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Revision as of 10:52, 26 July 2005 by 70.150.36.30 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The word bitch — originally used for the female members of the canid species, especially dogs — is more often employed in a figurative sense as an insult for a promiscuous woman, or a malicious, spiteful, domineering, intrusive, and/or mean person. The former specialised meaning is retained and in widespread use among dog aficionados and breeders, but derogatory usage has become so prevalent in the last century that the term has acquired a profane connotation and is often considered unacceptable by broadcasting regulations and Standards & Practices manuals.
By extension, the adjective "bitchy" — mean, fretful or querulous — and the verb "to bitch" — to complain, especially habitually and without any helpful intentions — are also used, although they are widely considered less offensive than the noun. Both are however inappropriate in formal language.
"Bitch" as an insult against women
The offensive usage of "bitch" first appears in the early 15th century; not particularly gender-specific — since its male counterpart dog was also in widespread use — it implied sexual promiscuity or lewdness, by analogy with female canids' behaviour during estrus.
It is unclear how the extension to the meaning of a treacherous, malicious or grumbling person was carried out, but they seem to be wholly unrelated; the earliest usage of the term in the latter sense is recorded in the first decade of the 20th century. This soon became widespread, and in contemporary usage, "bitch" most commonly refers to a woman believed to be excessively touchy, controlling, or aggressive.
The Spin Doctors song "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" (1991), uses the word "bitch" in this way:
- Been a whole lot easier since the bitch is gone
- Little Miss, Little Miss, Little Miss Can't-Be-Wrong
This usage — especially employed by a man to describe a woman, but also between women — the word "bitch" is highly offensive and sexist. However, "bitch" has lost many of its sexist undertones in some groups when used of a friend. In modern slang, it is often used as the female equivalent of male labels such as dickhead or asshole.
In certain groups "bitch" is also sometimes used by a man to describe any female with whom he routinely partners sexually, whether she is his girlfriend, wife, etc; this usage is common in certain hard variants of urban culture, such as rap music and hip hop. This retains strong sexist undertones and is frowned upon by many, but generally has lost much of its derogatory quality. Many female hip hop artists have even adopted the term simply as a synonym for woman or girl, as in Missy Elliott's "Girlfriend wanna be like me, never / You won't find a bitch that's better", Rah Digga's "Do the ladies run this motherfucker? / Put it down for the bitches all across the map", or Eve's "When real bitches get to rockin’, heads knockin".
Other Meanings and Misinterpretations
- The British techno artists Prodigy titled one of their most famous tracks "Smack My Bitch Up". Most fans do not think it is a reference to a woman. Amongst heroin users, the major artery used to inject the drug into the arm is referred to as 'your bitch'. When preparing for the injection, the arm is slapped to bring the vein closer to the surface. The euphoric undertones of the song and their similarity to the experience of heroin use further this interpretation.
- The middle of the backseat of a car, or the back seat of a motorcycle, is sometimes known as the "bitch" seat. Those riding in those seats are described as "riding bitch".
- The royale (or impériale) is a tuft of hair under the lower lip (without a goatee, but perhaps worn with a moustache). The royale was historically worn by French officers as a badge or adornment of military rank or status. In some circles, a royale is also known as a "bitch".
- "Flipping a Bitch" is sometimes a term used for making a U-Turn in a car.
Women reclaiming "bitch"
Under the impulse of second-wave feminism, a trend towards "reclaiming" the word arised during the 1990s, using it to celebrate the strong qualities traditionally denigrated by the use of the term.
A good example of this is the 1997 song "Bitch" by Meredith Brooks, in which Brooks celebrates being a "bitch" as one of many aspects of herself:
Integral recognition of the female character, with its inherent ambiguities, is expressed not only on by the caring side — lover and mother, the roles traditionally assigned to women in the patriarchal division of labour, and their idealized extreme in sainthood — but also in their counterparts, whose satisfaction has been often denied.
Feminist theory has pointed out that women are often identified by their relationships with others, whereas men are allowed a more independent identity. Social mores reflect this in the abnormal or inordinate character of a woman refusing to marry, as their primordial role was to provide comfort and satisfaction to the "master of the house". By beginning the chorus with "I'm a bitch" and ending it with "I do not feel ashamed", Brooks refuses to feel ashamed of her selfishness, vulnerability and independence, insisting that they can and do coexist with more stereotypically feminine qualities.
"Bitch" and sexual availability
The early — and largely still extant — usage of bitch as a sexually available person has been extended to imply subservience towards the user. In the context of prison sexuality, a bitch is a lower-hierarchy prisoner, typically physically weak or vulnerable, who is dominated by more senior prisoners and forced to adopt a servile role. According to convention, these inmates are used as sexual slaves or traded as personal property. To call a male a "bitch" usually suggests that he is sexually passive in this manner, whether or not he is gay.
Variants: "Bitchy," "bitchin'", "to bitch", and "beeotch"
The adjectives bitchy and bitchin' and the verb to bitch evolved from the noun bitch. All of these derivative forms tend to be less offensive than the noun form, especially where their meaning departs entirely from the insulting meaning of "bitch."
From this usage of bitch as "complain", the noun bitch-fest evolved, to indicate a group people complaining about something together. Used in its verb form, to bitch is significantly less offensive than the noun bitch. It is not uncommon, for example, for someone to say that they are "bitching" about something, whereas it would be highly uncommon for someone to call themselves a "bitch." Also, although in some contexts "to bitch" does maintain some of its feminine specificity, it is relatively normal to say that a man is "bitching" about something.
The adjective bitchy has a wider range of meanings, but it also tends to be less strong than the noun bitch. Someone who is bitchy may be merely temperamental or moody. Bitchy is more likely to be applied to women. When used to describe a man, bitchy is somewhat feminizing. Alternately, when applied to articles of clothing, it suggests that they are worn to advertise sexual availability.
Bitchin' was a valley girl term used in the 1980's synonymous with the word "cool".
Beeotch is a variant pronunciation of bitch first used by Oakland, California rapper Too $hort in the early 80's.
Biatch, Beyotch, Beyatch and other creative misspellings are all variants based on the perceived pronunciation of Beeotch.
Trivia
Bitch is also the name of a Roald Dahl short story, featured in Switch Bitch.
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