From the wonderful
Whore! magazine (ya'll should subscribe! It's new and it's great and I'm thanking them for giving me a new signature line!)
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The Present State of Whorecraft, Adultery, Fornication, Procuring, Pimping and Sodomy
There is no art in turning a goddess into a witch, a virgin into a whore, but the opposite operation, to give dignity to what has been scorned, to make the degraded desirable, that calls for art or character.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749–1832
Welcome to the first issue of Whore! magazine. In the pages of this and future issues, we will be exploring the many aspects of a heavily loaded term, the use of which can range from the most offensive denigration to humorous self-depreciation to an expression of affectionate admiration. In exploring what we mean when we say “whore,” we’ll be looking at subjects as diverse as the history of vibrators, the implications of hipster stripping, the intricacies of menstruation rituals, and the wild ways of onetime United States presidential candidate Victoria Woodhull.
The word “whore” calls to mind biblical fury, low-end streetwalkers, crack addicts, and that girl at the party who flirts with everyone. With a little more consideration, thoughts might turn to the high school slut or the chick who borrowed your favorite dress and never returned it.
That’s all old school. In recent years the word has gone through some creative revisions. “Corporate Whore” was coined to describe those who exploit others for personal gain in the workplace. “Dork Whore,” “Food Whore,” “Shoe Whore,” and “Shopping Whore” are a few of any number of related epithets used by many to describe themselves and others, implying that consuming anything in excess has a potentially delicious hue of shame. The word, however, is as old as the gods (or at least some of their earliest linguistic references) and its proto-Germanic root, *khoraz (fem. *khoron) means “one who desires.” We at Whore! magazine propose that the meaning of the word be returned to its venerable origins, at least for the purposes of these pages.
Desire has driven civilization. Historically, many women have earned the title of whore for daring to engage in such masculine pursuits as getting an education, providing medical care to the underprivileged, leading an army, or just going out in public in a very dashing tuxedo. “Fags,” “dykes,” and “queers” have also been a part of this history, dancing with the whores and just as often condemned. While their battles still rage, in many places they’ve succeeded in claiming their identity and owning the words that were once used to demean them.
Whore! magazine neither condones nor judges. Instead we are dedicated to exploring those extraordinarily flawed, devilishly ambitious, and wickedly mercurial individuals who refuse to live what Thoreau so aptly described as “lives of quiet desperation.” Societal expectations haunt us all. There are those, or so some say, who have succeeded in the realms of love, family, and career, and have navigated these waters with the virtues of grace, humility, and always maintaining a pleasant manner remaining intact. The rest of us have been a bit messier. We pop pills, we fall for inappropriate partners, we stay up too late, we get fired, we have affairs, we lie, and we struggle with guilt, madness, depression, and apathy. We bitch, we piss off our families, we talk too loud, we go outside without makeup on—or we go out with too much on. We forget to be empowered and sometimes we care too deeply what others think of us. Along this bumpy road, we give and receive love, experience transcendence, feel joy, and sometimes we even change the world. With all of this, in other times today’s woman would almost invariably have been dismissed as a whore.
Whore! magazine is dedicated to those who have defied all expectations and made such a difference that they had to be cast aside. It creates a rare space where we can expose and celebrate who we really are.
Originally Posted by pjorourke
They all mean the same thing, but many of us simply choose certain words over others. Not to make anyone or ourselves "feel better," it's a choice. I certainly wouldn't label the man I travel with monthly as a "trick." 
