‘Pretty Bitches’: Book explores words used to describe women

Gendered criticism isn’t new. Serena Williams was called hysterical for yelling at an umpire during a match. Hillary Clinton was called shrill. Monica Lewinsky: fat. Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd: crazy.

New York Times magazine columnist Lizzie Skurnick wanted to explore some of these words and the real meaning behind them.

She rounded up women writers and asked them to write about the words that have been used to describe them. The essays are now published in the book “Pretty Bitches: On Being Called Crazy, Angry, Bossy, Frumpy, Feisty, and All the Other Words That Are Used to Undermine Women.”