Why do men think a baddie is a wh*re?

The word baddie is used over and over again on social media by men and women, but it means two completely different things for each respective side. For most men, unsurprisingly, it means that a woman is promiscuous, ready to go out there in the world with revealing clothes and give herself to the richest person in the room. Or give attention to many and not take herself seriously, be attention seeking at all times and through an altered appearance define herself as worth more than what she actually does. A baddie is someone that is wanting to be sexualised and not worthy of respect, a wh*re.

For women, however, the truth couldn’t be further from this sharp-edged perspective. We define ourselves as a baddie when our appearance, energy and mindset all align together, and we feel ready to be in the best time of our lives, whatever that means. It is also used if we are trying to make a comeback to a version of ourselves that we miss, the young girl that didn’t understand the world fully and was so carefree. It is widely used by females who have finally gained power and confidence in their life, so they are fully focused on bettering themselves and being the best version they can be; healed, smarter, focused and ready for whatever life will throw at them. Does this come with a changed or altered appearance? Maybe! A bit more risky outfits than usual? Of course! Does that mean that we want a man, or two? Or we don’t take ourselves seriously anymore? Sleep around, not care for a thing? Hell no!

The best mindset that can describe a baddie is being challenging, a threat, the whole package. A female that is challenging the world in her own way. Take Beyonce for example: the original baddie. She challenged the world because not only was she extremely talented, but she was extremely pretty too, she wore risky revealing outfits WHILE not being a promiscuous woman and believing deeply in God. She was smart and a good woman. She challenged every notion of how a woman should be. She was a BADDIE.

Throughout history, we have various examples of how many descriptive terms for women have changed to mean something sexiest. Take the word “mistress” for example, the female equivalent of “master”. Once upon a time it meant a female who had control or authority, who employs servants and is in charge or people. After the 17th century however, it was used for women who had long lasting sexual affairs with men who were already married, and unfortunately, this is the meaning of the word today as well.

“Hussy” is another word that used to mean the female head of the household, another version of the word “housewif” from 13th century, which used to mean housewife. From the 17th century this word started to mean a woman of bad behaviour, improper morals. Now that is the only meaning.

“Spinster” a word we use nowadays to refer to a woman still unmarried, past her age of marriage. Once upon a time it meant a respectable profession, mostly done by man spinning yarn as a profession, or women that were the head of their households.

“Courtesan”, which now days means a prostitute, once upon a time meant someone who attended the court of a monarch.

These are only some of the examples, but you can see the pattern. The same equivalent terms for men are respectable and express power. Let’s hope “Baddie” won’t be hijacked and follow suit into something that least describes us females.

References:

Shariatmadari, D. (2016). Available at: Eight words that reveal the sexism at the heart of the English language | David Shariatmadari | The Guardian. Accessed on: 04/04/2026