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    Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language
    Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language
    Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language
    Audiobook6 hours

    Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language

    Written by Amanda Montell

    Narrated by Amanda Montell

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    “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 for many people, 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 gender at all—it originated as a gender-neutral word meaning genitalia. A perfectly innocuous word devolving into a female insult is the case for tons more terms, including hussy—which simply meant housewife—or slut, which meant an untidy person and was also used to describe men. These words are just a few among history’s many English slurs hurled at women.

    Amanda Montell, reporter and feminist linguist, deconstructs language—from insults and 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 talk with vocal fry or use the word like as a 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 more—and how we can use the answers to effect real social change. Her irresistible humor shines through, making linguistics not only approachable but both downright hilarious and profound, demonstrated in chapters such as:

    • Slutty Skanks and Nasty Dykes: A Comprehensive List of Gendered Insults
    • How to Embarrass the Shit Out of People Who Try to Correct Your Grammar
    • Fuck it: An Ode to Cursing While Female
    • Cyclops, Panty Puppet, Bald Headed Bastard and 100+ Other Things to Call Your Genitalia

    Wordslut gets to the heart of our language, marvels at its elasticity, and sheds much-needed light into the biases that shadow women in our culture and our consciousness.

    Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateMay 28, 2019
    ISBN9780062932693
    Author

    Amanda Montell

    Amanda Montell is a writer and linguist from Baltimore. She is the author of the acclaimed books Wordslut, Cultish, and The Age of Magical Overthinking. Along with hosting the podcast Sounds Like a Cult, her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, and more. She holds a degree in linguistics from NYU and lives in Los Angeles with her partner, plants, and pets. Find her on Instagram @Amanda_Montell.

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    Reviews for Wordslut

    4.5/5

    428 ratings9 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Thank you Amanda for your frank exploration of language and how weighted it is in terms of gendered ideology. This is a funny, honest and revealing podcast recommended for all!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      A very important topic explained in a rather chill way.
    • 5/5
      A brilliant and so necessary look at how the English language, implicitly or otherwise, under-values, insults, judges or ignores women. A times, it will make you angry; it will also make you laugh. Especially interesting, to me, was how marginalized groups use slang for safety and to build community. The author explores gendered insults, the language of sex and gender, how women talk when men aren't around, and swearing.A great read.
    • 5/5
      Excellent breakdown of how we use language and some of the ways it informs our worldview
    • 5/5
      I loved the content of the book, entertaining and educational but I would like to compliment the narrator for keeping up the amazing tone of the humorous author's voice! It was a pleasure to listen to ?

      3 people found this helpful

    • 1/5
      Ewwwww FEMINIST are toxic nowdays ewwwww ahhhhhh god ????????. Help us
    • 5/5
      I loved how this book deconstructs language from insults, speech patterns, grammar, and how language reinforces power structures. A must-read for language nerds.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Really fascinating and fun book, and I enjoyed listening to the author reading it too (as it seemed like she was also having fun). It presented a great history on gendered language and how we use it along with a lot more. Being the massive potty mouth that I am, I loved the chapter on swearing.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Amanda Montell explores studies in sociolinguistics that explore how the very language we use supports the default system of patriarchy and how as everyday users we can try to be more proactive in how we use English as feminists.I adored this book from the opening introduction. While the linguistics studies Montell is unpacking are rigorous and academic, she makes them clear and understandable for a general audience while being smart and funny and entertaining. Whether she's exploring the swears we use, the euphemisms we use for genitalia, or how women talk amongst themselves, everything is well explored and clear for the non-expert. Highly recommended for all feminists but also for those who are just curious about how English really works.

      1 person found this helpful