Well, clearly the moron at McCain's event meant all the things excerpted above. But I've used "bitch" to mean a woman (or, for that matter, a man!) who is gratuitously obnoxious, someone who is malicious, someone who is obviously enjoying sticking it to others per se, rather than on the issues.

So as a general point, I think this argument leaves me unconvinced.

I believe we can reclaim "bitch" to make it into something positive. Has anyone read the Bitch Manifesto? I loved it!

In fact, I've tried (to no avail) to tell women they're bitches, as compliments (strong, independent, opinionated, not taking shit from anyone). Everytime though, they get offended. :(

I would have to agree with Amit. You partially describe the word bitch as a word to decribe a strong woman, one uninterested in pleasing men. Usually when I hear the word being used to describe a woman it has basically the same meaning as calling a man a bastard. It has far more to do with conduct than a reaction to a strong woman. This might just be me looking at it from a younger generation, not sure how anyone over 35 feels about the word.

Profeminist male, bitch has already been reclaimed and this has been going on since at least the early 90's. I dont think its a strong move though as the word doesnt have nearly the resonance of the "c-word", which I feel is far more in line with what bitch was described as.

To reclaim "Bitch," I like thinking of it as an acronym for Babe in Total Control of Herself.

Which is a very scary thing for lots of people; in fact, many women who are called bitches are called so because they have power and control. And they claim power and control, for instance of their own bodies (such as the woman who won't tolerate a cat call).

I've found people find it scary when you do reclaim the word bitch. When you're like, "Teah, I'm a bitch, so? Can't you handle it?" If they mean it as an insult, and you don't take it that way, it throws people off. I'm all for reclaiming that word.

And, to respond to Amit, the problem isn't so much when "bitch" is directed at a woman who is actually mean, malicious, etc., but rather that is a general slur aimed at women when they are assertive, unapologetic, etc. Why is that behavior the target of a slur? Because it's threatening to many, because it scares many, and it's an attempt to stigmatize and discourage that sort of behavior in women.

I know I've held back from speaking my mind because I don't want to seem like a bitch. "Bitch" to me is much closer to "faggot" when aimed at men; it's a word that attempts to control behavior that somehow threatens traditional hierarchies of power.

And, to respond to Amit, the problem isn't so much when "bitch" is directed at a woman who is actually mean, malicious, etc., but rather that is a general slur aimed at women when they are assertive, unapologetic, etc. Why is that behavior the target of a slur? Because it's threatening to many, because it scares many, and it's an attempt to stigmatize and discourage that sort of behavior in women.

I know I've held back from speaking my mind because I don't want to seem like a bitch. "Bitch" to me is much closer to "faggot" when aimed at men; it's a word that attempts to control behavior that somehow threatens traditional hierarchies of power.

I can see the comparison of using the words bitch and faggot, I thought of that on my first post but I still don't see the payoff in "reclaiming" the word bitch.

One of the issues that I have with the word and its use among my peers is it is often used as an excuse or reasoning for bad behavior. The "I'm a bitch, deal with it" phenomenon and that is incredibly frustrating.

I understand the reasoning behind people being scared of "powerful" women but I see it occuring less and less. It may be my military background (intelligence not ground forces so that may skew it) but few people have a problem with powerful women, only in the way they (and men as well) comport themselves.

Guess to wrap it up, a lot of women I know use the bitch tag as an excuse for bad behavior or poor manners and see absolutely nothing wrong with it. They embrace it and it emboldens them (which can be a good thing) to act even worse.

Finally, to touch upon the powerful women subject, let me ask you all a question. As a middle class white male, married to a very powerful woman, a lot of times at work or in social situations a woman will be incredibly rude, opaque or just mean. Especially in social situations I have no recourse and sometimes find myself muttering bitch because I do feel powerless. Theres nothing I can do or say (I sometimes avoid heated conversations due to a speech impediment) and I cannot use my size to quiet a woman chattering during a movie as I might with another male, I oftentimes cannot rely on their "crew" to say anything and when I do say something I am usually verbally assaulted and youd be surprised at how often the bitch word comes up, usually to goad or embarass me. So the question is if use bitch in those situations, is it because im threatened by their "power" or frustrated?

Perhaps more of a venting than a question haha.

Well put, exelizabeth. I wish I'd had you around when I posted on this yesterday. The problem with reclaiming the word bitch is that the women who use it to refer to themselves often still mean it in a negative (if empowering) way.

As dananddanica's question about the word's use - you can find a way of expressing your displeasure with a woman's behavior without evoking her gender.

la pobre,
I can of course voice my displeasure without using the word bitch, though that word can be used for both men and women.
My overall point, you mentioned in your post, was some women using it almost as a badge of honor, a way of empowering themselves even when it is truly negative.

though in some ways worlds apart, it reminds me of the nigger/niggah debate but the problem is difficult in a different way with bitch, theres no way to know which meaning is intended.

I wrote a blog entry on the word. Yay for bitchin'!

You can use the word bitch to refer to a man just like you can use the word guppy to refer to an iguana - female is part of the definition of the word and you can only use it to refer to men if you intend to call them something they are not (generally to insult them by implying that they are somehow womanly, a la "don't be such a little bitch").

But I do agree that the word is problematic. People either accept the term and its negative meaning ("oh, I don't want to be a bitch, so I'll keep my mouth shut), partially accept the negativity of the term ("if being assertive is bad, I don't want to be good - I'm a bitch!"), or reject the negative meaning of the word (like Zeisler attempts to do in the article linked above). It seems to be the partial acceptance that gets under your skin, dananddanica, as it does mine, simply because it is one step short of real empowerment (being assertive isn't bad).

First of all, exelizabeth, I love this:
"To reclaim "Bitch," I like thinking of it as an acronym for Babe in Total Control of Herself."

Second, I can see that reclaiming the word "bitch" wouldn't be a bad thing. The words attatched to at are words I wouldn't mind being considered: powerful, strong, independent, oppinionated... these are all words I would consider compliments, if someone had called me them. However, I don't see it as something that will ever happen. A lot of women are scared of this word because of the negative connotation that has been attatched to it. It is commonly assumed that "bitch" is something a man calls a woman, and that is something most women don't want to be a part of.