Wordslut

A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language

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Amanda Montell: Wordslut (2020, HarperCollins Publishers)

304 pages

English language

Published Jan. 5, 2020 by HarperCollins Publishers.

ISBN:
978-0-06-286888-6
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4 stars (8 reviews)

6 editions

Ace slut-shaming shaming

5 stars

Read this for a history of The Man holding women down with a dictionary; an explanation of vocal fry and upspeak, the roles they fill in female communication, and how vilifying them is part of a hate as old as time; the many grammatical roles that an f-bomb can play; why gay guys often sound gay but lesbians don't sound 'lesbian'; and the word 'slut'. A lot. Just read it.

Edit: I originally rated Wordslut at four stars, but on reflection, its combination of outrage and history, delivered with disarming humor, sets a bar that should be considered the gold standard, not the silver standard.

Review of 'Wordslut' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

In many ways, I ought to have been a linguistics (or biochem) rather than mathematics major in college! Language is so important (and fascinating) to a society, including how it reflects the society and the workings of the society overall and how it changes year to year (decade to decade) to reflect said society as it does so.
This book discusses the language and linguistics of the US and their effect on, and more precisely how they are affected by sexism and prejudice exhibited by our nation. It discusses more than just the language and linguistics themselves, but the underlying prejudices displayed by them, and some of what we currently ARE doing and should encourage to help offset some of the negative impacts.

Review of 'Wordslut' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

She had me, not quite at hello, but certainly by the second page, and she kept me hooked the entire way through. So many of my favorite subjects! Linguistics. Etymology. Culture, anthropology, listening, communicating. Snark. Ideas. Smart, strong, sexy women working together to smash the patriarchy. I want to read it again. I want to buy a dozen copies to give away.

Not all of it was entirely comprehensible, but that’s my fault: I’m too old and unhip. I still don’t really know what “vocal fry” is, despite friend A. spending 20 minutes with me on it. (Or, I guess I now know more about it, but I’ve never noticed it and don’t understand why it’s such a huge deal to some people). And there are terms like “yas” and ”werk” that completely whooshed over my head. But that’s cool — I mean hip — or groovy — or phat? …

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