Often, Sluts will be mocked or punished because we’ve been taught that pleasure-seeking women are deviants. When we think about the Slut onscreen, there are two ways this character has traditionally been presented: as comic relief—think Samantha Jones, Meredith on The Office, Edna Krabappel on The Simpsons—or as pathologically sex crazed—like Theresa in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Rebecca Carlson in Body of Evidence, and Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct. The message, however, is always clearly sent: at best, these are not women to be taken seriously; at worst, these women must be feared.
