Wordslut: An Empowering Guide to Reclaiming the English Language for Feminism

Marco Tavernini 🇮🇹 ✅️Marco Tavernini 🇮🇹 ✅️: Bellissimo!

Italy on Dec 29, 2023

Pearl: The book was in pretty good shape, low visual wear

United States on Sep 28, 2023

Danaé DR: A non fiction that I found so interesting and fun to read!

Netherlands on Mar 26, 2023

CP: Amanda Montell’s Wordslut serves as both an impressively comprehensive overview of the intersections between sociolinguistics and feminist theory in the English language, as well as a helpful introductory point for anyone who is looking to learn more about the topics discussed. By taking a closer look at “the discoveries of contemporary feminist linguistics,” as Montell explains, “we can learn how the language we use every day operates on a structural and cultural level” (13). She also reveals that Wordslut was written in order to help women feel empowered by the words they use, and to “arm us all with the knowledge we need to reclaim a language that for so long has been used against us” (18). This book takes on a host of topics regarding language-related injustice imposed by patriarchal norms, such as gendered insults, vocal fry disdain, perceptions of political speeches, societal double standards, politeness, mental illness, and queer phonetics. Most likely influenced by the subject matter itself, Montell’s writing throughout her work is colloquial, humorous, and altogether accessible to anyone not yet privy to the theoretical framework she makes use of....

United States on Dec 15, 2022

kazz: I love this book: how it delves into the origins and corruption of language. It is easy to read and offers insight into the importance and power of language. It follows on from Nor Hall's The Moon and the Virgin.

Australia on Oct 03, 2022

C. Trepanier: I bought this book because it was recommended by an email newsletter I receive. I don't know what I was expecting, but I'm blown away by all that I have learned. Most of us don't realize the impact words, and spoken and written communication have on the way we live our life and how we live as a society.

This book is brilliantly written in a conversational tone that engages the reader, making one feel respected and understood, like a conversation between friends.

I don't have the words to adequately describe how significant this book is to our world, but the author has chosen all the perfect words to show us how our language is male-focused and patriarchal. This is a must-read!

United States on Jan 28, 2022

LACE: I recommend this book if you enjoy language and would value living in a more equal society. It's easy to read, doesn't bash or blame men, and has a light-hearted tone even while talking about some of the more intransigent problems with embedded sexism in English.

I loved the discussion of code-switching, without the pejorative judgment that code switchers were guilty of "cultural appropriation." But this book was about sexism in language and how the backlash against vocal fry or "like" or the singular "they" was simply a backlash against the underlying cultural movement that was shifting power away from white men (or even the subset of "NORMS" as they are sometimes known).

I appreciated the way the author argued that directing women to change their vocal style was akin to policing their appearance and telling them to "get in their lane," and the dissection of how middle-aged male as the norm and how that infuses our entire conception of the sex act -- from cursing to "locker room talk" was really fascinating. I had read bits and pieces of these arguments in magazine articles before, but seeing them laid out together in a book was a much better way to understand the...

United States on Aug 20, 2021

S: Amazing!

United Kingdom on Mar 12, 2021

Hannah A: Love this book! Great for feminists and language nerds alike! Really well written and engaging whilst full of interesting facts about language and gender, language change etc.

United Kingdom on Feb 17, 2021

P. Rice: Amanda Montell in writing Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language has set a new standard for conveying factual information. She has done a ton of research and has incorporated it into the narrative seamlessly. She not only explains how language has evolved as a primary support to the patriarchy, but she also explains the subtleties of how men and women support this. Then she cleverly, and with humor, tells us how to combat language that diminishes and demeans women from the streets to the boardroom. I think everyone needs to read this book and it needs to be taught in from our elementary schools on up to as an adjunct to masters and doctoral programs. This is an excellent book club read - and I'd love to be a fly on the wall to listen to the discussions. It deserves 10 stars out of 5. (Disclaimer: I don't know the author or anyone at the publishing house.)

United States on Jan 30, 2020