Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language

by Amanda Montell

Hinging on that idea is the pervasive assumption that many esteemed professions—surgeons,* scientists, lawyers, writers, actors (even nonhuman actors†)—are perceived male unless proven otherwise. These subtle preconceptions are reflected when we say things like female doctor or woman scientist, implying that such positions are inherently male, while models, nurses, and prostitutes are all default female.

Something analogous happens with the trend of inserting the word man before what we consider “girl” words: manbun, manbag, guyliner.‡

They suggest that when a woman endeavors in business, we can’t help but to cutesy-fy her title. Mompreneur may read as a sparkling emblem of girl power, and it certainly makes for a good hashtag, but in practice, terms like that don’t quite work to undo implicit sexism in language—they reinforce it.

you want to insult a woman, call her a prostitute. If you want to insult a man, call him a woman.

Gendered insults are damaging because they work to propagate harmful myths about men and women, which is not great for equality.