In regard to the pregame article "Rivalries: Sports and otherwise" (SN 10/29), I would like to point out the disgusting and ignorant use of the word "slut" in one of the famous rivalries, "Slasher movie killers vs. sluts." That four-letter word carries a lot of power and is an indirect cause of countless rapes and female harassment. As the rivalry explained, "It is a common rule - if you're being chased by a... killer, do not stop for coitus or to bare your breasts. Killers have a vendetta against scoring."

Not only are words such as this a vicious threat to women's equality, but the explanation of the rival itself is also eerily familiar to the rapes that occur daily.

When a convicted rapist is later asked why he raped a woman, all too common phrases appear. "She's a slut