The etymological definition of a ‘slag’ in the early 20^th century was that it referred to a substance or piece of refuse matter. This term was usually used in the field of science. The term ‘slag’ has changed in meaning and has acquired a pejorative meaning to describe a women who is compared to as being a ‘prostitute’. In the 21^st century, this slang term is recognized by many adolescents and is a colloquial term used to describe women. ‘slag’ is a highly offensive term directly at women in particular and generally has negative associations. This term in modern society has developed into becoming an offensive word used to degrade women of their individuality. In previous decades, the word ‘slag’ had a different orthographic spelling. When the term referred to refuse matter, it was often spelt ‘slaggs’ or even ‘slagges’. In today’s society, ‘slag’ is used to degrade women and is used primarily by men to describe a women who happens to sleep around a lot. ‘’Does anyone care what happens to a slag?’’ (1970) – the use of this term in this sentence is significant as it shows the degrading of a woman who is labelled a slag as if they should no longer be cared about, it is almost dehumanizing the woman. Over time, as this lexical choice has gone through a semantic shift, it has now development a negative meaning. When people hear the word ‘slag’ there are negative connotations which come with it, implying this term is treating women as objects rather than complete people. Not only this, but the associations of the word slag, and other female terms are that women are compared to a particular body part or sexual function. Muriel Schulz notes that the words used to describe women often degenerate to equate to prostitution or mistress. Today’s definition reinforces and supports schulz’s view.

On the contrary, the male alternative is the word ‘player’ or ‘stud’. Generally, these words hold positive meanings and associations. The term player in etymological terms refereed to someone who was sporty (an athlete in other terms) and practices different exercises. In slang terms, a player, now orthographically spelt as ‘playa’ refers to a man who is skilled in manipulating women into believing they care about them when in reality, all they want is sex. Men who are labelled a playa generally are seen in a positive way, particularly by other men. This contrasts with the terms used to describe women. Similarly, the word ‘stud’ refers to a man who is seen as attractive and skilled sexually. Again, this word has various definitions. Previously, the word stud was used to a prop, a tree , the height of a room from floor to ceiling or even a short brach. However, in slang terms, a stud (similar to the word slag) suggests masculinity, a role model, a man who everyone wants to be with and whom everyone admires. This definition has a lot more positive connotations to it compared to the women alternative.