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Ethical Slut

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Though perhaps he should keep it to himself at the dinner table.
"Express yourself; don't repress yourself
Express yourself; don't repress yourself
And I'm not sorry
It's human nature"
Madonna, "Human Nature"

This character is a moral and benevolent person, at least when it comes to matters of romance and sexuality. A person who has a strong (and reasonable) ethical code, a strong (and not misguided) sense of empathy, or both. They also strongly believe in consent. Because of this, regardless of this or in spite of this (depending on the setting), the character believes that Sex Is Good and that it's wrong to impose limits to what sexuality should be like.

This is a character who is strongly opposed to abuse, predation, exploitation, entitlement and Double Standards, while at the same time also opposing judgmental, critical, and moralistic attitudes about such matters as promiscuity, Polyamory, open relationships, Friends with Benefits, homosexuality, BDSM and Maligned Mixed Marriage. Since this standpoint is a personal one, the character does not have to be interested in politics or activism. The character is simply leading by example by (directly or indirectly) embracing a wide range of sexuality, either by practicing sexual varietism or by professing their belief in the free love doctrine and by caring about the emotions of everyone involved. It isn't necessary for the character to have an active sex life.

If this character is in a setting when there was no protection, they might have STD Immunity (being that good characters often have Plot Armor) and probably never impregnate anyone/get pregnant.

Also, when the adjective "liberated" is used to describe a female character, it usually means that she's sexually liberated.

Note that embracing does not mean to make something mandatory, although it may be recommended. An Ethical Slut is allowed to be celibate or monogamous if one so prefers. However, cheating on a partner is totally unacceptable. Open relationships are okay, but deceit and dishonesty is not. The concept of Ethical Slut is a gender-neutral one: the idea that only women can be sluts is a Double Standard (and even treating 'men sluts' differently from 'women sluts' due to any biological differences would qualify), and the idea that being a slut would be a bad thing (except for the potential health risks involved) reeks of moralism, as well as confused emotions. The trope is named after the book "The Ethical Slut: A practical guide to polyamory, open relationships & other adventures". As the other wiki summarizes it:

"The authors define the term slut as a person of any gender who has the courage to lead life according to the radical proposition that sex is nice and pleasure is good for you. The term is reclaimed from its usual use as a pejorative and as a simple label for a promiscuous person. Instead, it is used to signify a person who is accepting of their enjoyment of sex and the pleasure of intimacy with others, and chooses to engage and accept these in an ethical and open way rather than as cheating."

Of course, it would be easier to find a male character as Ethical Slut than a female, because of the Double Standard.

Remember that the Ethical part of this trope refers specifically to sexual and romantic relationships. An otherwise terrible person could qualify for this trope if they are honest and forthright in their sexual encounters, whereas a normally good person could still fail to qualify if their actions in their romantic relationships are deceptive or selfish.

Compare Free-Love Future, Eternal Sexual Freedom, Everybody Has Lots of Sex, Love Goddess, Good Bad Girl, Lovable Sex Maniac, Chivalrous Pervert, Hooker with a Heart of Gold, Heroic Seductress, Unproblematic Prostitution, Safe, Sane, and Consensual and The Charmer. Also see the "wife" aspect of The Three Faces of Eve.

Contrast The Casanova, Paralyzing Fear of Sexuality, Madonna-Whore Complex, Lie Back and Think of England, Sex Is Evil, Sex Is Evil, and I Am Horny.

As this deals with people's personal lives, No Real Life Examples, Please!.


Examples:


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    Anime & Manga 
  • Sexy Mentor Himeno in Chainsaw Man has a very openly flirtatious personality, and she's apparently made out with/slept with nearly all her fellow Devil Hunters. She's also the most genuinely nice character in the series, who cares deeply about her co-workers and wants to protect them from the dangers of their occupation. In addition, Himeno is extremely relieved to learn that Denji turned her down when she drunkenly came on to him, saying that she'd have been horrified if she hooked up with a minor, and even offers to help set him up with Makima.
  • D.Gray-Man:
    • Cross Marian may fit. His hobby includes visiting Red-Light Districts. He has many lovers and is called a womanizer by other characters. But he doesn't seem sleazy, hateful, or negative toward women. His last lover was a hooker, but he says she was a good woman. He also had a relationship with said lover's mother-which said lover knew about as she's the one that tells Lenalee and the readers. He flirts with Lenalee, commenting how beautiful she has become, and that he'd have come to save everyone sooner had he known she was there. Lenalee talks to him about his last lover, Anita, he then talks to Lenalee about what a good woman she was, knowing that she'd been killed. So, doesn't seem he dehumanizes prostitutes.
    • Lenalee is also used against him to make him stay at the HQ he hates, thinking that she's so cute, he can't refuse.
    • His apprentice Allen seems to be respectful to women under his master's tutelage. When a female comrade is insulted, he comments "you shouldn't speak like that to a woman. It's rude." He's been living with his master since he was 10, and his master has a very active sex life. So, Allen's knowledge of women and manners most-likely came from Cross, as prior to him, Allen was taken care of for 2 years by a half-crazy circus clown. Allen also looked under Cross' bed when he went back to mother's house. He says it's filled with things from his lovers- pictures, accessories, and silverware. Cross is apparently sentimental.
  • Durarara!!'s Rokujou Chikage loves all women and is completely open about his promiscuous ways. Not only will he date five or six women at the same time, but he'll take all of them on the same date.
  • Queen Iono of Iono the Fanatics is a polyamorous lesbian who cares passionately about each and every one of her thousands of concubines. And also runs her country well, though the giant harem causes some problems for the economy.
  • Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation has Elinalise, a 200+-year-old elf who literally can't survive without regularly having unprotected sex with men and has no troubles with admitting it openly. She had quite a few children due to that. It turns out to be a curse. She ends up happily married to a husband who works on suppressing the curse.
  • Oddman 11's Shiraishi is a cute cat girl that is considered a slut by everyone who knows her. She takes pride in this fact, and while she has indeed known several people in the biblical sense, it's explicitly pointed out that she is only a "slut" in that she does absolutely everything her current boyfriend wants in bed.
  • Shimoneta takes place in a dystopian Japan where things are peaceful and clean, but any and all forms of lewdness—anything from porn to saying certain banned words out loud—has been outlawed. One of the main characters, Ayame Kajou, has dedicated her life to abolishing the censorship laws, and she loves making dirty jokes. At the same time, she seems to understand consent and is genuinely horrified when she learns that her friend's ignorance of how sex or consent works causes said friend to relentlessly sexually harass the main character, Tanukichi Okuma, without even understanding how wrong her behavior is.
  • Shinobu Handa of Shoujo Sect, as well as a couple of the girls in her sizable harem. Shinobu is forever pining for Momoko Naitou, but she will happily cavort with any willing female. Contrast to Ohkami Sayuri, who forces herself on Shinobu in the manga, and extorts her by threatening Naitou with a scandal in the anime. When asked why she allowed herself to be put in that position, Shinobu replied that no matter the circumstances, she couldn't bring herself to hurt a girl.
  • Uwakoi: Yukiteru is a Rare Male Example, given that he's a Nice Guy at heart and wants more out of sex than just satisfying his Extreme Libido.

    Fan Works 
  • In the ongoing fic The Amorous Argonian Adventurer, the Nords of Skyrim are shown to have a very laid-back and casual approach to sex, allowing protagonist Keeran-Rei to work as a prostitute relatively unimpeded. Keeran-Rei and his companions definitely have this same mindset and frequently enjoy sexual contact with each other, but respect any boundaries the others may have and always make sure everyone involved is consenting. Even as members of Keeran-Rei's party (and Keeran-Rei himself) begin to find themselves in romantic relationships with each other, it does not get in the way of sexual activity with other members of the group.
  • Serious Rainbow of the Ask Serious Rainbow blog is one of these, having an open relationship with her girlfriend Applejack, and sleeping with others is okay as long as they keep each other informed of it. She also doesn't tolerate cheaters, which was the cause of her fallout with Gilda. Eventually, though, she finds out Gilda had been blackmailed into it and they make up. Her first question after making up? Asking if they could be friends with benefits.
  • Bait and Switch (STO): The main protagonist, Captain Kanril Eleya, particularly during the stories taking place in her younger years. In her Origins Episode, From Bajor to the Black, she baldly states regarding losing her virginity in the back of an infantry fighting vehicle that "sex is a lot of fun", and later refers in passing to having a threesome with two Klingons. Even in later-set stories, she's not averse to casual sex, but when she's actually in a relationship she's monogamous with her partner (Jerrod Dalton in From Bajor to the Black, Reshek Gaarra in most of the stories set on USS Bajor).
  • Lelouch and Milly in The Black Emperor are quite happy to take other women to their bed but always do so together and are both plotting their campaign to overthrow Britannia and liberate its colonies.
  • In The Bridge, Blade Dancer is firmly this. The guardsmare is fully shown as capable, upstanding, kind, mentally and emotionally mature, as well as quite intelligent. She's also a very much not depraved bisexual who makes no illusions she's slept with many past boyfriends and girlfriends; all of whom she had great affection for.
  • A Brighter Dark, while re-working the personalities of multiple characters throughout the original game, turned the main character Corrin into this, as well as being an overall combat-obsessed Boisterous Bruiser. By the start of the story, it's said that she's already slept with roughly half the guards in her fortress.
  • Child of the Storm has Fandral, Betsy Braddock and Darcy. All three are very moral, decent people (though Darcy isn't above cheating at poker), and all three get around considerably - Fandral was The Casanova over a millennium before the original, Betsy is Sex Goddess thanks to judicious use of her Psychic Powers (she leaves Fandral, a 1500 year old god, dazed after she's done with him), and all three have considerable Hidden Depths.
    • For instance, Darcy is insightful, much smarter than she pretends to be, and gives Harry a basic and easily comprehensible tutorial on Feminism off the top of her head, the same thing that Smart Girl Hermione did with Ron (though Hermione's was considerably more Anvilicious, judging by Ron's reactions).
    • Betsy's Hidden Depths are revealed when she joins MI13 and gives up her peaceful, easy life without requiring much encouragement, proving to be both an excellent commander and a very kind and considerate teacher to Harry and counsellor to Ginny. She's also in a happily committed relationship with Warren in the sequel.
  • Code Geass: The Prepared Rebellion
    • While calling Lelouch a "pervert" isn't exactly accurate, considering sex is at most a tertiary motivation for him, he's still a sexually liberated person. However, he's initially reluctant to take Sayoko to bed, because he fears doing so might be taking advantage of her. It's only after he's absolutely sure she'll sleep with him of her own free will that he finally does so.
    • Milly Ashford has seduced a considerable percentage of Ashford Academy's female population, should her current partner consider their relationship monogamous and exclusive, she will comply.
  • Diaries of a Madman: Navarone doesn't have many standards, particularly as the story goes on, but he refuses to get involved with married couples, and won't touch any mare in heat who hasn't previously expressed interest in a more sound frame of mind.
  • Doing It Right This Time: Asuka actually wants to become this when she returns to the past. Shortly after meeting her teammates again, she purchases "The Ethical Slut", familiarizing with the book's jargon and taking notes, and later she proposes Shinji and Rei having a three-ways relationship in lieu of repeating the Love Triangle and having all their hearts broken again.
  • Evangelion 303:
    • After hooking up with Shinji Asuka becomes more uninhibited and she even reveals to him she is on bondage and she is a sub. At the same time, before meeting Shinji she was a virgin, and he is both the first man she has been with and the only one she will be with.
    • Kelly is pretty kinky and she has got a threesome with her boyfriend and another man, but she has lines she will not cross, such as cheating.
  • Hinted at in The Incredibly Dense Mind of Rainbow Dash, a My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fanfic, and fully delved into in the followup, The Life and Times of a Winning Pony, in the form of Cloud Kicker. She even gives her best friend the actual rules she goes by when asked.
  • Damien and to a lesser degree Kat in Left Beyond: Damien's stated life goal is to reach perfection in giving oral and doesn't mind practicing on any volunteers. For Kat it's more a case of Informed Attribute, being as she's known to be very sex-positive and encouraging others to be, but isn't really shown doing much with anybody. Note that both characters are a variation of Brain in a Jar...
  • The Lightning Strike;
    • Skye in particular comes across as this, as she openly states that she doesn't particularly care about monogamy so long as everyone involved is happy with the arrangement.
    • Pietro appears to be another example, as Wanda observes that he has no grounds to criticise her relationship with Harry, Natasha and Skye when her brother is using his new fame to have sex with as many people as possible.
    • As Harry's relationship with the girls continues, Harry's partners all agree that the occasional night with other women is acceptable so long as nothing becomes long-term without their consent, allowing Harry to have the occasional one-night stand with the likes of Maria Hill, Shuri, Yelena or Darcy Lewis.
    • By the time Harry has started curing the former Widows of their sterilisation, he makes it clear that he will avoid actual sex with them as the risk of pregnancy is too great; he can't help making them feel good in the moment, but he won't take that further.
    • When Natasha encourages Carol to pursue Harry after the Snap, while Carol accepts the polyamorous nature of their relationship she also accepts when Harry makes it clear that Natasha encouraged her to be with Harry for the wrong reasons, and Harry in turn affirms that he just isn't interested in pursuing anything with Carol under these circumstances.
  • In the Harry Potter fic Lord of Darkness, while Harry has had sex with virtually every girl who has expressed an interest in him (including the older Professor Sinistra and Tonks), he has never gone out of his way to seduce women in committed relationships (while he has had flings with women while they were involved with others, both parties understood it was just a brief 'for the heck of it' fling), and is willing to adapt according to what each partner expects or wants sexually.
  • In The Naked Jedi series, Sarza Zarazell- a member of the Nue Jedi Order, who forsake garments as part of their pledge to draw on the power of the Force- is quite forward about her sexual desires, but makes it clear she isn't looking for any kind of commitment, and even if she was, it wouldn't necessarily be with the person she's with right now. She is absolutely willing to have some fun if she's in the mood and whoever is nearby is also in the mood and accepts her conditions. She pretty quickly gets into something of a "Friends with Benefits" arrangement with Kael Skywalker and Aayla Secura. Sixess could also be an example, as she and Kael have a thing but Sixess insisted on "no attachments." Sarza also only seeks positive sexual encounters rather than sex for the sake of sex, and is put off by darker kinds of attention that make her feel dirty and devalued in contrast to the more genuine appreciation from others.
  • New Tamaran:
    • Supergirl is a peeping tom, thinks mostly dirty thoughts, has had sex every day since losing her virginity, uses her super-senses to make the act perfect every time, her list of partners includes every other sidekick and most Honorary Titans, and she’s gladly unapologetic about all this. Yet she’s still a sweet, kind-hearted, inspiring superheroine who won’t hesitate to rush into danger or comfort the hurting. She also only sleeps with her single friends and is seeking a genuine romantic partner to stay faithful to.
    • Wonder Girl follows Supergirl's example - and often accompanies her - until she and Speedy become a couple.
    • While undercover at HIVE Academy, Bumblebee got most of her intel via pillow talk with other students. As leader of Titans East, she has regular threesomes with Speedy and Aqualad, which stopped once they all got serious relationships.
    • In the sequel Justice Returns, Wonder Woman brags about banging the entire Justice League while off-planet to her husband Steve Trevor, who is completely unfazed.
  • Botan in Omni Bleach Abridged used to be this but other people didn't see her that way, and the reputation sticks with her. The only reason we know she wasn't just promiscuous is that she's still proud of her sexual exploits.
  • In Pokémon Reset Bloodlines, there's a character named Meliae, who is very open and fond of having one-night stands with guys she meets in bars all over Johto. However, a side story reveals that she's very moral about it, and is not above offering sex to a depressed challenger as motivation to win a badge in Blackthorn City.
  • The Power of Seven:
    • Demonstrated by Ginny in particular, as she has no problem with Harry having sex with any of the other girls whether or not she's present, but so far all participants in the harem have come across as this once they learn Harry's interested, expressing a disdain for the wizarding world's backward views on sexual relations in favour of enjoying themselves.
    • Chapter 28 confirms that Katie Bell is one, as she had a bad first sexual experience where it turned out her partner was cheating on his girlfriend with her and since then she prefers to be the one in control during her sexual encounters, only allowing a few cases such as Harry to get close to her emotionally. Even after she learns about the ritual, Katie only explicitly agrees to participate after Harry confirms that he isn't expecting monogamy, as she enjoys sex without emotional attachment. She does explicitly get off on exerting power over these boys, seducing them and knowing that she knows them in a way few others do, but she doesn't seem to be malicious about it.
    • Averted with Fleur's mother. Apolline Delacour's approach to sexuality left Fleur swearing to be nothing at all like her, to the point of actively suppressing her allure and even her own ability to let go and enjoy sex, even with a man she genuinely likes. It takes Harry and his "arrangement" to show her that there's something between the two extremes.
  • Queens of Mewni: Venus the Fairest was said to have had at least 1000 lovers, but is also a very firm believer of consent, even creating a Kiss of Death spell for those at risk of Attempted Rape. She also (unlike her cousin Swan) draws the line at Brother–Sister Incest, and when she finally meets the one man that loves Venus for herself, and not because she's easy or because she's the queen, she remains loyal to him for their entire marriage.
  • Robert Frank and Madeline Joyce-Frank from Sixes and Sevens have an open marriage, but also a mutual understanding - they inform each other if they intend to pursue other people, and don't flirt with others in relationships unless the person has expressed interest. When Michael warns the two off of trying to seduce Emily, Robbie counters that they already know Emily and Edith have their own history and would never think of it.
  • Fanon has almost universally taken this attitude towards the characterization of Gaila, a character from Star Trek (2009) movie. Characterization of Kirk is split somewhere between this and portraying his rampant sexcapades (which until Star Trek Into Darkness were mostly an Informed Attribute, as in the first film we only actually see him hit on Uhura and get it on with Gaila) as part of his self-destructive tendencies.
  • Through Her Eyes: Yang is rather proud of her exploits, but won't try anything serious with a girl who is straight and/or in a committed relationship like Pyrrha and Nora, will take it more slowly if her "target" is new to dating, and broke up with the Malachite twins when they revealed they had done a Twin Switch to both get in her pants when she thought that she was just seeing one of them, finding their hopes of a Twin Threesome Fantasy creepy. She also does plan on finding a "Miss Right" eventually, after she's had her fun.
  • In Undocumented Features, this is basically the Dantrovans' hat. Azalynn, a main character even has a My God, What Have I Done? moment after realizing she still hated the Alpha Bitch after her Heel–Face Turn.

    Film — Live-Action 
  • In the Aliens universe, the Arcturian race is implied to be this way.
  • Both of the titular couples in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, who start embracing free love. Bob comes home to find Carol with a lover; he fixes the man a drink.
  • Sally from Cabaret starts out as a straight example, before evolving into a deconstruction. Both she and Brian engage in a Love Triangle with a bisexual billionaire, causing friction in their relationship. She ends up pregnant but decides to abort the baby, feeling that she couldn't be mother material. It's instead implied that she wants to continue her partying lifestyle, which is ultimately shown to be empty and just escapism.
  • Cindy in Cherry Falls. In this Slasher Movie, the serial killer only targets virgins, and the teenagers figure this out, hosting an orgy in order to stay alive. Cindy, one of the experienced girls, tells the other girls that they need to manage their expectations and not to expect orgasms from the boys.
  • The very unusual pre-Code film Design for Living ends with Gilda solving the Love Triangle with Tom and Max by deciding to be with both of them.
  • The Divorcee: Jerry's attitude towards sex, after having saved herself for Ted, only for their marriage to break up after he cheats on her. She likes sex, she wants some, and she's going to get a lot.
    Jerry: So look for me in the future where the primroses grow and pack your man's pride with the rest. From now on, you're the only man in the world that my door is closed to.
  • Dominick and Eugene has Mr. Vinson, the woman that Larry (and according to him, many other men) have casual sex with. While extremely promiscuous, she's shown to be a kind and caring person in her interactions with Nicky and with her neighbors after Mikey's death.
  • Rizzo in Grease. As she explains in the song "There Are Worse Things I Could Do":
    I could flirt with all the guys,
    Smile at them and bat my eyes.
    Press against them when we dance,
    Make them think they stand a chance,
    Then refuse to see it through.
    That's a thing I'd never do.
  • In The Haunting (1999) Theo is bisexual and has both a boyfriend and a girlfriend - who clearly know about the other one since she says they don't like each other. She also flirts openly with Luke and shares tender moments with Eleanor. She's not presented as bad and is shown to properly care for Eleanor in a romantic way.
  • Head in the Clouds: Gilda and Mia surely fit the definition, sleeping around with men (and each other) while still also being good people. Mia in particular jumps to aid her native Spain after the Spanish Civil War breaks out while Gilda doesn't want to know about any wars, and even then Gilda later changes her mind around that, aiding the French Resistance while endangering herself doing so by sleeping with German officers to get information. Ultimately both of them lose their lives while doing so.
  • Holly Slept Over: Holly is unashamedly promiscuous, but she also makes sure her partners are on board and entirely comfortable with whatever happens.
  • Lucky Bastard's Ashley Saint is a typical porn starlet in that she has a non-negotiable list of on-set "do's" and "don'ts" (no anal, no DP, no amateurs). Her producer's success in getting her to waive the "no amateurs" rule proves to be fatal to a great many people.
  • Joanna from Magic Mike is a bisexual girl who Mike regularly hooks up with. He doesn't have a problem with her sleeping with other people, though he is a little put out when he discovers that she's engaged. It's implied that the fiancee isn't bothered by her sleeping around though.
  • Mamma Mia!: Donna is implied to have been pretty promiscuous when she was young, and the sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again confirms it. Young Donna has zero problem hooking up with men she just met, and is in general is a free-spirited and flirtatious person. However, she's shown to have genuine affection for each of her partners, is a very loyal friend, and grows up into a responsible and loving mother. She was also furious when she discovered her boyfriend Sam was engaged, dumping him on the spot for it, and seems to be angry both because he lied to her and on the behalf of his actual fiancée.
  • Mona Lisa Smile: Giselle is easily the most liberal and feminist student at Wellesley College. While most of the girls there are only there to get their MRS Degree, she maintains her independence and single status throughout the whole film, has liberal views on sex, and is a true friend to her classmates, even Alpha Bitch Betty. Yes, she had affairs with married men, but when pressed on it by her married friend Joan, she explains that her lover and his wife “aren’t married like (Joan) and Tommy”, and “don’t speak the same language” implying that the men she sleeps around with are in unhappy marriages.
  • Aleah Welch aka the Ferrari Girl in National Lampoon's Vacation qualifies as one. She and Clark Griswold come close to having sex in the motel pool when in this scene she realizes that would constitute cheating. Joe Pollack recognized that she's an ethical slut in his review of the film:
    This occurs for example when Chevy Chase meets Christie Brinkley the woman of his fantasies, in a motel bar and with an alacrity born of the male dreams of the liberated female, she leads him to the swimming pool, disrobes and jumps in.
  • Older Than Television: Oklahoma!'s Ado Annie, the "gal that can't say no." The song makes it clear that she could say no, she just "hates to disappoint a gent when he is paying a call."
  • Brazilian film De Pernas pro Ar has the protagonist becoming one after she is fired and dumped and thus decides to see if her sex shop owner neighbor (who also qualifies for the trope) can help.
  • Louise Bryant in Reds becomes one after Jack Reed turns her on to his free love philosophy. For a time, she becomes kind of fundamentalist about it, and Eugene O'Neill makes fun of her about it during their affair. Both she and Jack have trouble remaining true to their slut-ethics over the course of the film, with their jealousy periodically causing one or the other to break off their relationship.
  • Stuck in Love: Samantha. She - and her father - both attribute her penchant for one-night stands as living a full life worth writing about.
  • Sweden: Heaven and Hell: "Ethical" may not exactly be the correct word here given the film's moralistic tone, but the women of the titular nation are nevertheless portrayed as being very casual and nonchalant when it comes to sex.

    Jokes 
  • No matter what the husband does, his wife never achieves orgasm. Since a Jewish wife is entitled to sexual pleasure, they decide to consult their rabbi. The rabbi listens to their story, strokes his beard, and makes the following suggestion: "Hire a strapping young man. While the two of you are making love, have the young man wave a towel over you. That will help your wife fantasize and should bring her to orgasm." They go home and follow the rabbi's advice. They hire a handsome young man and he waves a towel over them while they make love. It doesn't help and his wife is still unsatisfied. Perplexed, they go back to the rabbi. "Okay", he says to the husband, "Let's try it reversed. Have the young man make love to your wife and you wave the towel over them." They go home and hire a strapping young man. The young man gets into bed with the wife and the husband waves the towel. The young man gets to work with great enthusiasm and the wife soon has an enormous, room-shaking, ear-splitting, screaming orgasm. The husband smiles, looks at the young man, and says to him triumphantly: "You see, you young schmuck? THAT'S how you wave a towel."

    Literature 
  • The Avatar by Poul Anderson: Caitlín Mulryan is involved with a married man...and it's made clear that she wouldn't be if his wife hadn't okayed it. She's also rather casual about sex with people she likes, and perfectly willing to call out others for having Double Standards.
  • The Change Room: Shar is a sex worker and likes unattached sex even outside of this, rejecting the idea of her ever marrying. However, she's totally honest about this and always makes sure that her partner is on board.
  • City of Girls: Vivian owns this later in her life, after WWII. She has plenty of lovers, but refuses to sleep with married men, and insists on precautions when a naive would-be lover says they won't need them because she looks like a nice clean person.
  • This seems to be the hat of the Taykans (or at least di'Taykans, who are Taykans in the phase of life at which they're mature but not yet fertile) in the Confederation of Valor series. Couple that with their pheromones being arousing to just about any mammal and you get situations like Gunnery Sergeant Torin Kerr defusing pre-mission edginess (nearly a Bar Brawl) with a di'Taykan soldier by seducing him.
  • This along with Beware the Nice Ones is pretty much the "hat" of The Culture. One of the best examples in the series is probably Diziet Sma of Use of Weapons whose pursuit of casual sexual encounters in no way detracts from her status as a relatively decent person and ultra-competent operative. That being said, sexuality in the Culture isn't uniformly positive, and for instance, several of the protagonists of the novel Excession fall into the more negative The Casanova trope.
  • Doctor Who New Adventures: In Human Nature, Alexander claims to be this. Seeing as it's 1913, it makes him come across as a shockingly liberal person. As it turns out, he's actually in a monogamous relationship with a man, and overcompensates by pretending to be dating multiple women.
  • Elemental Blessings: It's not shown whether she sleeps around as much as she flirts (her behavior was at least enough to scandalize her royal mother), but Melissande of Sharon Shinn's Jeweled Fire takes this attitude towards life and love.
  • Trope namer is the non-fiction The Ethical Slut: A Guide to Infinite Sexual Possibilities. The 2009 2nd edition was renamed to the more specific The Ethical Slut: A Practical Guide to Polyamory, Open Relationships & Other Adventures.
  • The Fragility of Bodies: Verónica is an Intrepid Reporter of strong moral character and ethics, but is also very promiscuous and has a borderline hedonistic sexual appetite, to the point she often browses the internet for scandalous and kinky sex stories and sometimes even writes them herself. And while she's perfectly willing to sleep with Lucio even though she knows he's a married man with two kids, she does feel very guilty about it.
  • Rutti is a queer male variant from the outset of Redfern Jon Barrett's The Giddy Death of the Gays and the Strange Demise of Straights. Caroline and her boyfriend Dom each conform to the title later on.
  • The Jinn in The Golem and the Jinni are fickle spirits of elemental fire who don't expect relationships to be exclusive or long-lasting. However, they do expect them to be mutually enjoyable; Ahmad declines to hire a prostitute for the night because he thinks a liaison with only physical pleasure is rather distasteful.
  • This is half of the planet Beowulf's hat in the Honor Harrington novels (the other half is being really good at biology). Ironically, the first person from Beowulf we meet, and the only one for much of the series, is Honor's mother, Alison, who, while very sexually aggressive, is in a monogamous relationship with her husband. By Beowulfan standards, she's something of a prude. Alison does take a certain degree of pleasure in tweaking the noses of the more straitlaced Manticorans.
  • Hurog: In Dragon Bones, Ward is pleasantly surprised that the beautiful woman in the adventurer group, who sleeps with all the adult men in his group, doesn't cause any jealousy, and is a good companion. Later subverted in that it turns out she's an enemy spy. Ward himself realized, after some experimenting, that he isn't into casual sex, but is tolerant about others having it, and he is rather fond of the man who is known to share the king's bed; either homophobia is not a thing in this setting, or he himself doesn't have it. (The king's habit of getting it on with underage boys, on the other hand, is frowned upon).
  • Johannes Cabal: Horst Cabal was a charismatic Nice Guy in life and is a Friendly Neighborhood Vampire in undeath. Though quite promiscuous — including, in one memorable case, with an entire women's sports team — he's up-front with all of his partners and makes sure that everyone has a good time.
  • Just Juliet: Lacey makes no apologies for having a sex drive, and is fine with it being casual. She's also careful about consent, contraception and being safe from STDs.
  • In the Kushiel's Legacy novels, this mentality is the norm in Terre d'Ange. The highest precept of their religion is the commandment to "Love as thou wilt", and they consider rape to be heresy.
  • Miette from Malevil is the only woman in a castle with six men. Because she's kind and understands her Gender Rarity Value situation, she chooses to sleep with each man in a nightly rotation to keep everyone happy.
  • In Stieg Larsson's Millennium Series (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest), the male protagonist and female protagonist are both heroic ethical sluts who sleep around with each other and their other close friends. In the first book, the main antagonists are of the "Sex Is Evil, and I Am Horny" kind. The original title is Män som hatar kvinnor, literally "Men Who Hate Women".
  • Aramis of Musketeer Space bounces from affair to affair, and has a friendly competition going with her friend Porthos as to who can sleep their way through more of Paris Satellite. She tries to ensure that her partners have a fun time and no-one's heart gets broken except her own, and only sleeps with married women so that when her plans to leave Paris and become a priest come to fruition, no-one will miss her. Later deconstructed when she encounters her ex Felton, whose life and marriage were ruined by her affair with Aramis, and who has become bitter, depressed and antagonistic.
  • Nevermoor: Chanda Kali is a kid-friendly version, having six suitors and no apparent desire to choose one. She divides her time evenly between her partners, giving them each a day of the week (and taking Sunday for herself), and it's implied everyone's cool with this arrangement. She's also a kind and dignified woman, and a highly beloved and respected opera singer.
  • Oksana Pankeeva. ANYTHING by Oksana Pankeeva, though the actual content is very PG-13. Subverted in her take on elves, who manage to freak out not just the rest of the Ethical Slut universe, but even the bloody Paladin Corps (a bunch of Lawful Stupid fratboy bunnies on steroids). Although it might also have something to do with elves being grotesquely-dressed compulsively bisexual omnivores who spew Ethical Slut ideology to woo their targets.
  • Molly Bolt, protagonist of Rita Mae Brown's Rubyfruit Jungle is quite open to her lovers (both male and female) that while she loves them she doesn't see herself in a permanent relationship, and doesn't actually think a happy, honest, permanent relationship is even possible at all. Her lovers tend to eventually break things off.
  • Shades of Magic: Prince Rhy is well-known for having a steady and fast-moving stream of male and female "companions". Fortunately, he's a genuinely Nice Guy who treats everyone in his life as well as he can.
  • Professor Philip Swallow in Small World: An Academic Romance by David Lodge. After surviving a plane crash, Swallow developed a philosophy that you should never refuse anyone if they offer you their body, or deny them if they ask for yours.
  • A Song of Ice and Fire:
    • People from the Summer Islands behave like this. Making love is great and honors the gods and religions which say otherwise must worship demons.
    • The northern wildlings don't have any problems with casual sex aside from teasing couples who keep them up at night. It falls under their general rule of "Do as you will, and if someone wrongs you, stab 'em."
    • Jury's out on whether Tyrion Lannister falls into this category. Sure, his obsession with sex and prostitutes stems from some pretty unhealthy psychological issues and probably isn't very good for him, but he seems at least to be very good to the women he sleeps with, doing whatever it takes to protect them and taking great pains to make sure that they're enjoying themselves as much as he is. Of course, when he *does* break that streak, he does it pretty spectacularly.
  • The characters in, well, anything by Tamora Pierce tend to embrace this philosophy, even if they don't actually sleep around much. Might be best demonstrated by Alanna in Song of the Lioness, who had monogamous relationships with three different people, each ending for different reasons, before going back to the second guy. There are, of course, people who hate her for that.
  • Spellster: Tracker might do anything, but he has some standards. It's just a very low bar. He is very observant of consent, always telling partners he'll never do anything except with them willing, while also being ever concerned for their comfort. He also doesn't use whips, as he's been whipped in the past as punishment.
  • In the Star Trek Novel 'Verse, several cultures among the Loads and Loads of Races fit the trope. The Deltan, Efrosian, Argelian, Rianconi, and Risian cultures are all examples (though they differ in how they express it). The trope is explored in some depth in the Star Trek: Titan series. Xin Ra-Havreii is an Efrosian, a culture where respectful sexual contact between work colleagues (or anyone you find attractive) is perfectly acceptable, indeed celebrated. Ra-Havreii also calls the Rianconi an “enlightened culture” upon discovering they’re the same. However, another character, Aili Lavena, complicates the trope. Her race exist in two life phases—an amphibious youthful/breeder stage and an aquatic form later on. The aquatic form is an Ethical Slut culture, but those in the amphibian stage are supposed to dedicate themselves to family life and avoid such sexuality. Lavena gave in to temptation and essentially tried to be an Ethical Slut too early, abandoning responsibility for her children. As such, she is now an Ethical Slut who is a non-Ethical Slut.
  • Star Wars Legends has the Zeltrons. Pink-skinned, empathic humanoids who can manipulate their pheromones. Because of their empathy, they want everyone in range to be contented. The culture also considers monogamy to be quaint, but archaic. So long as everyone involved has consented and is enjoying themselves, what's the problem? It may also say something about Star Wars, though, that there seem to be a lot of "deviant" Zeltrons who treat the pain of others like a drug. They also tend to be attracted to Force-Sensitive characters, like Luke in Star Wars (Marvel 1977).
    "All of you grew up on Zeltros, where the rule is to love everyone and have fun... and if you have to kill, do it quickly and cleanly."
  • Genji from The Tale of Genji qualifies as one in the standards of the time. Even though he was married and had many, MANY affairs (including one with his adopted daughter), the fact that he supported the women and (usually) only had an affair with one woman at a time made him "moral".
  • The Teresa Knight Trilogy: Teresa unabashedly loves having sex, and isn't ashamed in the least of it (she's also bisexual, and so while it's mostly men, some of her sex partners are also women). However, she's also very much concerned with consent and safe sex, with some cases she investigates involving violations of these. She'll also intervene if something is going on that's nonconsensual when she's present.

    Live-Action TV 
  • Alex Drake from Ashes to Ashes (2008), though more in the first season than the later two. She has two one-night-stands in the first three episodes, and the only person shown having a problem with it is Gene (whose opinion shouldn't count, since he calls her a tart numerous times, and is fairly unapologetic about his objectification of her). Alex also objectively explains various sexual concepts to the team, such as BDSM, homosexual sex, and auto-erotic asphyxiation because she's a psychologist, and never once expresses disdain over someone else's kinks.
  • Bones:
    • Temperance would probably like to be and/or thinks she is, but comes off as more arrogant and selfish than ethical; she fails to inform her partners of the fact that she is seeing multiple men to fulfill different needs (which obviously offends and discomfits both), and rebuffs them firmly and quickly when they admit they would like to take on both roles.
  • Susie in Blue Heelers might count. Despite being a police officer, and rather upstanding one at that, she is rather open about her romantic life, going through four or five different flings, including several of her co-workers, in about a year.
  • Sam Malone from Cheers is a notorious womanizer. However, one episode opens with him breaking up with a girlfriend because he found out she was married. He then adds he also doesn't date underage or comatose women.
  • Britta Perry on Community, who is implied to have a very active (and kinky) sex life and is not averse to one-night stands, Friends with Benefits arrangements, and so on.
  • One episode of Criminal Minds features a suburban swinger's club packed full of people who mostly seem quite sweet and friendly. One of them does wind up being the killer, but, like most of the killers on the show, he was mentally ill to begin with, and his sex life only shaped the way he killed — he would have killed no matter what.
  • Jack Harkness in Doctor Who and Torchwood is pretty much the embodiment of this trope, being a time traveller from a Free-Love Future. Notably, he's extremely strict when it comes to consent, never cheats, insists on using protection, never even kisses anyone who's in a monogamous relationship (and absolutely doesn't respond when those people kiss him), and looks after his daughter and grandson responsibly. Torchwood: Children of Earth does go into detail about what happens when Jack finds himself entirely forced to be less ethical, both when it comes to his relationship with Ianto (he can't bring himself to say what their relationship means, and suddenly it's too late) and when it comes to taking care of his loved ones (he's forced to murder his own grandson, causing his daughter to break off contact with him forever).
  • The Fall (2013): Stella fits this. She's staunchly feminist and open and unashamed of her sexuality. It can come off as a deconstruction though. Stella's right to point out that there's a Double Standard, but some would argue that it actually works in her favor. If a male police officer was repeatedly making passes at his subordinates the way she does it would almost certainly be treated as sexual harassment, though to be fair she wasn't DSI at the time she propositioned James Olsen and it seems like men tend to throw themselves at Stella whether she invites the attention or not (which isn't surprising as she's very beautiful).
  • Occurs a few times in Firefly:
    • Most of the "Companions" (and ex-Companions) qualify, except they have a guild and they usually expect to be paid.
    • Kaylee Frye is probably one of the sweetest, most innocent characters in all of television. Other than being first introduced to the Captain (in a flashback episode) while having sex with the previous mechanic, and being quite free about admitting to putting battery-powered devices 'twixt her nethers.
  • Roz Doyle from Frasier was an excellent example of this — often the butt of wisecracks aimed at her rampant promiscuity, but always portrayed as a good person and never treated cruelly or disrespectfully by other characters because of it. When she eventually gets pregnant, she states that she understood the risks (no birth control method is ever 100% perfect) and happily becomes a mother.
  • Game of Thrones:
    • Daario Naharis has more principles (that he actually sticks to) than most characters on the show and is definitely a slut.
    • Salladhor Saan Really Gets Around, but is very insistent about how much he enjoys women and doesn't hold well with the idea of rape.
  • Blanche in The Golden Girls.
    • Living in a time when the HIV scare was at its peak, she is incredibly promiscuous but says in one episode that she is aware of the risks and was even tested for HIV herself. As such, she always uses protection and makes sure she knows her lover's full sexual history.
    • Blanche also makes it clear that she never goes after men if she knows they're married, and refuses to allow men to take advantage of her. In one early episode, she's taking a psychology course to get a college degree and thus increase her chances at a promotion; when she has trouble, the professor offers to give her a passing grade if she sleeps with him. She tells him off and declares that her self-worth is more important than anything else. In another episode, she works to overcome her reluctance to date a man in a wheelchair and eventually finds herself able to do so...but as soon as she finds out that he's married, she drops him like a hot potato, interrupting his self-pitying speech about his wife not understanding him with a single line: "Well, I do—you're a cheat."
    • Examined in the first season when Blanche's niece visits and is as promiscuous as Blanche, if not moreso. However, it is made clear that the niece's promiscuity is based on some serious self-esteem issues from before her She Is All Grown Up moment, and Blanche clearly spells out the difference between them.
      Blanche: I do enjoy the company of men, always have. But when I'm with a man it's because I like him, not because I want him to like me.
    • It's notable that Blanche, despite her incredibly long list of partners before and after her marriage to her husband George, never even considered cheating on him. She holds marital fidelity completely sacred and was absolutely devastated when she found out that George not only had an affair but fathered a son with the other woman.
    • Actress Rue McClanahan has stated in numerous interviews that Blanche’s promiscuity stems from the fact that George was the love of her life and Blanche is eager to find the next love of her life.
  • Aaron from Gossip Girl freely dates openly, much to Serena's dismay. He responds that she is free to see other people as well, and he's not portrayed as a creep for doing so.
  • Miss Kitty on Gunsmoke was a prostitute. She was also a madam as the owner of the Longbranch Saloon which was also a brothel, by the curiously coy standards of T.V. of that era.
  • Joey Ross in Jonathan Creek may sleep with a man when all she knows about him is that his name is Brad, but she immediately backs off and sincerely apologises to his girlfriend when she learns that he has one.
  • M*A*S*H: Margaret Houlihan isn't called "Hot Lips" for nothing. The ethical side is downplayed early in the show since she sleeps with a married man, Frank. But she is not without standards, and it's played straight in later seasons after she leaves him and her ex-husband.
  • Masters of Sex: Virginia Johnson is probably the single most well-adjusted person in the series, being comfortable with her body and with casual sex, and having picked her own time to lose her virginity. However, she also makes it absolutely clear to Bill Masters, even after they start having sex within the study, that for her it is just about the science and that she will not continue sleeping with him if it hurts his marriage, even if it hurts it in such a way that his wife never finds out (e.g. Bill not having time for Libby).
  • The eponymous character from the Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. Phryne quite enjoys her one-night stands and has a very tolerant attitude towards interracial, same-sex, and extramarital couples for a society lady of the 1920s. She also takes a violently dim view of abusive or exploitative relationships and might flash her pistol at anyone who gets too unpleasant about the fact that she's "not the marrying type".
  • Schmidt's brief girlfriend Fawn Moscato in New Girl fills the role. During her job as a local politician, she is headstrong, outspoken and motivated. With Schmidt, she has the same ethics towards sex.
    Fawn: Okay, Schmidt, you ready for your feedback for the week?
    Schmidt: Yes. Uh, let me just pull up my performance grid.
    Fawn: First off, thanks for keeping sex quick.
    • In another episode, she attends a charity golf tournament with Jess but isn't wearing underwear, and never does in "networking scenarios". When photographers capture photos of her bending down, there is a media frenzy. Using political rhetoric, she convinces the public it is a debilitating fetish that Schmidt has.
  • The Newsreader has Gerry Carroll, a flirtatious and promiscuous bisexual man in an open marriage. His wife Carla not only knows, but is 100% okay with Gerry sleeping around, and it's implied she is too. Interestingly enough, they're also insanely in love with each other, singing each other love songs, and with Gerry having travelled halfway across the world, from Ireland to Australia, just to be with her.
  • Schitt's Creek:
    • Both the Rose children have very sex-positive attitudes and are open about their copious amount of sexual experience. The show's writing never shames either David or Alexis for this. Alexis, early on, cheats on her fiancé because of a misunderstanding and is horrified at her actions. David, while having been hurt in the past, never expresses any shame or regret for the sex.
    • Jake, the bisexual furniture maker, is open about his sexual life and more than once suggests throuples, threesomes, foursomes, and holds at least one orgy. Yet, he's generally portrayed as honest and ethical in how he goes about all of this.
  • Keisha from VH1's Single Ladies is an unapologetic pleasure-seeker. She is less ethical than most of the other examples, but, as we find out in one episode, she does draw the line at drinking age when it comes to sexual partners.
  • In Smallville, Oliver Queen. To quote the wiki, "As of this episode, Oliver has slept with all the current female leads." Lois, Tess and Chloe, in that order. He marries Chloe in the final few episodes, and the Distant Finale shows her with a son who is probably Oliver's.
  • Star Trek ought to be full of these, considering that the entire Federation is designed as a Free-Love Future and the frequently mentioned planet Risa is a Planet of Hats of this trope. And yet, the writersnote  seem to have limited themselves to one (token) Ethical Slut per series.
  • In Deep Space Nine, Jadzia Dax is said to have a number of regular lovers before she settles down with Worf, at least one of whom is a freighter captain who passes through the station on occasion (there's a Running Gag about him having a transparent skull). Julian Bashir tries to be The Casanova early on but isn't very successful.
  • In Star Trek: Voyager, Tom Paris is this kind of character — although he stops living it out once he gets a permanent and very monogamous girlfriend (and later wife).
  • In Star Trek: Enterprise Doctor Phlox has multiple wives, each having multiple husbands other than himself; this is apparently standard for his race. He also encouraged Trip to take a roll in the hay with one of his wives that had come to visit. Trip, being a Southern Gentleman (sometimes), refused, citing his views on infidelity. Phlox just shrugs with a "what an idiot" expression.
  • Velvet: Sara, from Airsa Airlines, is happily married, but will also take lovers with her husband's knowledge and blessing.
  • Why Women Kill: Taylor and Eli practice polyamory, with rules to prevent their marriage from eroding. However, they break them after both grow very attracted to Jade. Nonetheless, they are both moral, caring people who preserve their marriage. Jade also comes off this way until she's revealed to be a serial killer.

    Music 
  • "Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me," Mac Davis' #1 Billboard hit from 1972, in which the narrator warns a woman not to get too attached to him, since he's not ready to commit to a relationship and will only "use you and then I'll set you free."
  • Enigma explores these themes, like in the song "The Principles of Lust":
    The principles of lust are easy to understand
    Do what you feel, feel until the end
    The principles of lust are burned in your mind
    Do what you want, do it until you find love
  • "Cabana Boy" by Sara Evans is about a woman and her husband discussing the idea of the two of them vacationing in Mexico where she would have sex with a cabana boy who would their sire their child. However, because the trip's too expensive, it's limited to her idea of sexual role play.
  • "You Don't Own Me" by Lesley Gore:
    You don't own me, I'm not just one of your many toys
    You don't own me, don't say I can't go with other boys
  • "Triad" by Jefferson Airplane is about how it's OK to participate in a 2 guy, 1 girl threesome.
  • In "Don't Think I'm Not" by R&B singer/songwriter Kandi, the narrator warns an unfaithful boyfriend that she can fool around outside of the relationship, without guilt, just as easily as he can: "They say two wrongs don't make a right/But it's suiting me just fine."
  • The female character in "Hot Girls In Love" by Loverboy is a devout Catholic:
    Too many men to please
    She counts them on her Rosary
    You know, you might get burned
    She gets it when she can
    Don't need no anniversary
    And she deserves the best, yeah
    A cut above the rest
  • "Torn Between Two Lovers," the 1977 No. 1 Billboard hit by singer Mary MacGregor. The narrator of the song is a married woman who confesses her extramarital affair to her husband yet begs her husband to stay with her, as both he and her extramarital lover fulfill different needs in her life. Despite the song's success, MacGregor hated it, as she had to keep insisting that the song was not autobiographical and she wasn't fooling around on her husband.
  • George Michael, in "I Want Your Sex". As per Word of God, "it's not about fucking, it's about fucking within a relationship". The music video prominently features the slogan Explore Monogamy.
  • Kacey Musgraves addresses these themes in "Follow Your Arrow":
    So make lots of noise
    Kiss lots of boys
    Or kiss lots of girls if that's something you're into
    If the straight and narrow gets a little too straight
    Roll up a joint, or don't
    Just follow your arrow wherever it points, yeah
    Follow your arrow wherever it points
  • Olivia Newton-John in both "Culture Shock" and "Totally Hot":
    Play the game and let me do the same
    And we gonna get along, gonna get along, gonna get along fine
    Watchin' out for my heart
    But when I am near you
    Near you ain't the place to start, no, no, no, no
    Takin' it slow
    Whenever I cross your trail, my brakes just fail
  • "You Can't Do That" by K.T. Oslin:
    Well let's talk about my love life
    It used to be so free
    If I saw something I wanted
    I just drag it home with me
    Now you're talking blood tests
    And sexual history
    Aw, it used to be fun to do run, run
    Now it's life and destiny
  • Salt-N-Pepa, with songs like "Let's Talk About Sex" and "None of Your Business":
    If I wanna take a guy home with me tonight
    It's none of your business
    And if she wanna be a freak and sell it on the weekend
    It's none of your business
  • "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels" by Kitty Wells, the first song by a female performer to hit No. 1 on the Billboard country chart (1952), suggests that some women who run around do it primarily because their husbands run around on them.
  • Played with in "Two Lovers," an early Motown classic by Mary Wells (written by Smokey Robinson). The narrator confesses, without shame, that she has two lovers whom she loves the same: one who treats her badly and the other who treats her well. During the song's bridge, she clarifies that she's singing not about two different men, but about a man with a split personality.

    Podcasts 
  • In the Cool Kids Table game Creepy Town, Stacey Quartermain is described as a "slutty cheerleader". Jake clarifies that what he means is that she's in charge of her own sexuality, but in slasher movie terms that translates into "slutty".

    Pro Wrestling 
  • If this is gender-neutral, CM Punk is as good an example as any. He gained infamy for giving lap dances to fans and has had many valets and outright girlfriends, ranging from Lucy Furr, to Tracy Brooks, to Alexis Laree, to Lita to Beth Phoenix. CM Punk is a heel, who has little patience for strippers, but in his ongoing feud with Raven one of Punk's reasons for hating Raven was Raven's disposable treatment of women, and Punk does care for those he gets involved with. He tried to kill Christopher Daniels when he believed Daniels had harmed an ex-girlfriend and beat up The Outkast Killers prior just to send a message.
  • Gi Hoe was not just a slut but an out and out whore, but was one of the most popular babyfaces in Women's Extreme Wrestling and Dangerous Women Of Wrestling.
  • Tammy Lynn Sytch has always been a baby face in Ring of Honor and WSU, with no one really faulting her for her willingness to publicly offer sex to men.
  • The Lovely Lacey, by contrast, is one of ROH and WSU's most hated heels, ROH in particular. Her active sex life is one of the few things about Lacey that doesn't get Lacey heat in ROH, CM Punk and Matt Hardy have been mocked far more for their sexual escapades. This is likely because for a long while sex seemed to be the only subject where Lacey seemed interested in someone else's wants or needs. Every time one of Lacey's relationships became central to an angle, it actually resulted in Lacey becoming a better person, eventually resulting in a Heel–Face Turn after sleeping with Austin Aries, who Sytch had earlier failed to seduce.
  • ODB is often a heel, but for some strange reason cannot get over as one in TNA even when she cheated Gail Kim, who was otherwise TNA's most popular woman, out of a match. So instead ODB is presented as a babyface who saves other faces from beat downs, stands up to bullies, protects the honor of the knockouts division, trains rookies, and will shamelessly dry hump men to get their beer.

    Tabletop Games 
  • From various Dungeons & Dragons settings:
    • In Scarred Lands, the partial loss of this trope is one of the cornerstones of defining the setting as a Crapsack World. In the backstory, the demi-goddess Idra and her followers were Chaotic Good and fit this trope perfectly. And... then... it... all... changed. Despite this, Idra and her followers are still much of Ethical Sluts. Technically she's now Chaotic Neutral, but her religion still places a lot of emphasis on love and making sure both partners are satisfied. She doesn't care how extreme sexual exploration is, just so long as it's not non-consensual, dangerous, or even just not enjoyed. However, they now also have a sadness and cold calculating streak they didn't have before, and there's more than a hint that the sluttery once done for mutual joy and happiness is now a facade for a more or less sinister conspiracy with goals hidden even from the other deities. See WMG.
    • In the Forgotten Realms, Sharess has this attitude as the Chaotic Good goddess of sex, pleasure, and cats. To her clerics, pleasure and the sharing thereof is an inherently good act and have a doctrine centered around bringing pleasure to everyone, especially those in need of a good time. Sharess began as a warrior goddess (and a goddess of cats) in the Mulhorandi pantheon, and slowly shifted into the pleasure-role after leaving for the main Faerûnian pantheon.
    • According to the Valar Project's Book of Erotic Fantasy, Good characters can be raging sex-addicts, despite the stereotype of a "good person" waiting for marriage and performing strict monogamy afterward. The one rule absolutely necessary for a Lawful Good character is that everyone involved must know and agree ahead of time what they're in for - and what is not going to happen, e.g. a long-term relationship. Everything else, like monogamy or celibacy, is up to the specific character.
    • This is reinforced by the official Book of Exalted Deeds sourcebook. While Good characters may certainly choose to take a Vow of Chastity (+4 perfection bonus on Will saves against charms and illusions), and several Exalted spells require that the caster have abstained from sexual activity for a time beforehand, there is nothing inherently evil about sexuality. Good characters just need to be aware of the potentially troublesome power dynamics that are often involved in sex and be careful that their own relationships (no matter how short they are or how many people they involve) are built upon mutual respect and consent.
      • One of the example "Exalted Gods" is Lastai, a Chaotic Good goddess of love, pleasure, and passion. She's not all about sex, and her teachings show people how to enjoy things like food and rest without falling into gluttony or sloth, but Lastai and her clerics aren't shy about teaching the proper way to enjoy sensual pleasure. That said, she's described as "powerfully sensual but neither seductive nor licentious," and stresses the importance of equality in all relationships, from business deals to sexual trysts. Her churches still have to constantly fight against a reputation as being glorified brothels.
      • The same book lists various Celestial paragons, and the Eladrins (Chaotic Good celestial elves) are represented by the Court of Stars: Queen Morwel, her male consort Faerinaal, and her female consort Gwynharwyf.
  • In GURPS, Satyrs are quite likely to simply walk up to a person and say "Hey, you're cute. Want to have sex?" And while they're often confused by the vehemence of the "no" that they get from other humanoids, that "no" is accepted without question or hard feelings. As the ''Fantasy Folk" sourcebook states, a father might not want to leave his virgin daughter alone with a satyr, but he can take whatever comfort he can in the fact that, whatever her condition when he returns, it was her choice.
  • In In Nomine, angels in service to Eli, the Archangel of Creation, are often this. It helps that they regain Essence (the energy that powers their supernatural abilities) when they spend an hour having (explicitly consensual) sex.
  • Old World of Darkness:
  • Satyrs in Changeling: The Dreaming, especially if they're of the Seelie Court. They love a good party and (for mature ones) a good screw, and they may have trouble understanding their lovers' sense of fidelity, but they make an effort to bring out all the good elements of sex and minimize the heartbreak. For Unseelie Satyrs, though, it starts at The Casanova and occasionally gets worse.
  • Pathfinder has a type of celestial called a Gancanagh. They're a species of Azata who embody free love, and as such are well-known as inveterate wooers of mortals and immortals alike, throwing themselves into brief but earnest romantic flings before their attention moves on to the next object of their mercurial affections. They utterly despise Succubi and Incubi, believing that they profane the spirit of romance and passion and cast promiscuity in a bad light.

    Video Games 
  • Assassin's Creed II takes this to the logical extreme with Sister Teodora - a nun who runs a brothel. She believes that men need happiness in body as well as soul. And she was apparently a real person.
  • Dragon Age: Origins:
    • Zevran is an assassin Son of a Whore, and incessant flirt; in fact, he starts testing the waters with the Warden from the moment he thinks his life may be spared. However, trying to carry on a relationship with both him and Alistair or Leliana leads him to lecture you about toying with their feelings, and putting him in the awkward situation of being "the other man". As he puts it, "I may be a lot of things — a killer, a lover... but I'm no cheat." However, if you're married without a romance being involved, he doesn't mind much.
    • Isabela would deny having ethics at all, but she's really afraid of falling in love. In DAO she casually invites the Warden and anyone interested, including Zevran, to get carnally acquainted in her quarters, and will seize the repeat opportunity with Zevran in Dragon Age II. She's also fiercely protective of Merill's feelings and will break off relations with the Champion with a warning not to hurt her.
    • Leliana is probably the best example, with her half-hippie attitude. Bisexuality, threesomes, foursomes, it's all good as long as we're having fun and making each other happy. Now, when the relationship gets serious... you don't go cheating on her. Whether she'll be The Mistress to a married Warden depends on whether she's been hardened; if not, her view of "ethical" is somewhat tighter than it would otherwise be.
    • Iron Bull from Dragon Age: Inquisition seems to view sex as more of a service than an emotional connection since he was raised under the Qun which, according to him, provide sexual services the same way other societies provide medical services. If he is romanced by the Inquisitor, however, he assures them that he will remain faithful as long as they are in a relationship. If the Inquisitor chooses to make the relationship serious, he seems touched and develops genuine feelings for them. If the Inquisitor makes light of their relationship, Bull immediately breaks it off, claiming that if the Inquisitor is "ashamed" then he obviously did not do a good job as a romantic partner.
  • It turns out that Taiga in Duel Savior Destiny is one of these, though he tends to be the butt of jokes for it. In short, he's against rape and pedophilia, but everything else is okay. Even if he falls in love with a girl, he makes it clear that while he loves her and would probably die for her, the whole 'sex with everyone I can get' thing is still in play in most endings, to which they're largely accepting, though possibly in resignation.
  • Fallout: New Vegas: Cass, daughter of Cassidy, drinks hard, plays hard, and is pretty brazen and unapologetic for it. But she's the only character who will call you out for doing wrong, rather than simply opposing their personal agenda or politics. If your character is ethical, she'll even trust your support of the Legion.
  • I Was a Teenage Exocolonist: Rex is openly a Really Gets Around type, but is also shown to respect other people's desire to not go past a certain point:
    • Nomi-Nomi, Rex's demisexual best friend, can potentially turn out to have a crush on him and hesitate to confess because they know they wouldn't be able keep up with him, only for Rex turn out to be completely fine with taking things slowly if Nomi-Nomi is convinced to confess by Sol.
    • In one interaction with Sol, Rex offers Sol to have a joint exploration of the fact that they both recently became old enough to have access to pronoraphic materials. Rex's response to a "no" is asking if Sol is up for a couple rounds of a multiplayer video game, instead.
  • BioWare really likes this trope. From Mass Effect 2, we have Yeoman Kelly Chambers. She'll flirt with a male or female Shepard, and she's the only love interest that isn't considered cheating on your ME1 partner. She also mentions finding just about every sapient species (and almost every named member of the crew) attractive in their own way. Rumors abound about how scale itch (an STD only carried by varren, which are roughly lizard-dogs) got onto the Normandy.
  • As much as Yurika Murasaki of Omega Labyrinth Life is extremely forward, open, and aggressive with her attraction towards other women, she still respects them as people, and honestly cares for them, as reflected by her mostly support and healing focused skillset. Her Shadow Self in her special dungeon attempts to subvert this, to no avail.
  • Chun-Li tends to flirt with most of the male fighters in whatever game she's in, if her victory comments are any indication, such as asking E. Honda out for French crepes and admiring Thor's looks. She draws a line against the evil characters, however.
  • Tokyo Tattoo Girls has Chocho Choufu, a film buff and hopeful movie star who is completely willing to perform in and defend pornographic material that has a romantic plot. However, if it's just about the physical aspect, she'll refuse.
  • Warframe, though never a game to shy away from recognizing romance, rarely acknowledges raw physical attraction. Not so for Varzia Dax, a helpful and morally upstanding warrior-woman of the Orokin era who despised the Orokin for being Abusive Precursors, now an earnest ally of the Tenno. She is also 'extremely horny for Teshin (though Teshin doesn't seem to reciprocate) and is heavily implied to also be involved with Maroo (who does reciprocate).

    Visual Novels 
  • The bad ending of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc shows Aoi Asahina having multiple children with the other surviving male participants of the killing game, which includes Makoto, Byakuya, and Hiro. She's also one of the sweetest characters in the whole game.
  • Linds from Date Warp. Comes across at first as a Depraved Bisexual but is later shown to be opposed to cheating and outright offended at the idea that he might take advantage of someone.
  • Kathy from Daughter for Dessert is definitely sexually open and quite possibly a feminist. She takes and keeps Amanda’s confidence regarding her attraction to the protagonist, and gives her an outlet for it. She only reluctantly starts a relationship with the protagonist because of Amanda’s feelings. And she thinks it’s a mistake for the protagonist and Amanda to make love, even if they both want it.
  • Melody:
    • Xianne works in a strip club and helps multiple characters explore their sexualities. She also respects the boundaries of established relationships, and stops fooling around with the protagonist if he and Melody are dating.
    • Subverted with Sophia. She likes attention and the occasional fling, gave Melody her first sexual experience, and arranges for the protagonist to get back together with Melody when she isn’t sure she wants to move forward with him. However, she also offers to be his side piece after he is already in a relationship with Melody.

    Webcomics 
  • Ardent in Alice Grove is quite polite, friendly, and straightforward about wanting to sleep with most women he meets. He's also a Shameless Fanservice Boy from space, so his understanding of Earth's sexual mores is a bit hazy.
  • BOO! It's Sex: Tara is enthusiastic about sex and really got around when she was alive. As a ghost, she delights in helping her housemates build better love lives and is very cheerful and friendly. Denise, who is the most sexually active of the living housemates, is also a good person who never sets out to hurt anyone, though she can be thoughtless at times.
  • The drow of Drowtales in general have this point of view, but the Sullisin'rune clan are the exemplars of it. They're known for throwing lavish parties where everyone has a good time, usually with multiple partners, but they're also very careful that everyone is being treated right, and their Illhar'ess, Ash'waren, is infamous for her Really Gets Around lifestyle. Drow in general also generally have this view, with multiple partners of either gender being the norm. And the only character in-universe who's been explicitly criticized for this sort of behavior, Zala'ess Vel'Sharen, is mocked more because it's seen as her trying too hard to make a large family than the sexual part of it. (The original drow of Dungeons and Dragons are an obvious aversion. Sure, they've got the "Do whatever you like" part down pat, but the "Don't do what your vict- er, partner doesn't like" still needs a little work.)
  • Dumbing of Age:
    • Roz is a big believer in safe and consensual sex and the right to be allowed to do whatever she wants with her own body. It's partly out of sincere belief and partly a rebellion against her elder sister, a US Congresswoman who runs on a very conservative platform.
    • Joe from the same comic is a subversion; he finds it very important that everyone involved is consenting and having a good time but also holds a very dehumanizing view of any potential partner (i.e. every walking woman above legal age). This goes badly wrong for him eventually and leads to conflict with his father, who doesn’t appear to share Joe’s standards.
    • Roz's Shortpacked! counterpart sees herself as this, but the fact she once had sex with a guy who explained he was a recovering sex addict, refusing to believe such a thing existed, suggests she's not as ethical as she thinks she is.
  • Girls with Slingshots:
    • Hazel's boyfriend Zach, who slept with at least three hundred other women before dating her, describes it as "helping virgins have a good first time and helping elderly women feel loved again". Zach's relationship with Hazel is actually an inversion; he wants to settle down and raise a family with her, and she just wants to have sex, which is a sticking point between them and ultimately, a deal-breaker.
    • There is the rather dubious business of Jamie being “technically a virgin” while shamelessly exploiting her abundant charms to get free drinks.
    • Darren the drag queen encourages the whole group to get STD testing done when Thea learns Angel was sleeping around and explains to Hazel that he's getting tested even though he got his results last week... because he's slept with four strangers since then.
      Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and some guy at a bus stop. Hot!
  • Sydney, in Grrl Power, ends up needing a ride from a space station, and is picked up by a ship captained by Cora, who has a "reverse harem" of male 'bridge bunnies'. During the introduction to her crew, she prefaces it with "No shenanigans... Unless Sydney is shenanigan-ameniable..." And when Cora describes what each crew member does, it includes a more 'personal' resume. Sydney's response was "Stop telling me this, I don't want to— wait, he can do what?" She does end up in a relationship with the ship's medic, Frix, and when someone later tries hitting on him in front of Sydney, he basically replies that normally he would, but he's waiting until Sydney figures out how she feels about being in a open relationship.
  • In the Harbourmaster universe, Aquaans are naturally polyamorous and uninhibited about sex, but central to Aquaan culture — more so than their language, even — is The Etiquette, which among other things regulates sexual behavior.
  • Porrim from Homestuck is a kind, no-nonsense, and intelligent Team Mom who cheerfully makes jokes about the 'greased revolving doors' of her quadrants. Contrast Cronus, who tries to coerce people into sleeping with him through put-downs and pretending to be nice to them, but consistently fails because he's such a Jerkass no-one can stand to be around him.
  • Max from Leftover Soup is in a poly relationship with four other people and sleeps with others outside the relationship. At a doctor's appointment, she reveals that she has slept with 28 new partners in the last 90 days and comments that it isn't a personal best. She even brute-forced herself into turning bisexual purely to increase the number of people she could sleep with. However, she doesn't sleep with anyone without permission from the others in her group, and she refuses to sleep with Jamie when she thought he wanted to do it for self-destructive reasons.
  • Mr. Boop: Alec and Betty both have voracious sexual appetites, but would never do anything that might hurt each other or anyone else.
  • The Order of the Stick:
    • Elan believes it's his duty as the party bard to seduce beautiful female villains, though that attitude falls by the wayside once he and Haley settle into a relationship.
    • The Lawful Good afterlife encourages this attitude among the recently deceased, so they can get those fleshly urges out of their systems and move on. Roy's mother first appears there in an idealized 19-year-old body with a gentleman caller in the shower. Roy, on the other hand, declines to have any one-night stands during his stay, since a) he's got a girlfriend and b) he'd have to bring them back to his mother's house.
      Roy: Are you trying to make people feel guilty about having sex?
      Archon: Yes, actually. We've found that most of our patrons expect it.
  • Miriam from Out There is a quasi-Ethical Slut; a promiscuous past is strongly hinted at, and she seems to be constantly at odds with the question of continuing along that path or abandoning it. Her trepidation with the Ethical Slut lifestyle seems to be based not on moral or societal grounds, but with the fact that she finds it ultimately unsatisfying.
  • Brandi in Penny and Aggie, in addition to her kindness and general desire to avoid conflict, has, for a teenager, an atypically mature, confident, and unapologetic attitude towards her casual sex encounters.
  • Questionable Content:
    • Dora is an excellent example of this trope, albeit one who was in a committed, monogamous relationship for quite some time. Still, this characteristic reveals itself by her willingness to address and discuss sexual concerns. Interestingly enough, her being an Ethical Slut doesn't stop her from having relationship issues; for example, an almost pathological jealousy and suspicion of any woman who may appear to be trying to steal her man (the uber-example perhaps being her threatening Cosette with a broadsword for innocently revealing that she had a crush on Marten).
    • Dora's brother, Sven, proves to be a counterexample to this trope, considering he had to be coerced to be honest with Faye.
  • Suria from The Rock Cocks is a Shameless Fanservice Girl in a band with a libido that borders on Lovable Sex Maniac. At the same time, she's absolutely devoted to her boyfriend Steg and is very careful about getting consent from any other parties in the area when they get in the mood. Despite coming off as a crass party girl, she's also actually quite noble, offering moral support (and jobs) to people down on their luck (like Dakota, Clover, and Coral) and at one point chastises Elizabeth when she makes a comment about being scared of homeless people.
  • In Sabrina Online, the porn star Zig Zag is portrayed as a really good person. Her coworkers are likely to hold the same high ethical standards as well, but the readers don't get to know them well enough to tell. She's portrayed similarly in the old run of Badly Drawn Kitties; she goes beyond flirtiness to pushiness, but when Lydia points out that she (Lydia) already has a boyfriend, Zig immediately backs off, saying "You can take away someone's inhibitions, but you can't take away love."
  • Cammi, the Bunny-Ears Lawyer limo driver of Sandra on the Rocks, is a Shameless Fanservice Girl who's been carrying on a casual affair with her boss Domenico and who flirts with the title character almost immediately after meeting her, but she clearly has ethics. When Sandra finds out about her and Domenico she makes it clear that she's not a homewrecker and wasn't the reason Domenico and his ex-wife Zoé split up — she only began sleeping with him after they'd divorced. Then, despite initially being amused by it, after she sees that Lavali, who had her clothes stolen by Zoé, is distressed, she quickly offers up her own as a replacement. And despite her crush on Sandra she immediately backs off when Sandra says she has a boyfriend and makes it clear they can still stay friends.
  • Throughout Spacetrawler, a running joke is Dimitri's gleeful sexual interest in any female alien at least 50% compatible with his biology. However, when he's doing damage control on worlds the unclamped Eebs attacked, a nubile Fahldwian (94% compatible) offers her gratitude to him in any way possible... and Dimitri remarks to himself that he'd been trying his whole life to avoid taking situational advantage of a lady, and politely sends her on her way. (She later pursues him on more equal terms.)

    Web Originals 
  • The Pendorians of The Journal Entries are basically an entire civilization of these. They also have a cultural belief in the existence of evil and the duty of every member of society to excise evil by whatever means are necessary. People put up signs like this:
    This is a private residence. Any individual or group of individuals who do not immediately leave when asked to do so will be forcibly ejected without restraint on the part of the residents.
  • The Savage Love Sex advice column by Dan Savage promotes this kind of worldview. More specifically, he advocates for a policy of "GGG", which stands for "Good, Giving, and Game." Basically, people in relationships need to be both aware of what their partner likes and what squicks them out and work out a compromise somewhere in the middle. He also advises adventurism in sex.
  • Amaranth from Tales of MU is a nymph, and personifies this trope. Nymphs are naturally extremely promiscuous, but she also spends a lot of time strengthening her girlfriends' polyamorous relationships and encouraging safe sexual exploration among her friends. She's naturally opposed to the concept of "sexual shaming" and believes that the world would be a much better place if people allowed themselves to admit and (consensually) explore their sexual desires.

    Web Videos 
  • The youtube video How to Win Every Game in League of Legends play it as a metaphor. In this video, the word slut is used in a positive sense, in a context where it refers to helping your teammates as if working closely together with one of them is like a relationship and working closely with all/any of them makes one a slut.

    Western Animation 

 
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Alternative Title(s): Ethical Nympho

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Gerry on his open marriage

Gerry talks about his open marriage with his wife Carla, and briefly touches on his bisexuality.

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