In "Girl", why did the mother keep on using the word "slut" when she could have used another word?

The
mother calls the daughter a slut on three occasions in this short story.

The
first occasion is when the mother says, "try to walk like a lady and not the slut you
are." The word "slut" here is set up as a direct opposite of "lady."
Whereas a lady might be civilized, respectful, and chaste, a "slut," by contrast, is a
social outcast, unworthy of respect, and sexually promiscuous. The word "slut" is used
here as an antonym for "lady." Kincaid might have used a different word, like
"whore," but phonetically "slut" sounds harsher. The sharp "t" at
the end of the wordemphasized by the long vowel sound which precedes itevokes the harshness of
the mother's tone perhaps more so than the word "whore" might.

The
second instance of the word "slut" being used is when the mother is telling the
daughter how to dress so that she doesn't look "like the slut I know you are so bent on
becoming." I think that Kincaid chooses to use the same word for two reasons. The first is
the same as the reason that was outlined abovenamely, the word "slut" is phonetically
evocative of the mother's harsh tone, more so than most words that might have been used in its
place. The second reason is that the repetition of the same word helps to emphasize the
conspicuousness of the word. It is rather unexpected and shocking the first time we hear it; its
repetition makes it even more so.

This is true the third time that the word
is used as well, which is when the mother is telling the daughter how to behave "in the
presence of men" so that they "won't recognize immediately the slut I have warned you
against becoming." With this third use of the word, the cruelty of the mother is emphasized
even more sharplyas is the pity we are encouraged to feel for the girl.