Wordslut by Amanda Montell

From the publisher:

“I get so jazzed about the future of feminism knowing that Amanda Montell’s brilliance is rising up and about to explode worldwide.”—Jill Soloway

A brash, enlightening, and wildly entertaining feminist look at gendered language and the way it shapes us.

The word bitch conjures many images, but it is most often meant to describe an unpleasant woman. Even before its usage to mean “a female canine,” bitch didn’t refer to women at all—it originated as a gender-neutral word for “genitalia.” A perfectly innocuous word devolving into an insult directed at females is the case for tons more terms, including hussy, which simply meant “housewife”; and slut, which meant “an untidy person” and was also used to describe men. These are just a few of history’s many English slurs hurled at women.

Amanda Montell, reporter and feminist linguist, deconstructs language—from insults, cursing, gossip, and catcalling to grammar and pronunciation patterns—to reveal the ways it has been used for centuries to keep women and other marginalized genders from power. Ever wonder why so many people are annoyed when women speak with vocal fry or use like as filler? Or why certain gender-neutral terms stick and others don’t? Or where stereotypes of how women and men speak come from in the first place?

Montell effortlessly moves between history, science, and popular culture to explore these questions—and how we can use the answers to affect real social change. Montell’s irresistible humor shines through, making linguistics not only approachable but downright hilarious and profound. ‘Wordslut’ gets to the heart of our language, marvels at its elasticity, and sheds much-needed light on the biases that shadow women in our culture and our consciousness.

 
Praise for Wordslut:

“This feisty, fascinating critique of the English language will make you feel smarter after every paragraph. Amanda Montell’s analyses are sharp and provocative but also funny and accessible. She’s the cool feminist nerd we need.” — Whitney Cummings, creator of 2 Broke Girls

“As funny as it is informative, this book will have you laughing out loud while you contemplate the revolutionary power of words. Who knew sociolinguistics could be so damn entertaining? Leave it to a master of language like Amanda Montell to pull off this semantic magic trick.” — Camille Perri, author of The Assistants and When Katie Met Cassidy

“As a bitch who says bitch and loves to talk about bitches, this smart and freakishly entertaining book awakens parts of my brain I didn’t know existed while tickling all my foul-mouthed, feminist, word-obsessed fancies. If you’re a human who speaks English and aren’t reading this, then what on earth are you doing.” — Samantha Irby

“Wordslut is filled with fascinating info about the sexist history of our language: I literally said ‘whoa’ multiple times while reading this book. It is so witty and brilliant. Men and women both need to read it.” — Blyth Roberson

“Grounded in decades of innovative feminist scholarship, full of witty personal stories, and written with the pragmatic aim of disrupting and changing the status quo, this is a humorous and important book for anyone interested in gender equality, wordplay, or fostering precise communication. Just the kind of sharp, relevant scholarship needed to continue to inspire the next generation of feminist thought.” —Kirkus Reviews

 
About the author:

Amanda Montell

is a writer and reporter from Baltimore with bylines in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Woman’s Day, The Rumpus, Byrdie.com, and WhoWhatWear, where she is the staff features editor. As a pop linguist, Amanda’s insights have been featured in Glamour, Bustle, Refinery29, Hello Giggles, and Bust Magazine. Amanda graduated from NYU with a degree in linguistics. She lives in Los Angeles. Find her on Instagram @amanda_montell.

 
(Credits: Book cover image and publisher’s description have been retrieved from BiblioShare.)

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