Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language

by Amanda Montell

Overview

“As funny as it is informative, this book will have you laughing out loud while you contemplate the revolutionary power of words.” —Camille Perri, author of The Assistants and When Katie Met Cassidy

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. Her 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062868886
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/02/2020
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	35,369
Product dimensions:	5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.68(d)

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.

Table of Contents

Chapter 0 Meet sociolinguistics: what all the cool feminists are talking about 1

Chapter 1 Slutty skank hoes and nasty dykes: a comprehensive list of gendered insults i hate (but also kind of love?) 21

Chapter 2 Wait … what does the word woman mean anyway?: plus other questions of sex, gender, and the language behind them 51

Chapter 3 "Mm-hmm, girl, you're right": how women talk to each other when dudes aren't around 79

Chapter 4 Women didn't ruin the english language-they, like, invented it 111

Chapter 5 How to embarrass the shit out of people who try to correct your grammar 135

Chapter 6 How to confuse a catcaller (and other ways to verbally smash the patriarchy) 169

Chapter 7 Fuck it: an ode to cursing while female 193

Chapter 8 "Cackling" clinton and "sexy" scarjo: the struggle of being a woman in public 211

Chapter 9 Time to make this book just a little bit gayer 229

Chapter 10 Cyclops, panty puppet, bald-headed bastard (and 100+ other things to call your genitalia) 253

Chapter 11 So … in one thousand years, will women rule the english language? 275

Acknowledgments 289

Editorial Reviews

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

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

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

…Montell goes beyond generalities to cite hard evidence…Her delivery is light and humorous…But the lesson is serious and cannot be overstated: In countless ways, gender affects how we talk and how others hear us.

The New York Times Book Review - Patricia T. O'Conner

06/10/2019

Montell dishes up equal parts sparkle and bite in her debut, an exploration of feminist sociolinguistics. Montell sees the English-speaking world as being on the edge of a language revolution in terms of how gender is both talked about and understood. She takes a playful yet insightful approach—for example, explicating how supposedly neutral insults like nasty and bossy are actually gendered, but also noting that their acoustic properties make them fun to say and powerful to reclaim. Identifying young urban women and socially oppressed people as leading linguistic innovators and language pedantry as connected to a fear of social change, she explains the “social utility” of oft-scorned, feminine-coded speech characteristics such as vocal fry, uptalk, the use of the word like, and overlapping talk in conversation. She digs into language patterns arising from patriarchal dominance, including catcalling and mansplaining; affirms that modern linguists are on board with the singular they; and delights in the sound of profane language in her “ode to cursing while female.” Montell projects an infectious glee about linguistics and feminism, foregrounding both their fun and their cultural relevance. Readers seeking a fresh, intellectually stimulating take on feminism will enjoy this one. Agent: Rachel Vogel, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Amanda Montell has given validation and tools to those of us who have always felt wrong in our guts about the way gender permeates our means of communication and the criticisms often lobbed at women for how we talk. Wordslut is brilliant fun and empowers all women to give ourselves a voice.” — Gaby Dunn, author of Bad with Money

“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 

"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

“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

“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

“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

“At its heart, this work reflects a tenet of sociolinguistic study: language is not divorced from culture; it both reflects and creates beliefs about identity and power. Modern stylings situated within foundational research will hopefully bring a new audience to the field of language and gender studies.”
— Library Journal

“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

From the Publisher

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

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

Amanda Montell has given validation and tools to those of us who have always felt wrong in our guts about the way gender permeates our means of communication and the criticisms often lobbed at women for how we talk. Wordslut is brilliant fun and empowers all women to give ourselves a voice.

Gaby Dunn

Amanda Montell narrates her own audiobook, and in listening to just the first few minutes, it’s clear why that was the best choice. Her enthusiasm and passion for language shine, and her touches of humor keep listeners actively engaged and occasionally laughing out loud. Montell points a critical lens at our everyday language usage, showing how insults and curses at women and even the way women themselves speak have been used for centuries to hold them back from achieving equality. Her performance of vocal fry and uptalk is essential to understanding why women’s speech has evolved the way it has and why it is frequently criticized. An essential listen for anyone interested in dismantling the patriarchy or wishing to be more inclusive in their speech. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2019 - AudioFile

Amanda Montell narrates her own audiobook, and in listening to just the first few minutes, it’s clear why that was the best choice. Her enthusiasm and passion for language shine, and her touches of humor keep listeners actively engaged and occasionally laughing out loud. Montell points a critical lens at our everyday language usage, showing how insults and curses at women and even the way women themselves speak have been used for centuries to hold them back from achieving equality. Her performance of vocal fry and uptalk is essential to understanding why women’s speech has evolved the way it has and why it is frequently criticized. An essential listen for anyone interested in dismantling the patriarchy or wishing to be more inclusive in their speech. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2019 - AudioFile