Once a Slag Philippa James

“Once a slag, always a slag” a TikTok soundbite blares from my 

14-year-old daughter’s phone as she shows me a video of her 

and a friend performing for the camera. 

I watch in discomfort, yet am curious. Are they mocking the phrase? Reclaiming it? Victims of it?

I photographed her friendship group for nine months, and while 

observing their intimacy, teenage defiance and desire for love, 

I witnessed how misogyny relentlessly seeps into their daily lives, 

both online and off.  

Handwritten statements from the teenagers echo the sexual 

harassment testimonies published on Everyone’s Invited, 

the website founded by Soma Sara that led the UK government 

to investigate sexual abuse in schools. 

Once a Slag celebrates the joy of girlhood while exposing the double standards they face:

Seeking attention is not an invitation for catcalling. Replying to a DM 

is not an invitation for a dick pic. Sharing a laugh is not an invitation 

for a rape joke.