Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language

"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.

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304 pages

Average rating: 8.36

56 RATINGS

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2 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

Anonymous
Nov 18, 2024
6/10 stars
The book explores an interesting topic but falls short by not including any references. I had to do a lot of extra research especially to find the origins of certain terms which was quite challenging to find. ik it's a pop linguistics book but being nonfiction, it really should cite its sources to be more credible. Also the author tends to overemphasize the findings of individual studies. For example, claiming in one chapter that people who swear the most are the smartest—seems like a bit of an exaggeration. Another drawback is the absence of a further reading list and acknowledgment of other important sociolinguists mentioned throughout. Despite these issues, the book raises important topics that deserve more attention in the media and popular culture. I also have to admit, I did learn a lot from reading it.
Anonymous
Apr 24, 2023
6/10 stars
I didn't expect a book on the English language to have such a fun voice. It's written in an engaging tone, discussing how language has evolved and how masculine and feminine words are used differently, often with a negative slant towards anything feminine. It covers things like slang and pronouns. There's some great information here, but it's still a book about language and so I didn't find it a riveting read.

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