From Slut to Trad: Nigella's Raspberry Dessert

2002 was a powerful time in terms of slut visibility. Everywhere you looked (The VMAs, Us Weekly, Barbara Walters’s hot seat) bottle-blonde nympho freakazoids were THE culture — scandalizing us, entertaining us, and distracting us from the still-nascent War on Terror. At the time, up-and-coming food writer Nigella Lawson joined in on the fun, naming an especially sexy dessert recipe in her cookbook “Slut Red Raspberries in Chardonnay Jelly.” But over the last two decades, Lawson has seen how 3.5th Wave Feminism has changed the cultural narrative, and now she’s evolving, too. Effective IMMEDIATELY, she has changed the name of the aforementioned recipe to “Ruby Red Raspberries in Chardonnay Jelly.”

As reported by Insider, Lawson told a fan on Twitter that she’s seen the word slut take on a “coarser, more cruel connotation,” apparently completely unaware of the activist work of Amber Rose. This decision comes months after a slight name tweak to her infamous “Slut Spaghetti” to “Slattern’s Spaghetti,” which somehow sounds sluttier.

I disagree with Lawson that the word slut has taken on a coarser meaning as of late. In fact, it seems to me that everyone I know is trafficking in calling themselves depressed dumb communist sluts who can’t read to garner clout, and it’s working. But that’s my milieu, not Lawson’s. And so if Nigella wants to change the name of her Red Raspberries in Chardonnay Jelly, that’s fine. But why not have some fun with it?

If I wanted to keep the spirit of Lawson’s dessert alive while alluding to our changing times, I would’ve gone with something more specific like “Ethically Non-Monogamous Red Raspberries in Espresso Martini” or “I’m Saying Girl Boss with a Hint of Post-Irony Red Raspberries in Travis Scott CACTI Agave Spiked Seltzer.” Or maybe “We’re All Complicit Red Raspberries in Pellegrino with Three Limes Because I’m Taking a Break From Drinking Right Now.”

I could keep going. And I will. How about “She’s Being Groomed! Red Raspberries in Casamigos Reposado.” Or maybe just “Raspberry JELL-O” could work. Honestly, this dessert does not sound very good, and I say that as a feminist.