Pretty bitches : on being called crazy, angry, bossy, frumpy, feisty, and all the other words that are used to undermine women Cover Image

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Pretty bitches : on being called crazy, angry, bossy, frumpy, feisty, and all the other words that are used to undermine women / edited by Lizzie Skurnick ; with an introduction by Rebecca Traister.

Skurnick, Lizzie, (editor.). Traister, Rebecca, (writer of introduction.).

Summary:

"Words matter. They wound, they inflate, they define, they demean. They have nuance and power. "Effortless," "Sassy," "Ambitious," "Aggressive": What subtle digs and sneaky implications are conveyed when women are described with words like these? Words are made into weapons, warnings, praise, and blame, bearing an outsized influence on women's lives--to say nothing of our moods.No one knows this better than Lizzie Skurnick, writer of the New York Times' column "That Should be A Word" and a veritable queen of cultural coinage. And in Pretty Bitches, Skurnick has rounded up a group of powerhouse women writers to take on the hidden meanings of these words, and how they can limit our worlds -- or liberate them. From Laura Lipmann and Meg Wolizer to Jennifer Weiner and Rebecca Traister, each writer uses her word as a vehicle for memoir, cultural commentary, critique, or all three. Spanning the street, the bedroom, the voting booth, and the workplace, these simple words have huge stories behind them -- stories it's time to examine, re-imagine, and change"-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

ISBN: 9781580059190
ISBN: 1580059198
Physical Description: xxiv, 284 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: New York : Seal Press, 2020.
Copyright: ©2020

Content descriptions

Formatted Contents Note:

Too / Adaora Udoji -- Professional / Afua Hirsch -- Effortless / Amy S. Choi -- Princess / Carina Chocano -- Ugly / Dagmara Domińczyk -- Shrill / Dahalia Lithwick -- Lucky / Glynnic Macnicol -- Mom / Irina Reyn -- Mature / Jillian Medoff -- Ambitious / Julianna Baggott -- Victim / Kate Harding -- Disciplined / Laura Lippman -- Yellow-bone / Lihle Z. Mtshali -- Zaftig / Lizzie Skurnick -- Crazy / Mary Pols -- Small / Beth Bich Minh Nguyen -- Funny / Meg Wolitzer -- Sweet / Monique Truong -- Nurturing / Raquel D'Apice -- Pretty / Stephanie Burt -- Intimidating / Tanzila Ahmed -- Good / Tova Miris -- Tomboy / Winter Miller -- Aloof / Elizabeth Spiers -- Exotic / Emily Sanders Hopkins -- Fat / Jennifer Weiner -- Feisty / Katha Pollitt -- Appendix: words you shouldn't call women "A definitive glossary".