Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language

How does Wordslut explore the way languages evolve and change over time? In what ways, if any, has English become less sexist, and in what ways does it maintain vestiges of gender bias? What solutions could be used for “de-biasing” the language, apart from the ones Montell recommends?

Montell argues that a “double bind” affects how women are perceived in public life. Compare and contrast a public speech from a major male public figure with a speech from a major female public figure using Montell’s analytical lens. How are the two speeches different or similar in terms of vocabulary, rhetorical techniques, and/or self-presentation? In what ways do they conform to, or diverge from, Montell’s analysis of the “double bind”?

Montell claims that women tend to be the main innovators in a language, yet notes how biased the English language and its usage remains. How do these two claims illustrate Montell’s wider exploration of language as a reflection of sociopolitical hierarchies?

Montell asserts that men and women have different communication styles, especially when in same-sex groups. However, some feminist linguistics have challenged or questioned this idea, such as Deborah Cameron. Research some of these competing theories and compare them to Montell’s. How do other feminist linguists dispute such claims? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each theoretical argument?

The author argues that social commentators are overly critical of young women’s speech habits. She claims that these criticisms are based in sexist bias rather than objective linguistic analysis. What are the strengths and limitations of her argument?

Montell analyzes the nature of gender bias and assumptions about sexual dynamics in English terminology surrounding sex. How does Wordslut examine the relationship between language and sexual identity and experience more broadly?

The author suggests that people adopt terms that are more empowering to women—even if they have to make them up—but also argues that cultural change happens before linguistic change. How do you interpret her argument about the relationship between cultural and linguistic change? Do you agree or disagree with her? Explain.

Montell often emphasizes how English language and culture have been dominated for centuries by white, and often wealthy and well-educated, men. Select another group of people who have traditionally been marginalized in an Anglo society—such as working-class “Cockney” speakers in England, or the treatment of Black persons who use African American Vernacular English—and compare and contrast how their linguistic habits have been criticized and/or how language has been used to otherize them. In what ways are these linguistic dynamics different or similar to the gendered language detailed by Montell in Wordslut? How do they illuminate sociolinguistics more generally?