"Bitch" - What Did You Call Me?!

6:08 AM Michael Cotter 0 Comments

             Connotation is everything. Sentence syntax, vocal tone, and inflection all help quilt the English language and can make words hold or lose their power. I always think of how you can say anything to a dog, compliment or criticism, and they will wag their tails or lower their ears based simply on vocal tone. “Bitch” is a prime example of why sentence syntax or tone must also be examined because though the centuries it’s meaning has morphed. It originated as a word for a female dog and over time has picked up meanings of weakness, tools, and empowerment. 
           I knew before starting this project that “bitch” had meant a female dog. I feel like this was simple enough and lent itself to how the word transcended to being used on human women who are lewd. The connection to a lewd woman acting wildly or inappropriate makes sense with the origin of bitch being that dogs tend to be mildly ill behaved upon occasion. Though it makes sense, it was still an insult in the 1400s being that when they were calling the woman a bitch they were animalistic and ill behaved.
            Something interesting I noticed in my research was that the term “bitch-son” was used before women were referred to as bitches. In Arthur and Merlin the quote: “Biche sone! thou drawest amis.” Was produced alluding first to that the men were being inferior to their gender; so, they were reduced to female animals. I also found this interesting because it was men being diminished to animals first. I suppose this happens today with locker-room smack-talk and the archaic idiosyncrasy of “boys will be boys” meaning they tend to bash or ridicule one another frequently. At the same time, the “bitch-son” also diminished the boy’s mother to an animal, and this is still used today with the modern adaptation of “son of a bitch.”
            “Bitch” carried on through the years primarily demeaning females or referring to wild female beasts like wolves, foxes, dogs, etc. Some other interesting definitions it’s collected are: “to hang back or idle behind,” “to spoil or ruin,” “an old fat candle,” and “a term used in mining for a tool used to draw up rods.” All of these uses are interesting being that a lot of them are lost or unused in everyday diction. I’d argue to ruin or spoil has been added to the modern definition of “bitching” or “being a bitch” meaning someone who is complaining or ruining the collective attitude.
            More recently, “bitch” has collected a better, more positive meaning; from the use of “bitchin’” meaning first rate or excellent to the concept of “head bitch in charge” meaning a woman who doesn’t need approval from a collective group to feel empowered. I attribute this to pop culture and feminism. I believe that in the 1970s-1980s, worked to reclaim the word “bitch” so that it doesn’t hold the same weight as it used to. This has been done before with gay people reclaiming “faggot” or African Americans reclaiming “nigger.” By using the word that once held dominance over the collective, they are diminishing the meaning of the word and making it their own.
            In pop culture, the magazine Bitch worked to reclaim the word and use it in a feminist way. Bitch Magazine acted as a “feminist guide through pop culture” and promotes healthy views on women’s rights and issues. Further, pop music like “Bitch Is Back” by Elton John and “Bitch” by Meredith Brooks made the word more publicize in new light. Elton John diminished the power to the word by equating it back to himself and Meredith Brooks reclaimed the word by simply accepting that she was a bitch and uses it on herself: “ I’m a bitch/I’m a lover/I’m a child/I’m a mother.”
            Today, bitch is arguably one of the most commonly used swear words in the English language. From the iconic line “it’s Britney, bitch” where, in 2007 at the height of her mental breakdown, used the word bitch to show her dominance over everyone. By referring to the audience as bitches, she exudes the power, and with this being a very rough time for the starlet – she made the audience also seem to be mentally instable being that she was “in control” in the scenario and the rest were merely wild bitches.
            Bitch is best summarized by Jo Freeman, feminist attorney and author of Bitch Manifesto:
"A Bitch takes shit from no one. You may not like her, but you cannot ignore her....[Bitches] 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."