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Amber Rose Decided to Reclaim the Word 'Slut'  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Sep 28, 2017 4:41 PM UTC  Amber Rose poses as Season 23 of "Dancing With The Stars" meets the press at Planet Hollywood Times Square on Sept. 7, 2016 in New York City. Amber Rose poses as Season 23 of "Dancing With The Stars" meets the press at Planet Hollywood Times Square on Sept. 7, 2016 in New York City.Bruce Glikas—Getty Images  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Sep 28, 2017 4:41 PM UTC [Amber Rose](http://time.com/4399438/amber-rose-show-feminism-black-lives-matter/) has opened up about why she chose to [reclaim the word “slut”](http://time.com/4197591/amber-rose-learned-to-stop-caring-what-people-think/) rather than allow it to be used against her in a derogatory manner. In an essay for [_Marie Claire_](http://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/a12479685/amber-rose-slut-walk-essay/)ahead of her third annual [Los Angeles SlutWalk](http://amberroseslutwalk.com) — a march that combats the stigma surrounding women and sexuality — the 33-year-old model and actor shared her personal experience with [slut-shaming](http://time.com/36997/when-enforcing-school-dress-codes-turns-into-slut-shaming/). “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been called a slut,” she wrote. “From the time I was a young girl—even before I was sexually active—it was a label that was placed on me. As soon as I came into the public eye, I was immediately criticized for everything from my behavior to how I chose to dress. It was undoubtedly hurtful, and getting used to the harsh words I hear so often is still something I struggle with.” Muva — as her fans affectionately refer to her — went on to explain why she chose to begin self-identifying with the label. “The term ‘slut’ never seemed to go away—in fact, I began to realize that I’d be called a slut whether I behaved according to other people’s standards or not,” she wrote. “So, I decided to take the power out of that word and reclaim it. I said f—k it, _hoe is_ _life_. But don’t get me wrong—this self-proclaimed hoe is a powerful woman and an unapologetic feminist.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4961144/amber-rose-slut-walk-essay/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4961144/amber-rose-slut-walk-essay/"},"headline":"Why Amber Rose Decided to Reclaim the Word 'Slut'","datePublished":"2017-09-28T16:41:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:47:39.611Z","description":"\"The term 'slut' never seemed to go away\"","url":"https://time.com/4961144/amber-rose-slut-walk-essay/","keywords":["Newsfeed","feminism","celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltca119e441f0f0d02/6988a828bc6cfc51c23dec0d/gettyimages-599939538.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltca119e441f0f0d02/6988a828bc6cfc51c23dec0d/gettyimages-599939538.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Dancing With The Stars Cast Visits Planet Hollywood","caption":"Dancing With The Stars Cast Visits Planet Hollywood","creditText":"Bruce Glikas—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4961144/amber-rose-slut-walk-essay/","name":"Why Amber Rose Decided to Reclaim the Word 'Slut'"}}]}] ```