History of the word B*TCH

By Gabriella Burgess

I hear the word bitch frequently in my day to day life. Whether it’s, “you’re my bitch,” “that test was a bitch” or “he was being a bitch.” The word tends to bother me especially when men say it. What is its history? What does it mean? Why does it bother me?

If you look up the definition, the Oxford dictionary gives you three definitions, which can also include the word’s use as a noun. The first is “being a female dog, wolf, fox, or otter,” the second being derogatory, “a spiteful, unpleasant, or disliked woman,” and the third is informal (A Bitch), “a difficult or unpleasant situation or thing.”

So while the original meaning of the word referred to different female dogs, how did it arrive at its current offensive meaning? In ancient Greece, women were frequently compared to dogs as a way to belittle and shame them for any sort of sexual desire. The word itself came from the old English word bicce, which meant dog and was used to shame women for sexuality. This is how the word came to be known as rude.

American women fighting for the right to vote in the 1920s sparked the increased use of the word as men became threatened by women’s growing disdain of the patriarchy. Men used this word against angry women who were fed up with the system to show their deep-rooted hatred for women.

History blog writer, Sophie Gibson, wrote,“There is a clear correlation between men’s respect for women and the prominence of the word, as during WWII, use of the word dramatically declined as women became more appreciated by their male counterparts for their contribution to the war effort.”

The word has historically been a way to show disrespect for women and still is. Looking at music that describes women, for example, in Kanye West’s song “Famous” a lyric is, “Me and Taylor might still have sex... I made that bitch famous.” Kanye West, who is known for his antisemitic and other racist or sexist remarks, could be the subject of a whole essay, but the context for this lyric is to demean and belittle Taylor Swift’s success. Her least selling album sold more than his highest selling album and it’s clear that he’s using the word to show disrespect because she is a successful woman. It also is sexualizing her to scrutinize her even more and given the context of the word, it’s distasteful and disrespectful.

Many other lyrics use bitch in a derogatory sense to sexualize or make fun of women. Buckcherry’s song called “Crazy Bitch” says, “Hey, You’re crazy bitch, but you fuck so good I’m on top of it,” or Odd Future’s song “Real Bitch,” which goes, “I’m tired of these hoes (hoes), I need a real bitch, to handle all the things, I don’t want to deal with.” These and other songs by Elton John and Eminem need to be thought about. Talking about women as objects of sexual desire or as those who simply want some more equality and turning it around as an insult is disturbing. There are so many other songs depicting women like this done by male artists who are still widely respected. It allows this narrative to live on and is damaging and dangerous for women, as some of these songs also depict violence towards women which should not be normalized.

Keeping this word in popular use furthers the misogynistic culture that has been created. Nowadays many women also use bitch in their songs as a way to take the word back; for example Lizzo’s song “I Love You Bitch” with the lyrics, “Cause you’re beautiful and smart, fuckin’ talented, You’re by my side, I don’t need no wish, I love you, bitch.” It’s a sweet song talking about her love for a person instead of using it in a disrespectful way. Some women will call their friends “bitches” as well to show admiration and respect—the opposite of its intended meaning.

Women have also used this word to be disrespectful to other women, which is equally damaging. Niki Minaj has some songs using the word bitch in the same way it is used above. However, she also used it in her song “Anaconda” where she calls people “skinny bitches” as a social commentary on how skinny women have more privilege because it is never okay to make fun of anyone’s body type, especially using a word that promotes the hatred of women.

The word bitch, with its long misogynistic history, needs to stop being used to take down women. Next time you think of saying the word in passing, think about what it has meant historically to all women. Words matter, and, hey, if you weren’t allowed to say the word “fuck” as a child, then it should not be too hard to stop saying the word bitch.