bitch (n.)

one of the most loaded sexist words, "bitch" tends to be directed at women who are "active, direct, blunt, obnoxious, competent, loud-mouthed, independent, stubborn, demanding, achieving, overwhelming, lusty, strong-minded, scary, ambitious, tough, brassy, boisterous, turbulent, sprawling, strident, striding, and large (physically and/or psychically)" (Mary Daly). In BITCHfest, the editors of the pop culture magazine, Bitch, write: "'Cause here's the thing about 'bitch': When it's being used as an insult, the word is most often aimed at women who speak their minds, who have opinions that contradict conventional wisdom, and who don't shy away from expressing them. That said, we are aware that the word carries a difficult, complex legacy ... as well as the fact that its popularity as an epithet is more sanctioned than ever. And yet we still think ... it's the most appropriate title for a magazine that's all about talking back." Sometimes the correct alternative to "bitch" is simply woman, person, individual. Writer and editor Marie Shear says, "English offers a rich variety of adjectives with which to disparage people who bleepin' well deserve to be disparaged. 'Snarky,' 'malicious,' 'spiteful,' 'petty,' and 'egomaniacal' are just a few. The current ubiquity of 'bitch' and its derivatives doesn't change the fact that the word as an epithet is always anti-woman. By all means let's insult people who have it coming to them without concomitantly insulting women in general." Other alternatives include: grumbler, grouch, griper, malcontent, sourpuss, sorehead, bellyacher, crab, crank, kvetcher. For something difficult, unpleasant, or problematic, use tough row to hoe, tough nut to crack, heavy sledding, hornet's nest, between a rock and a hard place, bad news/one, tough grind/one, large order, predicament, no picnic, thorny/knotty problem, uphill job, backbreaker, dilemma, bind, tangle, mess, fine pickle, hell of a note. Follow the insider/outsider rule: women may refer to themselves or friends as "bitches"; men or antagonistic other women cannot refer to them that way. In theory, it would be good if women didn't use a culturally derogatory term for themselves. The "but" here is that it is apparently not given or taken derogatorily when used by insiders. A 1980s rapper, Too $hort, coined the term "beeyatch," and black female recording artists have used "bad bitch" to refer to a confident, desirable woman, as opposed to a mean or hostile one (Trina, "Da Baddest Bitch," Rihanna, "Bad Bitch"). "Bitch" is the correct term for a female dog; the corresponding male term—dog—suggests that maleness is the norm for canines. See also bitch (v.), bitchy.