"Slut" isn't a "bad" word in my lexicon. It's short, pointed, and instantly communicates that a person likes sex and seeks it out often. I like people who like sex and seek it out often; and I like short words with long lists of use-cases and meanings.
To be a slut, in appearance or behavior, is to pursue the fulfillment of desire without shame or guile. Sluts are honest and transparent about what they want, and what they want is good fucking fun. A slut, in my mind, is the best, most fun kind of person to know, and the sort of person we should all try to emulate at least a little more often.
Of course, it would be irresponsible of me not to acknowledge the word's long history of weaponization by our patriarchal society, and its continued use by (mostly male) shitheads whose aim in using the word is to shame and oppress women. I like to think of the way I use the word as taking it back for the purpose of empowerment and endearment, but I know I have to be careful so as not to confuse my meaning with the shitheads' meaning in the mind of anyone who sees or hears me use the word. Context matters, as it always does.
You'll never see or hear me use the word "slut" or any of its derivatives to describe anyone, real or fictional, who doesn't self-identify as a slut. In the real world, I won't use the word even for those who self-identify as sluts unless I know them personally and we've talked about me using the word with them or to describe them. When I use the word in my stories, I do my best—through context clues—to make it clear that I'm using the word affectionately, as a compliment, or to describe a positive character attribute.
If you, like me, love and appreciate sluts for who and what they are, go out and spread the good word. Let's make this world of ours a nicer place for a slut to be a slut 🫶