THE BITCH WORD

[The battle lines are drawn, precedents invoked. The gays succeeded in transmuting the word ‘queer’ into a positive, and in some circles (not mine), the Blacks have successfully purged the pejorative out of the word ‘nigga.’

And now, some young women are waxing proud when referred to as ‘bitch.’ For the latest developments on the ‘bitch’ word, A & O scoured the blogs. ed.]

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21st century definition of B.I.T.C.H. An empowering name, a compliment, a title that all women should embrace. It is a woman who is proud of who she is, stands up for herself, knows what she wants, and is willing to take risks, all in a pleasant but strong feminine manner.

B. I. T. C. H.

BEAUTIFUL INTELLIGENT TOUGH CHARMING HONEST
BRIGHT IMPRESSIVE TENDER CLASSY HUMANE
BRAVE INDEPENDENT THOUGHTFUL CAREFREE HEAVENLY
BRAINY INFLUENTIAL TRENDY COMPASSIONATE HELPFUL
BEWITCHING IMPULSIVE TRIUMPHANT COMPETITIVE HUMANITARIAN
BRASH INTERESTING THANKFUL CHARITABLE HEROINE

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When I stand up for myself and my beliefs, they call me a bitch. When I stand up for those I love, they call me a bitch. When I speak my mind, think my own thoughts, or do things my own way, they call me a bitch.

Being a bitch entails raising my children to be strong people who have a solid sense of personal and social responsibility, who are not afraid to stand up for what they believe in and who love and respect themselves for the beautiful beings they are.

Being a bitch means that I am free to be the wonderful creature I am, with all my own intricacies, contradictions, quirks and beauty.

Being a bitch means I won't compromise what's in my heart. It means I live my life MY way. It means I won't allow anyone to step on me. When I refuse to tolerate injustice and speak up against it, I am defined as a bitch.

The same thing happens when I take time for myself instead of being everyone's maid, or when I act a little selfish.

I am proud to be a bitch! It means I have the courage and strength to allow myself to be who I truly am and won't become anyone else's idea of what they think I "should" be.

I am outspoken, opinionated, and determined. By God, I want what is right, and I want what I want, and there is nothing wrong with that!

So try to stomp on me, try to douse my inner flame, try to squash every ounce of beauty I hold within me. You won't succeed. And if that makes me a bitch, so be it. I embrace the title and am proud to bear it.

Bitch!
Author Unknown

From Blak’s Blog:
Bitch can be such a foul, insulting word. I tend to think the opposite. While I hate to use the same word that so many others do I have to admit that I love the ring of it. It's a term of endearment to me. If a women cuts me off in traffic or makes me angry in the workplace you will never hear me call her such a special and meaningful word. It's reserved for only my special women that have earned such a title. Now I know many seem to think that you can not make such a vile word a good thing. Much like the N word that was used to degrade and dehumanize blacks for so long. How can you turn around say that being a bitch is now acceptable? Truthfully, I have no real answer or excuse. I use it with no remorse and only the ladies to whom I direct it to can only truly know just what I mean and how I feel when I call them that. Either you get it or you don't.

A bitch is made up of many different ingredients. She is part women, part lady, part little girl, part slut, part brat, part intellectual, part whore, part energy being, part blonde. She carries herself with an air of class and sophistication and knows how to reveal each one of her many sides only when the right man is able to bring it out of her. She knows how to manipulate her man without being manipulative. She has a sense of naive expectancy that comes across as being demanding without being gold diggish. She knows when to talk and when to be quiet and let her man handle things. Although she might dress with elegance there is always just that one thing she wears or does that makes you raise one eyebrow. Like a grey business suit with fishnets or that stiletto with the ankle straps. Or the eye shadow that's just a wee bit too much but then again your not so sure. A happy bitch can never be mistaken because she floats when she walks with such a strong energy force that will have every man turning around to see who just came in the room. When a bitch is happy she will keep her man motivated and supplied with energy. He will have no need to go to anyone else to supply his needs.

Every women is not a bitch. A bitch is born with the core makings of one but she can not truly realize her true bitch potential without the help of a man. It's kind of like how a women is born with all the eggs she will ever have in her lifetime but if they are not used they are discarded every month. It's the same with the B potential. It's all there from birth but with out the proper fertilization and grooming of a man she will never fully develop that which is truly within her. I pride myself on "pre-grooming" my little girls to be bitches. I call them my lil bitches . . . .of course not to their face so don't call DEFACS on me. They are coming along quite nicely and should one day make a fine wife for the right man (whom their daddy will choose for them of course).

A bitch is true to her man, always there for him and his needs. A bitch will also try her man constantly. Testing him to make sure he can handle her. She will push him, consciously or unconsciously . . . to the point that he will verbally and if necessary physically put her in her place. She wants to emphatically know that she is safe to dwell in her little bitch world and she can float safely knowing that her man will keep her in check.

Behind every successful man is a Bitch. We all saw what Clinton was doing to continue his success. Hilary is not a Bitch. She is a scary man with a vagina. A bitch does not want power, she simply wants to be around power and be the recipient of its results.

It takes a true man to groom and handle a bitch. A bitch can sense a weak punk and will quickly overcome him, use him and move on to the next weak punk. A real man will only have to rule with his voice and his presence and if that is not enough it should only take one instance with him to know that his is not fucking around. A bitch will respect that and won't test him again. I know what I need in my life, A bitch. A regular women can not satisfy me. I need someone to match and complement my personality, someone who instinctively knows exactly how to handle me and knows how she needs to be handled. You would think this would not be so difficult to find but sadly in today's world of video vixen wannabees and ghetto fab queens I often wonder if the art of being a bitch is lost.

Men, have you hugged your Bitch today?

From Rainy Day Dreams
Throughout this blog you will hear me refer to my friend, Roni, as “My Bitch”. This is a term of endearment that we call each other and in no way is derogatory or defamatory.

THE STORY
A long time ago when Roni and I were barely out of the teenager stage, we lived together for a short while. During that time we had monstrous parties with lots of alcohol and people. During such a gathering, Roni and I being quite drunk, we were sitting in her bedroom talking. I turned around to get my drink and when I turned back, Roni was gone. As I was too drunk to walk straight, I crawled into the living room, all the while screaming “My Bitch, My Bitch, Where are you My Bitch. She would answer back: “I’m over here baby, your Bitch is over here!” It was a big joke and everyone laughed . . . but it stuck.
And ever since then we have called each other “My Bitch”.
I even wrote a “Bitch Handbook”. . . that I may one day place here on my blog.

From The Student File (Pomona College – Catherine Kenodle)
I am a bitch. According to a certain "Bitch Test" administered by a certain website, I rate 39%, which is 1% above the average. While I embrace this ascription, I regard it as a culturally contingent one. It's probably one of the most interesting words out there. It seems to have survived the vicissitudes of linguistic fashion, as the process of embracing in itself has proliferated new meanings which mediate between mass culture and the general interests of feminism. I guess you could say, we (18-22ish) grew up with whatever "bitch" has come to mean. Which is not to say we're living in "Generation Bitch," because there are some serious failings (i.e. negative connotations for women) of the word in adequately and consistently referring to women.

The basic definition of "bitch" today refers to a (modern) woman who uses power efficiently through interpersonal actions. Sounds like the definition of "being a man."

The cult of "bitch" sometimes separates itself from the movement of feminism; many cultural critics have called the bitch movement a "post feminist" one for that basic sentiment. Everything is divided and similar to the way in which "feminism" continues to be a misused term in the American vernacular: feminists align themselves with sects of the "bitch" movement, or totally reject it. Those who uphold it as a viable and interesting term - like me - are more concerned with its transmission and the history associated with it. Obviously I hate the word "slut" but I think it's an interesting word; maybe we should institute an "image awareness" week or "slut/bitch awareness" week. There are several fascinating projects centered around being a "bitch" that have recently come to my attention.

The best starting place for the new-comer to bitchdom would have to be the website based on the word bitch. Here, we are reminded of the word's diversity. The more misogynistic connotations of the possessive form - namely "so-and-so's bitch" or "my/who's/his bitch," "the bitch's son . . . " a.k.a. "son of a bitch" and the construed meaning of "gangsta bitch" - have been effectively altered to mean something separate from gender, as anyone can be anyone else's bitch nowadays. It's almost a term of endearment, at least when it's adopted as a fronting label. The beauty lies in the word's transcending (originally negative) power when used behind the back of the supposed bitch. It's intention, then, is to unite two people or groups of people in their mutual dislike of a third. This makes "bitch" a secretive term, but with a new potential as more people are incorporating it into their inexplicit vernacular.

Next, the magazine, Bitch: the noun, the verb, the magazine, considers the intersection of feminism with pop culture. That's right, feminism. While it ascribes to a feminist goal of critiquing the oddities and overall foibles of our corporate-run nation-state, the magazine recognizes the sentiments of its concept's subscribers who are actively examining "the meaning of bitch" and distancing themselves from the feminist movement, which, by the way is expansive and hard to identify in itself: it's kind of like LA nowadays. You have to ask, "Where is it? What is it?" So anyway, many see embracing bitch as part and parcel to an overall "post feminist backlash." Kind of like how LA is a Po-Mo backlash in itself. Huh?

The recent history of "bitch" is the subject of Elizabeth Wurtzel's witty diatribe of a book, Bitch: In Praise of Difficult Women. It reads not unlike her stance on popular culture's influence on the national movement towards depression in Prozac Nation. Perhaps one day Bitch will rightly be considered the prototype "po-fem backlash." Sigh . . . . Wurtzel's considerations of the Amy Fisher drama exculpates the actual actors in light of the nation's more intimate involvement. Yes, watching "Amy" get statutorily raped on an unprecedented three stations' coverings counts as grossly intimate involvement, consider the ratings battles over it. Do I think Drew Barrymore won. Mostly, she relates modern cultural stories like Amy's in light of classic models of the "bitch" or "bad woman" like Delilah et al.

Last but not least is the website phenomena of "Crazy-Bitch.com." Basically, an asshole named Dave launched it as a forum for discussing his crazy-bitch ex. My own "Crazy-Bitch" baby tee is in the mail. Hypocrisy in consumerism is so pop, right? So, back in the day, after this aspiring "crazy-bitch" found out her Dave was sleeping with his secretary, she finds the secretary's number in his Rolodex no less; the women scheme Dave's downfall, and are successful. The damage: his apartment is sacked, I mean really sacked. His question - the entire motive of his website - is, "Did she outdo herself?" In other words, the etiquette of bitchdom, which is basically respected in the wake of our "grrrl power" sensibilities, is in question: I often ponder the question of where the thin line lies between a bitch and a crazy-bitch? I've written Dave - and you can too. My opinion (namely, he deserved it, but it's not a total tragedy for he has risen from this tragic abyss he brought upon himself - the scheezy bastard - and hallmarked a very entertaining website) differing dramatically from Howard Stern's, which you can find on his site www.crazy-bitch.com.