Boy howdy,is this a thread that is gonna cause some sh*t.
Anyhow,slut is a basically 20th century term that probably arose out of the religious revival around the mid-Great Depression period,and used mostly by men to define sexually active women that were having sex(but not with them),and by women that were feeling threatened by those same women.All in all,a rather poor response to the natural biological urge.Gradually made it's way to common usage as an approbation for anyone(inclusive of the GLBT community) having sex with someone;or appearing to have a relationship with someone,other than the person using the word.
Whore.What a marvelous,powerful,elegant word!One that has fallen deeply into sad misuse,and that should be having a better fate.The use as a job description for a sex worker goes back probably to Gilgamesh,and the sacred temple whores(I won't use prostitute,such a shallow and mean-spirted word),applied to both male and female.What higher calling could there be that initiating the mysteries of life itself.It was only in the Victorian era (when there was real debate over putting pants on the Michelangelo's "David") that it started to fall,and then only as a attempt to control the uncontrollable.I for one would treasure finding a "comely whore,courteous and professional",as was the description of one such young woman from a 17th century text.However,society has chosen to mark this as a "bad"thing,ignoring the fact that perhaps half of the marraige arrangements in the U.S. alone are based on financial considerations,and it would be wrong for that to be out in the open.