Bitch (slang)
In the English language, bitch as a slang term is a pejorative for a person, usually a woman. When applied to a woman or girl, it means someone who is belligerent, unreasonable, malicious, controlling, aggressive, or dominant. When applied to a man or boy, bitch reverses its meaning and is a derogatory term for being subordinate, weak, or cowardly. In gay speech the word bitch can refer approvingly to a man who is unusually assertive or has the characteristics used pejoratively of a woman. In Hip-hop music it can be used as a synonym of woman.
The term bitch is one of the most common profanities in the English language. It has been used as a "term of contempt towards women" for "over six centuries", and considered by some to be a slur that fosters sexism against women. It has been characterized as "an archaic word demeaning women since as early as the 15th century" that seeks to control women. The word is considered taboo in mainstream media, and euphemisms such as "the B-word" are sometimes used to minimize its negative impact.
The term bitch literally means a female dog. Its original use as a vulgarism carried a meaning suggesting high sexual desire in a woman, comparable to a dog in heat. The range of meanings has expanded in modern usage. In a feminist context, it can indicate a strong or assertive woman and has therefore been reappropriated by some women.
History
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term bitch comes from the Old English word bicce or bicge, meaning "female dog", which dates to around 1000 CE. It may have derived from the earlier Old Norse word bikkja, also meaning "female dog"."Dog" has long been used as an insult toward both women and men. In ancient Greece, dog was often used in a derogatory sense to refer to someone whose behavior was improper or transgressive. This could include shamelessness or lack of restraint, lack of hospitality, lack of loyalty, and indiscriminate or excessive violence, among other qualities. Over time, classicist C. Franco argues, a "persistent symbolic connection" developed between dogs and women in Greek literature that expressed and reinforced women's subordinate position in society and their supposedly inferior nature.
There may also be a connection between less literal senses of "bitch" and the Greek goddess Artemis. As she is the goddess of the hunt, she was often portrayed with a pack of hunting dogs and sometimes transformed into an animal herself. She was seen as free, vigorous, cold, impetuous, unsympathetic, wild, and beautiful.
The earliest use of "bitch" specifically as a derogatory term for women dates to the 15th century. Its earliest slang meaning mainly referred to sexual behavior, according to the English language historian Geoffrey Hughes:
The early applications were to a promiscuous or sensual woman, a metaphorical extension of the behavior of a bitch in heat. Herein lies the original point of the powerful insult son of a bitch, found as biche sone ca. 1330 in Arthur and Merlin... while in a spirited exchange in the Chester Play a character demands: "Whom callest thou queine, skabde bitch?".
Bitch remained a strong insult through the nineteenth century. The entry in Francis Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue reads:
A she dog, or doggess; the most offensive appellation
that can be given to an English woman, even more
provoking than that of whore, as may be gathered from the
regular Billinsgate or St Giles answer—"I may be a
whore, but can't be a bitch."
File:Consolidated B-24D-160CO Liberator Strawberry Bitch NoseArt Airpower NMUSAF 25Sep09.jpg|thumb|A preserved Consolidated B-24 Liberator at the National Museum of the United States Air Force with nose art titled "Strawberry Bitch" from c. 1942. Airplanes were often painted by American flight crews and named after women, popular characters or slang based on the art in magazines at the time.
Throughout the word's evolution into the nineteenth century, it became gradually less offensive. The Oxford English Dictionary in the nineteenth century described the insult as "strictly a lewd or sensual woman". The word went through many similar phases throughout history. It was not until the 20th century that feminism began to reevaluate the term and its appropriation.
In the 1920s, bitch became once again a common insult used against women. The term bitch became more popular in common language during this era. Between 1915 and 1930, the use of "bitch" in newspapers and literature more than doubled. The writing of Ernest Hemingway popularized the more modern meaning of "bitch" in this era. He used it to represent favorable qualities such as ferocity, edginess, and grit. It was during this time that women began gaining more freedom. The word "bitch" during the twenties meant "malicious or consciously attempting to harm", "difficult, annoying, or interfering", and "sexually brazen or overly vulgar".
According to Dr. Timothy Jay, there are "over 70 different taboo words", but 80 percent of the time only ten words are used, and bitch is included in that set. Being called the term bitch has been associated with worsening the mental health of women.
Modern use
In modern usage, the slang term bitch has different meanings depending largely on social context and may vary from very offensive to endearing, and as with many slang terms, its meaning and nuances can vary depending on the region in which it is used.The term bitch can refer to a person or thing that is very difficult, as in "Life's a bitch" or "He sure got the bitch end of that deal". It is common for insults to lose intensity as their meaning broadens. In the film The Women, Joan Crawford could only allude to the word: "And by the way, there's a name for you ladies, but it isn't used in high society—outside of a kennel." At the time, use of the actual word would have been censored by the Hays Office. By 1974, Elton John had a hit single with "The Bitch Is Back", in which he says "bitch" repeatedly. It was, however, censored by some radio stations. On late night U.S. television, the character Emily Litella on Saturday Night Live would frequently refer to Jane Curtin under her breath at the end of their Weekend Update routine in this way: "Oh! Never mind...! Bitch!"
Bitchin' arose in the 1950s to describe something found to be desirable or exciting.
Modern use can include self-description, often as an unfairly difficult person. For example, in The Bitch in the House by Cathi Hanauer, a woman describes her marriage: "I'm fine all day at work, but as soon as I get home, I'm a horror....I'm the bitch in the house." Boy George admitted "I was being a bitch" in a falling out with Elton John.
Generally, the term bitch is still considered offensive, and not accepted in formal situations. According to linguist Deborah Tannen, "Bitch is the most contemptible thing you can say about a woman. Save perhaps the four-letter C word." It's common for the word to be censored on prime time TV, often rendered as "the b-word". During the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, a John McCain supporter referred to Hillary Clinton by asking, "How do we beat the bitch?" The event was reported in censored format:
On CNN's "The Situation Room," Washington Post media critic and CNN "Reliable Sources" host Howard Kurtz observed that "Senator McCain did not embrace the 'b' word that this woman in the audience used." ABC reporter Kate Snow adopted the same locution. On CNN's "Out in the Open," Rick Sanchez characterized the word without using it by saying, "Last night, we showed you a clip of one of his supporters calling Hillary Clinton the b-word that rhymes with witch." A local Fox 25 news reporter made the same move when he rhymed the unspoken word with rich.
A study reported that, when used on social media, bitch "aims to promote traditional, cultural beliefs about femininity". Used hundreds of thousands of times per day on such platforms, it is associated with sexist harassment, "victimizing targets", and "shaming" victims who do not abide by degrading notions about femininity.
Reappropriation
In the context of modern feminism, bitch has varied reappropriated meanings that may connote a strong female, cunning, or else it may be used as a tongue-in cheek backhanded compliment for someone who has excelled in an achievement. For example, Bitch magazine describes itself as a "feminist response to pop culture".Feminist attorney Jo Freeman authored "The BITCH Manifesto" in 1968:
A Bitch takes shit from no one. You may not like her, but you cannot ignore her.... have loud voices and often use them. Bitches are not pretty.... Bitches seek their identity strictly thru themselves and what they do. They are subjects, not objects.... Often they do dominate other people when roles are not available to them which more creatively sublimate their energies and utilize their capabilities. More often they are accused of domineering when doing what would be considered natural by a man.
Bitch has also been reappropriated by hip-hop culture, rappers use the adjective "bad bitch" to refer to an independent, confident, attractive woman. The term is used in a complimentary way, meaning the woman is desirable. One of the first instances of "bitch" being used in this way is in the song "Da Baddest Bitch" by Trina, released in 1999. This can also be seen throughout multiple different songs from Rihanna's song entitled "Bad Bitch" featuring Beyoncé which reiterates the line "I'm a bad bitch" multiple times. "BitchSlut" by Anna Wise prominently uses the words bitch and slut to reclaim identity. This use of the word bitch shows women reappropriating the meaning to be a more positive and empowering word for women.
The increased usage of the word bitch casually or in a friendly way by women has been characterized by Sherryl Kleynman as a result of the absorption of sexist culture by women. Such usage has been cited by Kleinman et al. as increasing the perception the word is acceptable and excusing men who use it against women.