Being called the term bitch has been associated with worsening the mental health of women. Timothy Jay, there are "over 70 different taboo words", but 80 percent of the time only ten words are used, and bitch is included in that set.
The word "bitch" during the twenties meant "malicious or consciously attempting to harm", "difficult, annoying, or interfering", and "sexually brazen or overly vulgar". It was during this time that women began gaining more freedom (such as the right to vote through the Nineteenth Amendment). He used it to represent favorable qualities such as ferocity, edginess, and grit. The writing of Ernest Hemingway popularized the more modern meaning of "bitch" in this era. Between 19, the use of "bitch" in newspapers and literature more than doubled. The term bitch became more popular in common language during this era. In the 1920s, bitch became once again a common insult used against women. It was not until the 20th century that feminism began to reevaluate the term and its appropriation. The word went through many similar phases throughout history. The Oxford English Dictionary in the nineteenth century described the insult as "strictly a lewd or sensual woman". Throughout the word's evolution into the nineteenth century, it became gradually less offensive. Regular Billinsgate or St Giles answer–"I may be a
Provoking than that of whore, as may be gathered from the
That can be given to an English woman, even more The entry in Francis Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1785) reads:Ī she dog, or doggess the most offensive appellation 1400) a character demands: "Whom callest thou queine, skabde bitch?" ("Who are you calling a whore, you miserable bitch?").īitch remained a strong insult through the nineteenth century. while in a spirited exchange in the Chester Play (ca. Herein lies the original point of the powerful insult son of a bitch, found as biche sone ca. The early applications were to a promiscuous or sensual woman, a metaphorical extension of the behavior of a bitch in heat. Its earliest slang meaning mainly referred to sexual behavior, according to the English language historian Geoffrey Hughes: The earliest use of "bitch" specifically as a derogatory term for women dates to the fifteenth century. She was seen as free, vigorous, cold, impetuous, unsympathetic, wild, and beautiful. As she is the goddess of the hunt, she was often portrayed with a pack of hunting dogs and sometimes transformed into an animal herself. There may also be a connection between less literal senses of "bitch" and the Greek goddess Artemis. Franco argues, a "persistent symbolic connection" developed between dogs and women in Greek literature that expressed and reinforced women's subordinate position in society and their supposedly inferior nature. This could include shamelessness or lack of restraint, lack of hospitality, lack of loyalty, and indiscriminate or excessive violence, among other qualities. In ancient Greece, dog was often used in a derogatory sense to refer to someone whose behavior was improper or transgressive. "Dog" has long been used as an insult toward both women and men. It may have derived from the earlier Old Norse word bikkja, also meaning "female dog". Literally, a bitch is a female dog as an insult, it originally compared a woman to a dog in heat.Īccording to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term bitch comes from the Old English word bicce or bicge, meaning "female dog", which dates to around 1000 CE. In a feminist context, it can indicate a strong or assertive woman and has therefore been reappropriated by some women. The range of meanings has expanded in modern usage (such as when applied to a man). Its original use as a vulgarism carried a meaning suggesting high sexual desire in a woman, comparable to a dog in heat. The term bitch literally means a female dog.
The word is considered taboo in mainstream media, and euphemisms such as "the B-word" are used to minimize its negative impact. It has been characterized as "an archaic word demeaning women since as early as the 15th century" that seeks to control women. It has been used as a "term of contempt towards women" for "over six centuries", and is a slur that fosters sexism against women. The term bitch is one of the most common curse words in the English language. When applied to a man or boy, bitch reverses its meaning and is a derogatory term for being subordinate, weak, or cowardly. When applied to a woman or girl, it means someone who is belligerent, unreasonable, malicious, controlling, aggressive, or dominant. The slang usage of the word bitch is apparent on the sign in this protest.īitch ( / b ɪ t ʃ/ bich) is a pejorative slang word for a person, usually a woman.
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