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Drax: You, Quill, are my friend. This dumb tree is my friend. And this green whore is now my...

Gamora: You must stop!

Drax's statement seems incongruous with reality and his character.

  • There isn't so much as single kiss in the entire movie, including involving Gamora.

  • Drax's speech is precise and literal.

  • Drax isn't generally disrespectful toward women

  • Gamora resists Peter's advances, saying that she isn't one of the dumb girls he seduces.

  • While Gamora's attire is not entirely modest, it is not out of the norm either. (Drax himself is half-naked throughout the entire movie.)

  • At the time he says this, Drax has no motivation to disparage Gamora. His only intention could be honesty.

  • In jail, Rocket suggests Gamora work out an "exchange" with the guards for a control device, since they find her attractive. Gamora says, "You must be joking."

Why did Drax call Gamora a whore?

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  • 1
    Note that the most literal meaning of “whore” is “prostitute”, i.e. someone who has sex in exchange for money. So Gamora’s clothes, response to Peter’s sexual advances, and prison-break tactics aren’t relevant as evidence of whether “whore” is an accurate term.
    – Paul D. Waite
    Commented Aug 3, 2014 at 10:38
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    @PaulD.Waite, she was clearly uncomfortable with using sex for getting her way. While these points couldn't be conclusive proof one way or the other, my point is that Drax's comment seemed to have no basis, so I searched for all the related evidence I could, no matter how circumstantial.
    – Paul Draper
    Commented Aug 3, 2014 at 16:33
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    sure, I just like to think that Drax is literal enough for “whore” to just mean “has sex for money” to him, without any gender-specific (or indeed non-gender-specific) judgmental stuff getting mixed in with it. Your points do illustrate your question well.
    – Paul D. Waite
    Commented Aug 3, 2014 at 17:39
  • In the comics, Gamora has actually been with almost every member of the Guardians(Groot and Rocket not withstanding). So, it is quite possible that even though they didn't show it in the movie, it could still be a reference to her promiscuity.
    – PiousVenom
    Commented Aug 7, 2014 at 20:06
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    Can we also add to the list that Drax's people is very open when it comes to sex, his parents regularly told him the story of his conception as a child and he considers it beautiful.
    – J Doe
    Commented Feb 26, 2018 at 18:54

2 Answers 2

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Because the prisoners were calling Gamora a "green whore" when she first entered the prison yard, and Drax is incredibly literal. He has no clue they were using it as an insult; he thinks that's what she actually was.

  • The problem is if you weren't really listening it was easy to miss,there was a lot going on in that scene.

  • When Drax says it again later in the scene you mention, it is far away enough from the initial event, it may not even register as part of a running gag and can come off extremely insensitive to Gamora (and movie viewers who watched her).

Writer/director James Gunn has answered this question:

Gunn on Drax calling Gamora a whore: I know some of you don't like Drax calling Gamora a whore. But he heard people saying that to her in the Kyln. So don't blame him, blame me... Because that's what they called her in the Kyln and that's what he thinks she is.

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  • 15
    Wow. That was a stretch.
    – Paul Draper
    Commented Aug 3, 2014 at 16:34
  • I happened to watch the movie again, but I didn't catch it. I'll have to watch it with pause/rewind available.
    – Paul Draper
    Commented Aug 6, 2014 at 18:42
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    Note that in the same conversation (in which he's listing off the people he considers friends) he also says something pretty insulting about Groot, for much the same reason.
    – KutuluMike
    Commented Aug 10, 2014 at 1:50
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    Very nice spot :)
    – Lou
    Commented Sep 17, 2014 at 19:44
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    James Gunn went on the record last week to say that your answer is exactly correct.
    – phantom42
    Commented Jan 25, 2015 at 19:09
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Whore, noun:

Definition of WHORE

1 : A woman who engages in sexual acts for money : prostitute ; also : a promiscuous or immoral woman
2 : A male who engages in sexual acts for money
3 : A venal or unscrupulous person
Merriam-Webster Dictionary

If Drax does truly say things literally he would have said it in the third definition of this word. He believed that she was a venal or unscrupulous person

In reference to her background, how many she has killed, who raised her, it would all make sense that it fits the third definition.

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  • Many dictionaries do not include the third definition.
    – Paul Draper
    Commented Aug 6, 2014 at 18:44
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    A definition of whore should definitely include the version: "debase oneself by doing something for unworthy motives, typically to make money". Does Gamora do anything unscrupulous for money, or something else? I forget.
    – Django Reinhardt
    Commented Aug 10, 2014 at 23:52
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    Drax didn't know the meaning of "thesaurus", nor was he cognizent of what a "metaphor" is. He has formal diction, but not a high level of comprehension.
    – DougM
    Commented Aug 15, 2014 at 22:10
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    @DjangoReinhardt Not sure how much of Gamora's backstory is widely known, but one could make the case of her working for Thanos as being a "debasement" for the "unworthy motive" of survival after Thanos killed her parents. Drax would (and does) prefer to die avenging his family, and even Gamora clearly thinks working for Thanos is demeaning or objectionable. If Drax knows her full story (I forget if he does), he could easily call her a whore, based on your definition, for serving the man who killed her family.
    – Nerrolken
    Commented Nov 18, 2014 at 0:06
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    In common language, someone that whores themselves (or is whored out) doesn't have to be for sex. "Thanos whored Gamora out for the Infinity Stone."
    – user16696
    Commented Jan 20, 2015 at 3:51