Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language

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

“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

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.