Published in 2019
304 pages
6 hours and 56 minutes
Amanda Montell is a writer and linguist from Baltimore born in the winter of 1992. She is the author of two nonfiction books: Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism (2021) and the critically acclaimed Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language (2019). Wordslut has earned praise from the New York Times, Kirkus Reviews, and Publisher’s Weekly, among others, and Amanda is currently developing the book for television with FX, serving as creator, writer, and executive producer.
As a reporter and essayist, Amanda’s writing has been featured in Marie Claire, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Nylon, Bustle, The Rumpus, Byrdie, and Who What Wear, where she formerly served as the Features & Beauty Editor. Amanda holds a degree in linguistics from NYU and lives in Los Angeles, where she enjoys learning impractical languages and doting upon her spoiled pets.
What is this book about?
The word “bitch” conjures many images for many people but 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 “untidy” and was also used to describe men. These words are just a few among history’s many English slurs hurled at women.
Amanda Montell, feminist linguist and staff features editor at online beauty and health magazine Byrdie.com, deconstructs language—from insults and cursing to grammar and pronunciation patterns—to reveal the ways it has been used for centuries to keep women form gaining equality. Ever wonder why so many people are annoyed when women use the word “like” as a filler? Or why certain gender neutral terms stick and others don’t? Or even how linguists have historically discussed women’s speech patterns? Wordslut is no stuffy academic study; Montell’s irresistible humor shines through, making linguistics not only approachable but both downright hilarious and profound.
