The Language of Pick-Up Artists

"A timely and transparent discourse analysis of the speed seduction industry. Zooming in on the digital discourse of pick-up artists, the authors unpack the words, actions and ideas of this peculiar digital tribe. Required reading for anyone with an interest in gender, digital media, and online harassment."

- Tom Van Hout, Tilburg University, The Netherlands

"The Language of Pick-Up Artists uncovers the world of self-styled pick-up artists, seduction gurus and "lifestyle coaches". Approaching the phenomenon from different linguistic angles, Dayter’s and Rüdiger’s book throws light on the vocabulary and norms of interaction in this community. The authors provide disturbing evidence of how pick-up artists use language when they seek to victimise women for personal and commercial gain. This is an important book that exposes the techniques and worldview of a group that is increasingly finding its way into the mainstream of gender relations."

- Veronika Koller, Lancaster University, United Kingdom

"Dayter and Rüdiger’s approach to understanding the linguistic practices by Pick-Up-Artists is nuanced and empirical. Through their careful positioning of the topic and their corpus linguistic and discourse analytic work with diverse sets of data, they can demonstrate how linguistic strategies are presented as mere play in an attempt to sell confidence-building and dating advice while in fact being dangerous and manipulative."

- Miriam Locher, University of Basel, Switzerland