Raise your hand if at least once in your life (or every day of your life, if you’re me) you have either been called a bitch, or have called someone else one. Just about everyone’s hands should be up right now. Do any of us actually stop to think about why we even use this term, where it comes from, or what we actually mean by it?
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “bitch” originally meant a female dog, dating back to c. 1000. But how did we go from a female dog to the “Bitch, please” memes we see everywhere?
In the 15th century, it became common to use the word “bitch” to describe a lewd or sensual woman. From there, we have usurped one of the most common words in our English language: a “curse word” designed specifically with women in mind. As actress Bette Davis once said, “When a man gives his opinion, he’s a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she’s a bitch.”
Today, “bitch” has a variety of meanings. In recent years, it has most commonly been intended to degrade and dehumanize women. However, it can also refer to the act of whining and complaining (“Stop bitching, dude”), or it can refer to someone who is doing a service for another person (“That guy’s my bitch”). A personal favorite of mine is when men use the word to mock or degrade other men because they (God forbid!) show human emotions such as fear, anxiety, or compassion.
But thankfully, the tables have turned. Women are now subverting the very tools that men have historically used to assert male superiority and oppress women. A “bitch” now also refers to an unapologetically powerful, intelligent, successful, and opinionated woman. Women like Madonna and Nicki Minaj openly embrace their “bitchiness” and celebrate their independence and ambition.
Whether you hate the term for its chauvinistic origins or love it because of its ironic reappropriation by women, make sure that your opinion on the word is governed by knowledge and understanding, not by fear, shame, or lack of awareness.