Bitch (slang)
When applied to a woman or girl, it means someone who is belligerent, unreasonable, malicious, controlling, aggressive, or dominant.
[2] When applied to a man or boy, bitch reverses its meaning and is a derogatory term for being subordinate, weak, or cowardly.
[citation needed] 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.
[5] The word is considered taboo in mainstream media, and euphemisms such as "the B-word" are used to minimize its negative impact.
Its original use as a vulgarism carried a meaning suggesting high sexual desire in a woman, comparable to a dog in heat.
Herein lies the original point of the powerful insult son of a bitch, found as biche sone ca.
The Oxford English Dictionary in the nineteenth century described the insult as "strictly a lewd or sensual woman".
[21] The word "bitch" during the twenties meant "malicious or consciously attempting to harm", "difficult, annoying, or interfering", and "sexually brazen or overly vulgar".
[13] In the film The Women (1939), 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."
During the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, a John McCain supporter referred to Hillary Clinton by asking, "How do we beat the bitch?"
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".
[31] In the context of modern feminism, bitch has varied reappropriated meanings that may connote a strong female (anti-stereotype of weak submissive woman), cunning (equal to males in mental guile), or else it may be used as a tongue-in cheek backhanded compliment for someone who has excelled in an achievement.
[2] 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.
That was very much on our minds, the positive power of language reclamation.Pop culture contains a number of slogans of self-identification based on bitch.
By calling oneself a bitch in today's culture, these women are referencing their success, money, sexuality, and power.
This evolution is deeply intertwined with the history of hip-hop, where the word has been wielded with various connotations and meanings, reflecting the intricate dynamics of gender relations and power struggles.
Since then, artists and followers of the culture have frequently used the term, with variations like 'bee-otch' popularized by Oakland-based rapper Too $hort in the late 1980s.
[45] Reaching back to the dozens and dirty blues, early rappers like Slick Rick established the bitch as a character: a woman, often treacherous, but sometimes simply déclassé.
's song 'One Less Bitch' exemplifies misogynistic attitudes, equating women with negative stereotypes such as 'money hungry scandalous groupies.'
However, amidst the prevalence of derogatory usage, female hip-hop artists have challenged the word's appropriation by male rappers.
Popular culture has inspired women to redefine the word bitch as a euphemism for "Strong black woman".
This sparked a controversy with Taylor Swift as she "cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message.
Generally, this term is used to indicate that the person is acting outside the confines of their gender roles, such as when women are assertive or aggressive, or when men are passive or servile.
[52][53] The protagonist, Jonathan Oadley, recounts a battle scene in which he is mounted on a horse: "I wheeled, made a dead set at the son-of-a-bitch in my rear, unhorsed him, and actually broke through the line.
Roy Blount Jr. in 2008 extolled the virtues of "son of a bitch" (particularly in comparison to "asshole") in common speech and deed.
[58] Immediately after the detonation of the first atomic bomb in Alamogordo, New Mexico, in July 1945 (the device codenamed Gadget), the Manhattan Project scientist who served as the director of the test, Kenneth Tompkins Bainbridge, exclaimed to Robert Oppenheimer "Now we're all sons-of-bitches.
"[59] In January 2022, U.S. president Joe Biden was recorded on a hot mic responding to Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy asking, "Do you think inflation is a political liability ahead of the midterms?"
The Curtiss SB2C, a World War II U.S. Navy dive bomber, was called "Son-of-a-Bitch 2nd Class" by some of its pilots and crewmen.
