Talk:Bitch (slang)/Archive 1

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balance

This page has one sentence about the basic definition of the word, and a huge amount about the slang/profane uses. Perhaps the former should be extended; is there no information about female dogs available beyond their name? This is an encyclopaedia, not a dictionary.86.145.1.32 16:03, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

reclaiming the word bitch

The word bitch is actually only offencive in American and Canadian English. In most other English variants bitch maintains it's correct definition - female canine. People have argued that bitch is different because it is used as an insult - but so is "pig", "dog", "cow" and others. These are not considered profane, so why is bitch? As far as I am concerned, there is nothing to "reclaim" as bitch simply means a female canine.

It may be used as a pejorative or descriptor - that does not make it a profanity.

Beowulf cam (talk) 04:48, 27 November 2007 (UTC) It should definately say something about Kyle Vanderweilen and all his bitchin Is there any particular evidence of women "reclaiming" the word bitch in the 90s? Can anyone point to articles on this, etc.? The song is definitely interesting and belongs here, but doesn't actually reclaim the word "bitch" any more than it reclaims the word "sinner."

Also, I don't really understand the last paragraph and it sucks -- I was going to try and clear it up, but I realized I don't know what it means. Can someone point to a source that lays out the argument about bitches, fertility and patriarchy more clearly?

Thomas Mills Hinkle 22:47, 9 Jun 2004 (UTC)

We don't need articles at all as I there are definitely enough examples (even outside of the 90s). Missy Elliot cleary and repeatedly reclaims the word, for instance, "She's a Bitch". Hyacinth 03:12, 10 Jun 2004 (UTC)
References are fine -- just the name "Missy Elliot" got me to find a quote of a rolling stone review that mentioned "reclaiming" the word. In fact, if some one knows more about her, it might be interesting to add a section on her work and on how it relates to women/slurs more generally within hip-hop. Thomas Mills Hinkle 11:35, 10 Jun 2004 (UTC)
How relevant is this reclamation? It seems to me poison for a woman to use an epithet which still strongly connotes despised traits. I don't see how using a word connoting "querolous", "spiteful", and "malicious" can be empowering. But I don't know; life's a bitch. Rintrah 19:02, 24 August 2006 (UTC)
It stems from a reaction to the prevalence of tagging any woman who doesn't adhere to a certain standard of femininity as a bitch. To use a literary example, in the novel The Handmaid's Tale the narrator related the feeling that, whenever she outsmarted a man, she could almost hear him calling her a bitch in his mind, even her own husband. - LeaHazel 21:19, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
That literary reaction you recited is jealousy; men have names for other men who outsmart them too, but, not having a word like "bitch" for them, they have to resort to a greater variety of pejoritive epithets. Though you haven't been specific, I think that standard of femininity you referred to is a pretext for subordination, which both sexes often strive to impose on the other, but men have traditionally had more power. Because it is such a popular epithet in slang, the connotations of "bitch" are diffuse, though still commonly pernicious. I think bitch, in itself, is not chiefly a denunciation to punish women who do not conform to that standard, but rather a contemptuous word often used for it.
However, I still don't see the point of reclamation, for if "bitch" were purged of contempt, another word would rise to its place. As an ironic device, it might be useful, but I doubt it can be "reclaimed". Rintrah 16:00, 20 September 2006 (UTC)
This is not a debate about whether or not it's possible to "reclaim" a pejorative in the traditional sense, of rendering it benign and even positive. Some might argue that the efforts of certain subcultures in the African American community to reclaim the word "nigger" are equally futile. The question is, whether an attempt to reclaim the word "bitch" exists, and if so, what the cultural connotations of it are.
The word "bitch" certainly has diffuse interpretations, which might be crudely divided into two groups, their meanings roughly inverse. One, "bitch" as an epithet for a dominant, aggressive woman, especially if that aggression is carried out against men; this is the meaning that the excerpt in The Handmaid's Tale refers to, and the meaning usually associated with the verse from the song by Meredith Brooks. Two, "bitch" as a descriptor of weakness, as "my bitch" or "prison bitch" etc. and an epithet applied commonly to both men and women (possibly more commonly to men, where it might be argued the subtext is that even a strong, "bitchy" woman is a standard of weakness for men; but I digress).
I don't know which meaning surfaced earlier, or whether one of them is a reaction/adaptation of the other. However, the reclamation of the word "bitch" by feminists is usually attributed to the first meaning. It is an aspect of a greater argument about working women, women in positions of power and the general power dynamic of gender hierarchy. - LeaHazel 11:06, 21 September 2006 (UTC)
Well, your apprehension of "bitch" is more exhaustive than mine; but, as to these two groups, they do not appear to be inverse, but contradictory. The import of bitch is weaker than values instilled in schools, and business policy as to rectruitment of women. Judgements upon the 'weakness' or 'usurpation' of women are usually based on reflection on women's position in society, i.e., how people regard women in their alloted roles; I believe people are less influenced by words in our language than this reflection. 'Bitch', in this context, is a symptom of the traditional stigma against women, but it has also become trivial due to its comically nebulous connotations. However, your comments on the meaning and importance of bitch are interesting — I am pleased I unwittingly started this "debate".
"General power dynamic of gender hierarchy" — no offence, but this sounds like a popular phrase of academic articles; I would interpret the concept as "the changing power relations between the sexes". I digress because I like to make fine points on language. I generally eschew Social Science and Applied Philosophy jargon.
"Nigger", in my opinion, has been "reclaimed' within many black communities. Its inflammatory connotations stemmed from slave-traders' contempt; the word initially being a neutral designation. Ironically, it has now assumed the thuggish connotations proudly brandished by 'gangsta' rap. But I will refrain from more argument because I desperately need sleep. Rintrah 12:09, 21 September 2006 (UTC)
I don't know much about Social Science; the vocabulary I use is mostly derived from casual, non-academic feminist discourse.
The word "bitch" means different things to men and women, and that's probably the root of the misunderstanding. The subservience implied in calling a man a bitch has never been matched by a complementary merit, whereas for a woman, being a bitch implies an uncompromising strength that is increasingly understood as being a double-edged sword. Call it fourth-wave feminism, if you will. - LeaHazel 15:45, 23 September 2006 (UTC)
I am unfamiliar with non-academic feminist discourse, so I will take your word on vocabulary.
Your propositions on "bitch" make sense; I see no reason to dispute them. As to fourth-wave feminism, I am unfamiliar with that too. Your comments above are probably all I have learnt about it. :) Rintrah 00:07, 24 September 2006 (UTC)
Sorry, the fourth-wave feminism was a backwards joke. Feminism is generally divided into three waves, so fourth-wave would be post-90s, post-Girl Power feminism. It doesn't officially exist, as it was never defined by gender studies scholars or journalists. - LeaHazel : talk : contribs 16:07, 24 September 2006 (UTC)
Ok. I don't think I could convince any feminist to embrace the Spice girls ethos, so I can see why the fourth movement would necessarily be post-Girl Power. And I think by journalists, you mean serious journalists, as there are journalists that write all kinds of refuse but without any effect on serious discourse. Rintrah 08:20, 25 September 2006 (UTC)
You're right about the journalists, but Girl Power has been defined as a sub-movement in third-wave feminism. The Spice Girls are just one example of the usage. The articles in question should provide you with more details on the subject, if you're interested. LeaHazel : talk : contribs 17:10, 25 September 2006 (UTC)
I have learnt the subject to wikipedia level. I have a degree in wikipedia Arts now. Rintrah 16:15, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

Revive Reclaim & Reinvent / pre-Christianity usage

It's not only about reclaiming the word. It's also about reviving the usage of the word "bitch" before Christianity took over Europe and reinventing the word "bitch" for modernity. "Bitch" gained a negative connotation as part of the Christian campaign to to marginalize those who hung on to goddess worship in the same way how words like "pagan", "witch", etc. gain a negative connotation. The reinvention is about non-conforming to historic stereotype of women and to promote individualism while protesting cultural norms. It's possible that the "sinner" reference is a word play on religious reference given how author consider the Christian concept of women as limiting. The way that how information is edited on this page constantly reminds people of Orwellian society. 3Laws 03:50, 6 September 2006 (UTC)


That is the dumbest thing ever.... It had been mentioned a few times in songs but not so extensivly to actually say women were "reclaiming" The word XXLegendXx 14:21, 4 March 2007 (UTC)

I think it's pretty obvious women in particularly areas and cultures, particularly black culture have "reclaimed" the word. 66.167.39.208 17:31, 7 April 2007 (UTC)

I don't think that feminists today are attempting to revive the pre-Christian meaning of the word as much as expanding on the modern one. Bitch has most commonly meant two different kinds of women according to the Oxford English Dictionary, a "sensual or lewd" woman or a "malicious" woman.Feminists have taken the malicious meaning and associated it with strong, independent women. And in response to the denial of this occurrence in "reclaiming the word", I merely point you to one of the most popular feminist magazines, Bitch.

strong word

I still haven't seen any clarification on the following:

Some second wave feminists hold that bitch is a strong word because, in a patriarchy, women are supposed to be available for men's constant use. Becoming pregnant against a man's will would be an offense against this order.

I find this incomprehensible. Is the idea that bitches(namespace=dogs) are always sexually available? (this of course is untrue -- see estrus). It seems more likely to me that "bitch" is a strong word because it treats women as animals.

That said, perhaps there there are two lines of usage in bitch:

  1. A demeaning way to label a strident/complaining/upset woman that suggests her concerns are not worthwhile/serious
  2. A way to label someone as sexually available/subservient (here I can only think of phrases like "be my bitch" or "prison bitch"

Does this make sense? In that case, I could remove the confusing line about second wave feminists and add another section about usage of bitch to connote sexual availability/subservience (which combines with the "prison bitch" meaning). Tom 15:25, 15 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I'm removing the lines above as no one has explained their meaning/importance to me.

proud?

I don't understand what you're referring to Could you give some context and/or explain how your thought relate to the page? Tom 14:57, 29 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Shotgun

How about a reference to one of its other meanings; bitch is another name for a shotgun, as portrayed in the movie "Training Day." Denzel's character says, "Hand me the bitch."

If we go through all uses of the word bitch and simply replace it with the phrase "angry woman," all it's meanings will be obvious. (for when it doesn't make sense just shorten it to woman, this would use it as a subtitute for a substitute.) When Denzel's character says "Hand me the bitch" he's saying this for two reasons. 1. An angry woman will do more damage (than a not so angry woman) 2. Anyone who has ever shot a shotgun knows that it kicks like a bitch. 71.37.187.64 17:16, 24 September 2006 (UTC)Sheba

Wiktionary ?

Why isn't this article in the Wiktionary ? It is about an English word, a very good subject for an English dictionnary, but for a multilingual encyclopedia ??? 212.152.18.216 00:07, 20 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Because it deals with cultural uses, not just pronunciations and meanings? --KJ 07:39, 22 January 2006 (UTC)

Valley Girl

The use of "bitchin'" as "cool" surely pre-dates the 1980's. I added the jazz meaning ("you were bitchin' in that trumpet solo"), and I think this has a similar connotation to "cool" (but in use much longer). If anyone has an earlier use of the term meaning "cool," please change the Valley Girl reference.24.64.223.203 05:39, 15 October 2005 (UTC)

Even if the term originated in the 80's, I'd say it's more of a surfer/punk rocker sorta thing than valley girl. 66.167.39.208 17:37, 7 April 2007 (UTC)

you're my bitch

This usage has become almost mainsteam in UK, including TV (eg Have I Got News For You), yet (as I write) there is no explanation in the article. I'll make a start, to get the input flowing. I suspect the origins are US rapper culture, but I have no expertise on that. Richard Allen 10:18, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

Riding Bitch

The description for this is incorrect. "Riding bitch" occurs when one person is sandwiched in between two others in the rear passenger section of a sedan. Lumbergh 19:06, 26 January 2006 (UTC)

Also, "Riding bitch" is when two persons are riding on a 'motorcycle' the person in the back (that usually uses the removable seat back) is riding bitch. I think this derives from couples that ride together it is most common for the male to drive, and the female to ride behind him. Hence the name "bitch". -Damien Vryce 18:50, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

Yoselebitch

I added the term Yoselebitch to the variants section. It's usage seems to be increasing across East Coast schools (secondary and undergraduate levels, at least) based on blog data and conversation. Tough to get what are considered "reliable sources" online. Can anyone help me with this?

--22:47, 9 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I have removed the paragraph about "Yoselebitch" for the time being. I find it hard to believe, and it does need some sources before it goes back into the article. If you can't find sources then it doesn't belong in an encyclopedia.
The term Yoselebitch has become familar recently in the East Coast of the United States, referring to teachers or others in the education profession that demonstrate either incompetence or a degree of arbitrariness indemariṂǍaching, grading, or decision making. The term is believed to be a reference to Theresa Yoselevich, though exact etymological origins are uncertain.
--Commander Keane 02:48, 25 February 2006 (UTC)

To Complain

The usage of "to bitch" as "to complain" needs to be spelled out- preferably in the first paragraph along with the (in my opinion, far less common) usage of the term as to subjugate or humiliate. It is referenced later in the article as though it has already been explained. I don't know how best to include this or I'd do it myself.128.227.95.149 20:53, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

I was curious why "getting bitched" was explored more. if at all. Depending on the culture, it can be just as if not more common than "to complain". 66.167.39.208 17:43, 7 April 2007 (UTC)

Proposed merge of Son of a bitch into Bitch

Since it's clear that this pathetic excuse for a dictionary definition is going to be kept since nobody can stand to delete such a great little entry I propose that this be merged into Bitch as a subsection since the article already has mention of the word as a derogatory term. Pegasus1138Talk | Contribs | Email ---- 05:56, 19 April 2006 (UTC)

  • Comment. I believe that Son of a bitch holds enough notability to remain its seperate article. The article, however, needs to be cleaned-up no doubt; a clean-up tag will probably work better than the AfD tag that you decided to use on the article. To resolve this issue, we can get a consensus on the issue of merging as we did with the AfD. — Я не имею никакой жизни 06:18, 06:25, 19 April 2006 (UTC)
Merge. — Я не имею никакой жизни 16:59, 06:25, 19 April 2006 (UTC)

Merge -per nom PrometheusX303 16:21, 19 April 2006 (UTC)

Merge Foday 11:27, 10 May 2006 (UTC)

Done Ifnord 02:22, 11 June 2006 (UTC) LMAO!!! "Sunsubitch" Now that's funny.

Biatch & AAVE

I removed the reference to biatch being an example of African American Vernacular English as its link to rap music and black comedians suffice. AAVE is often mistakenly used as a blanket term to describe new words and phrases that are more correctly attributed to youth-oriented hip-hop culture. The fact that the overwhelming majority of the individuals who coin and popularize these new terms speak AAVE is incidental--if the word does not gain any traction amongst AAVE speakers who are not involved with the youth-oriented culture related to AAVE, it isn't descendent from it.

One could make a much better case for 'ho' being an AAVE word than for 'biatch', but I removed that reference as well as the comparison is fairly shallow. While ho is the (probable) AAVE equivalent of whore in SAE (Standard American English), biatch is simply a variation of bitch. In my experience people who use the word 'ho' often completely omit 'whore' from their vernacular while people who use the term 'biatch' often use the term 'bitch' to varying degree, sometimes even more frequently than 'biatch'. Also, biatch is never are very rarely used as anything other than a noun, while ho mirrors whore in its application.

Unless the points above are made I think the statement is misleading.

-- I believe that the word Son-of-a-bitch has a totally different meaning than just the word "bitch" and shouldn't be merged since the two aren't related

--

What the hell is AAVE? Most of this entire entry is a joke.

AAVE is African-American Vernacular English, one of the main and most distinctive American dialects. What is a joke? Taragüí @ 17:36, 12 June 2006 (UTC)
LOL.

Flip a Bitch

On Oct. 24, 2006, 74.0.204.194 (San Jose, CA) changed

In California, especially the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, the Greater Los Angeles Area, and the Greater San Diego Area, the term Flip a bitch is used, as a common term for U-turn, a term that has gone out of use.[citation needed]

to

In California, especially the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, the Greater Los Angeles Area, and the Greater San Diego Area, the term Flip a bitch is used.[citation needed]

Since this removes the definition of "Flip a bitch," I have changed it back to:

In California, especially the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, the Greater Los Angeles Area, and the Greater San Diego Area, the term Flip a bitch is used, as a common term for U-turn, a term that has gone out of use.[citation needed]

Since 74.0.204.194 did not leave an edit summary or anything on the talk page, I would be forced to guess what intention they had. Obviously they did not intend to remove the definition, maybe they meant to say:

In California, especially the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, the Greater Los Angeles Area, and the Greater San Diego Area, the term Flip a bitch is used, as a common term for U-turn.[citation needed]

If this was the intention, then feel free to make the change, but I think the current version is more descriptive.

Also, maybe it would be better to say "In California, expecially in metropolitan areas" instead of what we have, since we list all the metropolitan areas in California anyway. If anyone can confirm that this phrase is used elsewhere (which I imagine it is) please state that on this talk page or in the article. This is probably used in places other than California.

--VegKilla 18:20, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

Ok. Fair points, but you do not need bold type to make them. Rintrah 10:11, 17 December 2006 (UTC)
I was only using bold type to distinguish what I had typed from what I had quoted from the article. It's not like I was mad or anything, I was just new to Wikipedia.VegKilla 21:12, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

Why does an outdated and incredibly obscure colloquialism deserve an entry? Answer. It doesn't. 66.167.39.208 17:47, 7 April 2007 (UTC)

It's not outdated, it's just old and still in use. The reason it deserves an entry, is because where I live, the term "u-turn" has gone out of use. Of course everyone knows what a u-turn and a tank-top are, but everyone where I live has been saying "flip-a-bitch" and "wife-beater" for over 10 years.VegKilla 21:12, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

"lifes a bitch"

would this qualify to be included in the article —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 75.38.91.118 (talk) 00:21, 17 December 2006 (UTC).

No, because it would be a random reference. If the context is significant, maybe. Rintrah 10:12, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

It's a common phrase, not really random at all. 66.167.39.208 17:49, 7 April 2007 (UTC)

Spades

Is there any particular reason why there's a spades character (♠ -> ♠) at the end of the son of a bitch section? Removing. LeaHazel : talk : contribs 10:30, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

It does not matter; you are right to remove it. Rintrah 11:07, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Feminist argument bordering on irrelevancy

Agreed, the first paragraph about second-wave feminists reclaiming the word is valid, but the three paragraphs following it seem highly illogical to include in the article. I feel that a link or reference to a more relevant document would be better than explaining all the activities that women are doing to reclaim the word in an article that describes the general usage. Heck, there's even less explanation of its traditional use. 130.113.94.27 01:57, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

bitch slap

the bitch slap section seems a bit too over the top, the part about the football team and the (history) of bitch slap is a bit too much. But since I am new to this page, and haven't been active in past discussions, i wont change it, but i dont think it need be in the article. Or did i miss a discussion on this? SpokaneWilly 06:39, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

No. It is over the top. The article lurches from definition to defintion. It is a composite of disguised wiktionary texts. Readers stopping by think, "Oo, oo, the article doesn't have this sense of 'bitch'! I better add it." Rintrah 13:14, 27 December 2006 (UTC)
The current definition of bitch slap seems wrong. Surely a bitch slap is slap from a bitch, which would properly oppose it to a pimp slap - which is the actual slap given to a disobedient prostitute. --JamesTheNumberless 10:56, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

The article is ambiguous (continental Europe)

"In colloquial use, the word bitch is often employed insultingly to describe a woman as malicious, spiteful, domineering, intrusive, unpleasant or sexually promiscuous (although the final connotation is mostly used in Continental European circles)"

Does anyone know what this means? Given that people in Continental Europe usually don't have English as their first language, does it refer to (a) a usage of the word "bitch" by people who learned English as a second language, (b) a usage of the word "bitch" in languages other than English, or (c) a usage of the word "bitch" by British people who are living abroad (in Spain etc)? -86.144.137.236 23:08, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

I don't know. My customary approach is to put such comments in hidden comments (<!-- -->) for other editors to sort out, or delete them and post them on the talk page.
The "Continental European circles" part put a smile on my face. Rintrah 23:30, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

The card game of hearts and the word bitch

Who ever refered to a card in hearts as a bitch or a black bitch is an idiot you should probably end your lying pathetic life now and run your nuts or breasts (depending on sex) into a woodchipper Mercer5089 00:58, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

  • 'Cuz there's nothing more important than card games. JuJube 06:20, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

dawg! no im not a dog.

I came to my attention that the term bitch was at one time used to describe the high preistess of Diana, the huntress. Obviously it is still a common breeding term and I personaly would prefer to be called a bitch than a dawg, as im female. So i hardly think that the term is the worst insult for a woman.60.227.205.41 08:31, 7 February 2007 (UTC)ananda

Doubt it, as the worshippers of the classical Greek Goddess Diana probably did not speak English. 69.95.240.178 (talk) 14:39, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

The Goddess Diana was Roman, not Greek. I think the original poster may have meant that The High Priestess of Diana was described by with an equivalent term in Latin. Which would be interesting, if true, and possibly be of use in giving some interest to non derogatory human referential uses of 'Bitch'.

Urban dictionary?

I came to this page looking for information about female dogs. Does bitch not mean female dog or am I looking in the wrong place? Is there any way that you wiki people (as opposed to me, who is wiki-ignorant) can put a link to the dog bitch page? It would be ever so helpful. Thanks

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.2.133.250 (talk)

Hi, it seems as though to find information about the Bitch you seek you'll need to read the Dog article. On the Bitch (disambiguation) page you will find that it is the first entry but only links to Female and Dog rather than having its own article. JohnCub 20:21, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Biatch?

"Bizzotch" gets mention, but what about "biatch" (or "biotch")? I'm not sure exactly who/when/where that was popularized, but it's very common now and should be mentioned.

On a different note, would it be appropriate to point out the irony in derisively comparing a woman to a dog when a dog is supposed to be man's best friend? -- Funnyhat 08:18, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Answer: no, becuase this would enter into a moral discussion of the word, which is unnaturally digressive for an encyclopedia. It is not ironic: a bitch, even by its denotation, is a pet to man, so comparing a woman to a female pet is not ironic, it is offensive. Rintrah 11:18, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

Shouldn't biatch get it's own entry, for the cultural impact? 65.34.171.108

Not really. "Biatch" is indistinct from "bitch" except for its pronunciation. As for "cultural impact", there is none, other than white teenagers and rappers using it as "cool" vernacular, which is a hardly a notable encyclopedic topic. Rintrah 11:18, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

Hardly notable encyclopedic topic??? What the heck are you talking about. Biotch, Bizzotch and bizznitch are all words that came from using the word bitch, what is the sense in not mentioning them?XXLegendXx 14:24, 4 March 2007 (UTC)

I agree. Rintrah don't be foolish - Biatch is a highly notable encyclopedic topic. I will add a section to the article when I get around to it. Mikejstevenson 16:57, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Also worth mentioning is that it biatch originated from the west coast, by rapper Too $hort. Issuef 18:10, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

The "bitch seat"

In the article, riding in the middle of a bench seat is called "riding bitch". I'm not sure where I picked it up, but I always call the middle seat of a row of three on an airplane the "bitch seat". Seems logical, since if you ride there, you are riding bitch. It's only bad when you're surrounded by strangers. Would a row of four have two bitch seats? BahKnee 04:20, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

Neutrality and improper context

Although I am not going to argue that the obvious sexist and gendered meanings of the word bitch (and it's relationship to feminist theory) should be disregarded (they should not) the article unfortunately tilts much too far in that direction. Improvements could be made by adding contemporary uses of a more gender neutral "bitch". "Bitch" as a general negative to both men and women has become increasingly prominent in contemporary slang and is not a rare aberration as this article, perhaps unintentionally, implies. Also, there is absolutely no adequate discussion of "bitch" in male homosexual subculture, or a more culturally relative analysis of its role in African American urban culture.

Additionally, there is no linguistic analysis about the origins of the word "bitch" apart from the reference to its use in the 1400s and as this is not a political article but an encyclopedic analysis the linguistic portions should far outweigh the political discussion - although the politics should certainly not be dropped. Before someone asks, I have neither the time nor expertise to contribute substantially to this article, but the problems are there nonetheless. I've refrained from tagging this article with a POV for the time being (as I fear those who are particularly passionate about the political context of the word will misinterpret what I'm trying to communicate) but will check back in a few days to see if there have been movements to improve the article. If not, I'll tag. Cheers! --Wolfrider 16:54, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

Wow, just...wow. -- Grandpafootsoldier 00:13, 21 July 2007 (UTC)
Well...uh...whatever I guess...the tag doesn't bother me...I think it adds to the excitement of the article...maybe we should consider keeping it permanently. -- VegKilla 21:20, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

Bitch the musician?

Can someone create a disambiguation page for the musician "Bitch", formerly part of the duo "Bitch and Animal"? 24.199.92.59 22:35, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

biatch

This is going to end up being a dispute one of these days so I need to ask...should all three apparent versions of the slang version of Bitch be include. They are Beyach, beotch and biatch. As you can all see there are three different spellings for the same slang. As it may end up being a dispute in the future I think all three should be included...at least in the same section. Rgoodermote 22:37, 1 August 2007 (UTC)

If anything, the biatch section should have consistent spelling. It's titled biatch, but immediately has the spelling beotch. I think all alternative spellings should be redirects not explicitly stated. Beyotch is also a common spelling. Hackaday 08:43, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Uses of the term need sourcing

Many of the usage forms for the term bitch are not sourced, and may be original research. I'm considering removing the unsourced ones in the near future, as the threshold for inclusion is not truth but verifiability, which requires the citation of reliable sources. BigNate37(T) 14:40, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

son of a gun

"son of a gun" is in fact not a euphemism for the word bitch. The origin of this word is the gun deck of a galley, frigate or other large ships from the 18th and 19th centuries. it refers to the fact that most mariners, when docked would take their women (largely prostitutes)to the gun deck to perform sexual intercourse. this, in turn, suggests that your mother conceived you on a gun-deck. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fergor (talk • contribs) 20:59, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

A very unlikely explanation, despite what Admiral William Henry Smyth had to say on the subject, as on all but the largest british ships the gun deck held the dining area for the commissioned officers, who would be obliged to bring the men up on charges in a military vessel. Anyway, regardless of whether it originally held a different meaning, it has been common practice to use "son of a gun" as a euphemism in film and television. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.98.223.49 (talk) 03:52, 2 January 2008 (UTC)
If the officers of the British Navy during the age of sail reported every breach of the Articles of War that they were obliged to, half of the vessels would have been empty because of executions or paralyzed from lack of un-flogged sailors. Not to mention it's downright silly to pretend that the officers themselves were all celibate themselves, though the tendency was for them to satisfy their needs on shore. For the hands, however, prostitution was quite real right on board the war vessels. As Fergor mentioned most of this occurred while docked, especially when the Captain felt that the benefit of a morale-booster for the hands outweighed the possible diseases, and there certainly was no better place for hundreds of sailors and prostitutes to copulate all at once than on the gundeck(s). I do agree that film and television use the phrase as a euphemism and it deserves mention (amusing in itself, since most would probably rather be called a "bitch" than a prostitute), but the current phrasing makes it sound like the phrase originated with the advent of filmed entertainment. 66.253.213.170 (talk) 01:37, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

How long are you going to keep the vandalism on this talk page?

The history page says it's needless to revert vandalism on talk pages. Does that mean it stays? IsaacAA 16:36, 8 October 2007 (UTC)

Welcome to Wikipedia, IsaacAA. I think you are referring to this edit: I believe the contributor was saying in the edit summary that there is not point documenting the removal of vandalism from the article by listing it on the article's talk page! I think it is always worth reverting vandalism, even on talk pages. You know, you are very welcome to revert it yourself! --RobertG ♬ talk 08:40, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

Bitch can also mean any person place or thing (synonymous with motherfucker).68.14.108.62 18:52, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for that. --OhNoPeedyPeebles (talk) 22:28, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

Finnish Wikipedia

fi:Narttu that is a redirect page to female, it have nothing to do with this subject and it might be a good idea to remove it from this page. 88.113.67.139 09:03, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

This section

{{editprotected|Can someone please delink son of a bitch? The term will never have enough encyclopedic info to have its own article and it's useless to link something that redirects back here. 200.88.222.60 (talk) 17:10, 31 December 2007 (UTC)}}

done. עוד מישהו Od Mishehu 08:03, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

Interwiki

Spanish interwiki is wrong. Bitch means "zorra" or "perra". Don't "puta". --87.218.21.115 (talk) 23:07, 21 January 2008 (UTC) but bitch is a bad word

gender roles?

"acting outside the confines of their gender roles". I don't think this is correct. I wouldn't call a very effeminate man a bitch. And for women, bitch to me is much more about being malicious than being domineering or just in general acting outside her gender role. 99.233.20.151 (talk) 13:02, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

Have to agree with this. For me and most people I hang out with, it's just a synonym for "jerk" or "a#@$^le": someone who is rude, malicious and/or inconsiderate. 69.95.240.178 (talk) 14:50, 27 June 2008 (UTC)
Me too. I have never heard it used to describe someone "acting outside the confines of their gender roles". I suspect that this is what some people want it to mean so that they can convince themselves that they are the victim of some sort of sexism or jealousy when they are called "bitch". They are not. "Bitch", to most people, is just the feminine equivalent of male-specific words like "bastard" etc. LeighvsOptimvsMaximvs (talk) 03:55, 25 August 2008 (UTC)
Completely agree. Someone wants the word to mean acting outside gender roles, but wanting something doesn't make it true. Anyone with the capability to edit this locked article should remove that sentence about gender roles.97.83.104.146 (talk) 09:06, 10 December 2008 (UTC)

Bitchin'

RE: "A term used in the late 70s and 80s" Sorry, When I was in Junior High in 1965, it was the word of choice. In a nutshell, it's definition goes something like this:(Adj.) The best. The greatest. The highest degree of honor. The ultimate. Beyond mortal words. A word fornicated upon by the "establishment". Could be used to describe a wave, a day, a song or a girl. During the time in question, never associated with the word "Totally". DeeJays of the day tried to come up with alternative words such as "boss" or "twitchin'", or the worst of them "groovy". They never really caught on. The term "Out of Sight" was used more or less interchangeably, but it didn't carry the cache.

--69.230.174.199 (talk) 20:48, 19 May 2008 (UTC) Ken Morgan

Perhaps the term was in use at the time, but still restricted to the surfing subculture, and not in popular use yet. 69.95.240.178 (talk) 14:55, 27 June 2008 (UTC)

"This article is about the insult..."

What about this article is about the word bitch..... Just thinking about it... Insults can be listed in the article but this article in some way seems to talk more about the word then just the insult.... JasonHockeyGuy (talk) 07:23, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

If it was about the word, it would need to be moved to Wiktionary. As long as it says "this article is about the insult", there needs to be a separate article, bitch (dog). 199.125.109.88 (talk) 18:33, 15 May 2009 (UTC)
Not necessarily. Fuck is about the word, and contains a lot more information than just a dictionary definition. I think bitch (dog) could be covered here as well. Jafeluv (talk) 08:35, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

Also.... How is the term for the animal "Bitch" an insult? Its purely a definition of a dog more then an insult. Should be a concensus to remove that information from the current article since the dog insult has enough wordage to become stub material. JasonHockeyGuy (talk) 06:21, 18 May 2009 (UTC)

Requested move

The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was  Not done. No consensus. — Aitias // discussion 21:55, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

Bitch → Bitch (insult) — This page should be moved to "Bitch (insult)" and the page "Bitch" should be the disambiguation. I Seek To Help & Repair! (talk) 21:03, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

Survey

Feel free to state your position on the renaming proposal by beginning a new line in this section with *'''Support''' or *'''Oppose''', then sign your comment with ~~~~. Since polling is not a substitute for discussion, please explain your reasons, taking into account Wikipedia's naming conventions.

The page "Bitch" should be moved to "Bitch (insult)", Support or Oppose

  • Support: As the move requester, needless to say, I'm in support of the move, the name it's at now in mis-leading. I Seek To Help & Repair! (talk) 21:29, 17 May 2009 (UTC)
  • Oppose. Are you saying that any of the entries listed (a band, a magazine, two songs, and a musician) is anywhere near as likely a target for readers searching for "bitch" than this article? If so, unfortunately I feel differently. This is by far the primary topic for this term. Jafeluv (talk) 22:28, 14 May 2009 (UTC)
  • Oppose. Clear primary use. Station1 (talk) 06:58, 17 May 2009 (UTC)
  • Primary use seems to apply here; however, if consensus is reached, the closing admin need not consult me wrt the move protection in place. NB came here by way of the solicitation template. –xeno talk 21:47, 17 May 2009 (UTC)
I don't quite understand -- given your explanation, wouldn't you prefer that the article remain here, rather than being moved to "Bitch (insult)"? Ed Fitzgerald t / c 23:06, 17 May 2009 (UTC)
Indeed, the female dog fact is mentioned at the top of the page. –xeno talk 00:32, 18 May 2009 (UTC)
  • Support I agree, at first i said oppose, but upon further thought, i changed my mind. You are correct. Even though the whole entirety of this page is about the insult, its not commonly an insult. As someone stated above, bitch means female dog. It could be seen as Bitch being an insult as slang, not the primary meaning. This is the English wikipedia, not the United States wikipedia. Dillard421♂♂ (talk to me) 22:21, 17 May 2009 (UTC)
So, if it's not commony an insult, why do you support moving the page? Again, I'm confused. Ed Fitzgerald t / c 23:06, 17 May 2009 (UTC)
Because if you look Bitch out in the Wikitionary you get (usually humorous or archaic) A female dog or other canine. In particular one who has recently had puppies. as the first definiton. Simularly if you look it up on merriam-webster.com you get the female of the dog or some other carnivorous mammals as the first definition. I support its move because the article is primarily about the slang at the moment, with the exception of one line. I think the article, Bitch should remain and be about the reference to a female dog, and Bitch (insult) should be created. Dillard421♂♂ (talk to me) 04:08, 18 May 2009 (UTC)
What do you suggest an article that was solely about "Bitch" meaning female dogs would say, aside from that "bitch" means a female dog, and the etylmology of the word? There really isn't enough of anything else to justify an article on that alone, and since the insult is intimately related to the original usage (it's only in quite recent times that "bitch" came to be ungendered, in the past "bitch" as an insult applied only to women, while men were "sons of bothces" or "bastards") they really should remain together. Ed Fitzgerald t / c 05:11, 18 May 2009 (UTC)
  • Support i'm gonna support. Mimzy1990 (talk) 22:29, 17 May 2009 (UTC)
  • Oppose It's a great word because of the ambiguity, life is a bitch indeed..Modernist (talk) 22:47, 17 May 2009 (UTC)
  • Oppose moving. Certainly the article could be split into two, if anyone thinks that's a good idea (I don't, since there's not enough material here to justify two articles), that's the best way to get a "Bitch (insult)" article, but "Bitch" would have to remain, because calling a female dog a bitch is not an insult. Ed Fitzgerald t / c 23:01, 17 May 2009 (UTC)
  • Oppose current division makes the most sense in terms of common usage. OhNoitsJamie Talk 23:19, 17 May 2009 (UTC)
  • Support I fully support per the reasons ive said in the requests. JasonHockeyGuy (talk) 06:17, 18 May 2009 (UTC)
  • Oppose - splitting this is unnecessary. The hat note just needs amending to read something like "This article is about the etymology and use of the word as an insult. For other ..." Beeswaxcandle (talk) 07:13, 18 May 2009 (UTC)
  • Support A word with more than one major use (here: female dog and the insult) should redirect to the disambiguation page. So it would be better for this page to be renamed, and the current name redirected to the disambig.YobMod 07:23, 18 May 2009 (UTC)
  • Support Article Bitch should state, "Bitch is another term for female dog, going back to whenever. For other uses, see -insert unordered list of disambiguated pages here-." Then put the insult stuff on bitch (insult). There's no need to create a disambiguation page and make this page a redirect. Just simply and unequivocally state exactly what the word is defined to mean and link to other meanings/uses of the word. Also, please note that on Wikipedia, consensus is determined by discussion, not voting, and it is the quality of arguments that counts, not the number of people supporting a position. Banaticus (talk) 21:17, 18 May 2009 (UTC)
Such a page already exists, and is the current disambiguation page.
  • Support as per Dillard. Primary use is a female dog. Confusing to start out mentioning a female dog and then turn the article into a discussion on slang... --HighKing (talk) 00:05, 19 May 2009 (UTC)
Primary use is not a female dog. The original use was, but the primary use now is the insult. Try looking at this news search - they're not talking about dogs...[1] Fences and windows (talk) 00:35, 19 May 2009 (UTC)
  • Oppose Needless complication. Just because it isn't an insult in every language doesn't mean it is the most used definition of the word. It is. Leave it. --Tarage (talk) 07:45, 21 May 2009 (UTC)
  • The article is not shared with the female dog, it just says, Bitch (the term for the dog) is used as a curse. It only contains info on the insult, it even says "this article is about the insult, for other uses see Bitch (disambiguation)" , The article doesn't need to be split in half. And it only makes sense to rename it

I Seek To Help & Repair! (talk) 04:45, 19 May 2009 (UTC)

It's been a couple of days now, we need to reach some kind of agreement, what good does not moving it do? The absolute worst it'll do is someone searching for insult will type in "Bitch" and they'll be re-directed to the disambiguation, and then they'll learn to now write (insult), please, anyone opposing the move, who no longer agrees with opposing, reverse your comment to "Support", if you do not know how, or want to reverse it but don't feel like physically doing it, Contact me by clicking here and leave me a message saying you'd like to reverse. Thank You, I Seek To Help & Repair! (talk) 22:35, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

  • Oppose. The primary lexical meaning may be "female dog" (it is the original meaning, anyway) but that is not the primary encyclopedic meaning. This should be obvious for the lack of any article on female dogs titled "bitch." WP:PRIMARYUSAGE says the primary meaning is the meaning that is "significantly more commonly searched for and read than other meanings". By definition, if there is not an article on female dog bitches, it cannot be more read. See Nice for a similar case where the primary lexical and encyclopedic meanings diverge. — AjaxSmack 00:45, 21 May 2009 (UTC)
  • Comment. ISTH&R, don't try to bounce this into a move. The discussion is evenly split, so there is by no means consensus to move. The word as the insult is overwhelmingly the primary usage of the term in modern English; this move serves no purpose. There isn't even an article for the female dog. Fences and windows (talk) 18:00, 21 May 2009 (UTC)
  • Strong support Quite obviously has more than one meaning, plus the insult originates from describing a female dog. To answer Fences and windows, the fact that WP doesn't have an article on female dogs is irrelevent; general importance is not equivilent to encyclopedic potential. Dog covers female dogs, under that article's remit. YeshuaDavid (talk) 00:42, 22 May 2009 (UTC)
  • Still oppose. The supporters have failed to answer my question above. Jafeluv (talk) 12:53, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

Sent response, Sought | Knock Knock | Who's There? 22:35, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

Discussion

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

"Degrading" spelt incorrectly in first few lines....

Someone correct this, as I am unable to...

It's the very first sentence-- "denegrating". ? 6/18/2009

'denigrating' is a real word and an appropriate choice in the context. However, it was incorrectly spelled in the article. Fixed it. --Kurt Shaped Box (talk) 06:35, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

Feminist use

This comment in the lead isn't present in the main body: In more recent usage in the context of feminism, it has varied reappropriated meanings that may connote a strong female (anti-stereotype of weak submissive woman), cunning (equal to males in mental guile), or else it may be used as a tongue-in cheek backhanded compliment for someone who has excelled in an achievement. In fact, it is longer than the entire section on women in the main article. We should put some of this in the main body of the article. The lead is for briefly summarizing what will be developed in the main body. Noloop (talk) 17:01, 26 July 2009 (UTC)

Heck, I just made the changes I think are correct. Fell free to revert--and discuss--if you disagree. Noloop (talk) 17:18, 26 July 2009 (UTC)

Giving Examples

What do people think of giving the examples below. It's almost essential to give examples, and we are not calling anyone anything. They are examples of either an allegation, or self-identification.

Notable Alleged Bitches

Notable Self-identified Bitches

  • Madonna "I'm tough, ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay." [3]
  • Members of the "Feminist Bitch Webring" [4]
I'm very strongly opposed to the "Notable Alleged Bitches" section. It is a violation of BLP rules, and a vandalism magnet. People don't need US-centric examples to illustrate this article. I am also not keen on the self-indentified section; the "In reference to women" already mentions feminist women "taking back" the term. I doubt the webring is at all notable. Madonna's "self-identification" is conditional; only if being "tough, ambitious and knowing exactly she wants" makes her a bitch is she okay with that, so that's a weak example. You need to expand on why is it "almost essential to give examples". As I noted on your talk page, Idiot (usage) doesn't refer to George W. Bush. Fences&Windows 20:01, 28 July 2009 (UTC)
  • I have reservations about "Alleged Bitches," however, I don't see how it violates BLP. It documents what others have said publicly. That's all. There is no disagreement about the fact of their saying it, we aren't saying it is right. We are saying it was said, and documenting that. If it's relevant to the article, there's no problem. However, I'm willing to change the examples to non-living people. Do you feel that's acceptable?
  • Giving examples is important because it is one of the most basic ways of clarifying anything.
  • The Bush analogy isn't analagous because that would be Wikipedia calling Bush an idiot. That's not what's proposed here. Also, there's no retaking of the term "idiot"; in general, nobody self-identifies as an idiot. So the term isn't really comparable to "bitch" in its social dimensions. Noloop (talk) 20:18, 28 July 2009 (UTC)
I disagree with having the self-identification section. Bitch is a nebulous definition and having three or four examples of people who've simply referred to themselves as bitches, or included the word in their art, is pointless. If they are essential to understanding the meaning of the word (which I doubt), they should be incorporated in the text of the article. I've removed the section. davewho2 05:40, 16 August 2009 (UTC)
The nebulousness doesn't matter when it's self-defined. Disagreeing with particular items in the list is completely different from deleting the entire section. Noloop (talk) 15:25, 16 August 2009 (UTC)
You misunderstood me. I don't disagree with particular items in the list. I disagree with the effectiveness of, and your justification of, this list. davewho2 16:36, 16 August 2009 (UTC)
OK. It seems to me your specific objections are to specific items, such as the performer Bitch. Anyway, can propose an incorporation "in the text of the article" for diiscussion? Noloop (talk) 22:06, 18 August 2009 (UTC)
Please re-read both of my comments as I stated clearly that I don't object to any item in particular. Before determining what can fit into the appropriate section of the article, please demonstrate why any of what's in this section is essential to the understanding or context of the word. davewho2 03:13, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Bitch/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

I am beginning a GA review of this article. Please feel free to leave any questions, comments and other reviews below. Thanks! Vicenarian (Said · Done) 18:26, 24 August 2009 (UTC)

Pre-GA Questions, Comments and Other Reviews

Comments: Were this to undergo the same concensus treatment as FA I would be opposing it. Citations are needed and the references that do exist are completely unformatted, and I would question their reliability (a reference from the Urban Dictionary?). There are other issues, but I have no doubt you'll find and deal with them; to raise this to GA would take quite a bit of work. MasterOfHisOwnDomain (talk) 10:10, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

GA REVIEW - Fail

Upon initial review, I'm have placed this article on hold. My primary concerns are:

  1. The sourcing is very dubious. WorldFreePoker.com and Urban Dictionary are not reliable sources. I would advise reviewing all the sources for reliability per WP:RS. Also, please format the references using {{citeweb}} or something similar. 2
  2. The section on "Bitch Slap" is entirely unreferenced. The section on "Hip hop culture" is similarly unreferenced. 2
  3. I'm not sure the "Self-Identified Bitches" section is really necessary. Per 3(b), I believe this may be unnecessary detail, and while not a patent violation of WP:BLP, it is still somewhat troubling. It appears there has been a very recent discussion of this very fact, concerning me about the article's stability. 5

The article looks good otherwise, but I can't do a more detailed review until these issues are resolved.

Vicenarian (Said · Done) 17:39, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

It has been approximately a week since my initial review, and my concerns have not been addressed. Given the concerns of the commentators above and below, and my unresolved concerns, I am going to fail this article for GA listing. The V-Man (Said · Done) 15:57, 31 August 2009 (UTC)

Post-GA Questions, Comments and Other Reviews

Why is this even being promoted as a good article? Its like giving FA to some of the other naughty words on here. The self identified bitches section is bogus and is a target for legal action from the actual artists. Remember, whatever you put in wikipedia, youre a publisher and bound to get in trouble.... JasonHockeyGuy (talk) 07:24, 31 August 2009 (UTC)

This article sucks

Am I the only person who can honestly say that this is a horrible article? Come on, this isn't UrbanDictionary or what ever other kind of crappy website where you can post these quasi-humourous entries. Come on, sections on Bitch Slapping/Notable Bitches/Prison Bitches etc etc? I say kill the entire entry, and restart.128.189.143.20 (talk) 04:05, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

—such as resemblance to a dog...

—such as resemblance to a dog? A bit awkward, bitch is never used to denigrate appearance but a multitude of other traits. Suggest the temperament of a dog (dogs being regarded as erratic or territorial)

"Bitch" is used of a person - typically, but not necessarily, female - to describe their character. I don't believe that the usage implies any physical resemblance to a dog at all. I strongly recommend the deletion of that odd and unsourced reference.124.197.15.138 (talk) 22:17, 25 October 2009 (UTC)

Severity of word "diminished?"

I'd like to challenge an idea that not only seems to be implied throughout this entire article, but is actually explicitly stated in at least two places: the idea that the severity of invective in bitch and its derivatives has somehow decreased.

The first statement is in the "hip-hop culture" section, and the second in the "son of a bitch" section:

Since the original term [bitch] is no longer as derogatory as it once was, these derivatives are often used with emphasis to try to achieve the expression of irritation the term itself once expressed about the female character.

And:

Like "bitch," the severity of the insult [son of a bitch] has diminished.

Says who? I really don't like the authoritative tone of these two statements, since the meaning of words when spoken or heard are highly subjective. What's funny, sarcastic or mocking to one person can be devastating and hurtful to another (case in point: nigger, faggot, queer and their respective derivatives). There is no way to empirically "prove" that the offensiveness of bitch and son of a bitch have diminished, since many people still find the words highly triggering and abusive. Think about it: if there's no severity of meaning in these descriptors, then how can they still be effective as insults?

Thoughts on this?

Pinko1977 (talk) 00:39, 13 November 2009 (UTC)

The strength of insults does vary, but as it was unsourced and really added nothing I've removed it. Fences&Windows 00:54, 14 November 2009 (UTC)

The article gives the following source for the claim that the severity of the insult has diminished: Hughes, Geoffrey. Encyclopedia of Swearing : The Social History of Oaths, Profanity, Foul Language, and Ethnic Slurs in the English-Speaking World. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2006. It also seems likely. To take your example, do you see bottles of wine named "Faggot" and bumperstickers reading "I go 0 to nigger in ten seconds?"

What about Bitchin. Or is it Bitchen?

Didn't see that on the page.

Reference to something that is awesome or terrific. "That's Bitchin!"

That would be good since it shares roots with the Spanish "puta madre" or "bitch mother" but is used the same way "Bitchin'" is used in English.--Jhlynes (talk) 14:01, 13 December 2009 (UTC)

Psychology of bitching

The psychology of bitching is almost entirely ignored.--Penbat (talk) 14:37, 15 November 2009 (UTC)

etymology

The word bitch is from the Old Norse Bikkjuna meaning "female of the dog" of unknown origin, Grimm derives the Old Norse words from Lapp Pittja, But OED notes that "the converse is equally possible." The adj. Bitchy was first seen in 1925. The verb meaning to complain in 1930. Slang Bitchen "good" is attested to the 1950's otherwise known as tyler —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.17.38.70 (talk) 01:25, 24 December 2009 (UTC)

male usage

This article formerly suggested that the term "bitch" was used as an insult for effeminate gay males. I have changed this simply to effeminate males, as the term is often used as an insult regardless of sexual orientation. Toucan6 2:33, 19 December 2005 (UTC)


To say that the usage is confined to effeminate males is to buy into the exact prison-rape attitude that uses the term this way. The term is used male-to-male as a dominance ritual. This is not an indicator of the sexual attitude of the person being called a bitch: it is a statement of the desire of the speaker to dominate them.75.64.184.109 (talk) 22:31, 16 December 2009 (UTC)

this article

wasnt this article about female dogs? when did it become all about the slang of the word? suggest making a new article, or atleast getting some more references for this one? ...

why is no one signing their posts here? Indigo child 06:50, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

Slavery

I've seen references to slave-traders and slave-owners in the United States using 'bitch' to mean a female black slave. To include information about this use would improve the article.71.221.251.150 (talk) 23:29, 24 January 2010 (UTC)

Please provide a reliable source for this usage. Fences&Windows 23:53, 24 January 2010 (UTC)

additional meanings

One of the meanings of bitch is a man who is cowardly or displays womanly characteristics. A "wuss". e.g. to "bitch out" of doing a dare. This isn't discussed in the article, only a man as a subordinate. 128.54.215.50 (talk) 00:45, 31 March 2010 (UTC)

Inglan Is a Bitch

Maybe this song from Bass Culture should be mentione here.--Popopp (talk) 15:44, 17 March 2010 (UTC)

Inglan Is a Bitch

Maybe this song from Bass Culture should be mentione here.--Popopp (talk) 15:44, 17 March 2010 (UTC)

Unencyclopedic

Wikipedia is not a dictionary. The first part of this article is OK, but it becomes very dictionary-like once it starts talking about men. Likely some of the content before this is purely dictionary material too. WP:NAD. -- cmhTC 20:04, 1 June 2010 (UTC)

Can you propose some solutions? The part referenced to Urban Dictionary has been removed. Noloop (talk) 01:20, 22 August 2010 (UTC)

rating on quality scale

I bumped the rating from C to B. Discuss if you wish... Noloop (talk) 03:07, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

Reverts

Any chance of an explanation for this (more or less repeated) revert? I tried to tidy up the top (take out the misleading dog picture, reword the first sentence to make it clear that the article is about the term rather than female dogs, use the common word "dog" instead of "canine", remove the misleading description saying that the derogatory term means somehow like a dog, etc.) and see it all keep getting put back to the mess that was there before. Is there any point to this?--Kotniski (talk) 17:24, 19 October 2010 (UTC)

I didn't think your changes improved the article, so I reverted to the consensus version. The dog in heat is part of the background of the topic, so it's fair and natural to have that as an image. I don't agree that the lead or picture misleads the reader. Noloop (talk) 19:08, 19 October 2010 (UTC)
Oh, it most definitely does, when I came to the article (from WP:RM) I immediately thought it was an article about dogs, and the first sentence seemed to confirm that fact. Read it again as if you didn't know, and you'll see. Also the version you've reverted to emphasizes some very marginal meanings of the slang term - since there are so many meanings, we should either mention the most common ones, or just say that there is a variety of meanings and leave it at that.--Kotniski (talk) 06:16, 20 October 2010 (UTC)
Although I think that the changes that Kotniski are for the better, there seems little point in altering the text until the WP:RM is finished. I am concerned that the article gives a misleading view of usage for example "In modern usage the term bitch has different meanings depending largely on context and may vary from very offensive to endearing." It also depends on location. I have lived in several parts of the English speaking world where if one woman calls another woman, a bitch then it is done knowing that there will be a physical fight, in such places and among such women there is no "endearing" meaning. As with so much slang these things are regional. -- PBS (talk)
It doesn't say the meaning is endearing. It says it depends largely on context, but in certain cases it can have that meaning. It also says that the insulting meaning is the default or norm. Finding examples of different usage in different contexts makes that point. Noloop (talk) 18:01, 27 October 2010 (UTC)
Yes of course context can be stretched to mean that but usually, context implies within the same user group. However the article does not explain that as with other words and phrases -- particularly the sort that most people do not use in a formal setting/polite company --such words can have different range of meaning in different dialects. For example the term "son of bitch" tends to be use by North Americans, so calling someone a "son of bitch" elsewhere is likely to sound exotic or strange which would dissolve the force of the intended insult. The point I am making is one can not say "very offensive to endearing" it does not just depend on the context it also depends on the usage by class and geographic location. To go back to the "son of bitch" section it also say "Like 'bitch,' the severity of the insult has diminished.", it is a very big claim to make for every part of the English speaking world. If it means within the subgroup of English speakers that use the term then it may be true (don't know). But that is not what is says. See for example this article where there is little sign that it use as an insult had diminished in South East London. -- PBS (talk) 20:32, 27 October 2010 (UTC)
I can't comprehend your logic. Everything you are saying means that you can say "very offensive to endearing". Class and geography are part of context. The news story you cited has nothing to do with the overall topic, other than to illustrate that it is still used as an insult. Noloop (talk) 23:43, 27 October 2010 (UTC)
To try to explain using a binary example. If a Londoner in London says "he's pissed" they mean drunk they would never mean angry (that would be "pissed off" which never means drunk ie "He said he was pissed off with her indoors, so he's gone to the pub to get pissed"). If a New Yorker in New York says "he's pissed" I would assume that they mean angry and not drunk. Dialects don't just change the nuance of a word they can change the meaning, to describe such changes as a change in context, is pushing the envelope so far as to make the text in which it is used unclear. -- PBS (talk) 01:28, 28 October 2010 (UTC)
The meaning of the word can change dramatically according to context. The fact that the range of meanings may be less in London than in New York doesn't change that.Noloop (talk) 04:09, 28 October 2010 (UTC)

Requested move

The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: page moved. Vegaswikian (talk) 01:42, 29 October 2010 (UTC)


Bitch → Bitch (slang) Bitch (insult) — Relisting. Consensus is present to move the dab page to the main name space. What is missing is consensus for a name for the current article. If no consensus is reached then the closing admin may need to decide. Vegaswikian (talk) 05:38, 22 October 2010 (UTC) and then redirect this page (bitch) to dog with a wp:hatnote to bitch (disambiguation) . PBS (talk) 09:42, 7 October 2010 (UTC)

The primary meaning of bitch is a female dog. The insult is a derivation of that: The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meanings as: "Bitich n.1"

  • 1. a. The female of the dog.
  • 1 b. The female of the fox, wolf, and occasionally of other beasts; usually in combination with the name of the species. (Also as in sense 2.)
  • 2. a. Applied opprobriously to a woman; strictly, a lewd or sensual woman. Not now in decent use; but formerly common in literature. In mod. use, esp. a malicious or treacherous woman; of things: something outstandingly difficult or unpleasant.
  • 2 b. Applied to a man (less opprobrious, and somewhat whimsical, having the modern sense of ‘dog’). Not now in decent use.
  • 2 c. A primitive form of lamp used in Alaska and Canada.
  • 3. Comb. and attrib., as (sense 1) bitch-puppy, -whelp; (sense 2) bitch-baby, -clout, -daughter, -hunter, -son; {dag}bitch-daughter (obs.), the nightmare; bitch-fou a. (Sc.), as drunk and sick as a bitch, ‘beastly’ drunk; bitch-goddess, in William James's phr. (see quot. 1906); cf.

Bitch, n.2 1747 HOOSON Miner's Dict. s.v. Boring, For drawing up the Rods, we have, to hold them, an Iron Instrument called a Bitch, and, for unscrewing them, two more we call Dogs. 1881 RAYMOND Mining Gloss., Biche, a tool ending below in a conical cavity, for recovering broken rods from a bore~hole.

"Old dog" is a complement for a man, while "pig" is a gender neutral insult and "silly cow" or "stupid mare" or are insults to women but we do not make those slang terms the primary meanings in any of the other cases. This insult is a secondary meanings for bitch. So I propose that this page redirects to an article that represents its primary meaning. For those who say that the primary meaning of bitch is the slang meaning, I put it to you that it only has a bite (don't excuse the pun) because most people at whom it is aimed know the real primary meaning. If they did not it would no longer be a strong insult: for example how many women today would be insulted to be called a harlot or a strumpet (I suspect most of those who were so insulted would first have to be told what it meant) before they understood the insulted. -- PBS (talk) 09:42, 7 October 2010 (UTC)

  • Conditional support - agree with the above but unless there is to be an article specifically on bitch dog i cant see any point in changing.--Penbat (talk) 16:21, 7 October 2010 (UTC)
  • Despite the dictionary, the most common usage is probably that which refers to women. Noloop (talk) 17:08, 7 October 2010 (UTC)
  • I could support making the bitch (disambiguation) page into the landing spot for bitch, but I oppose making dog the landing spot. (1) Partially because it is a very large article to land at erroneously, and (2) partially because I don't think the writers at [dog] would appreciate having to deal with the problems associated with both a hatnote and incoming traffic for "bitch". (3) The WP:PRIMARYTOPIC non-obviousness as a minor 3rd reason - the meaning of "bitch" as "complain" is in arguably more common usage than the canine term. HTH. -- Quiddity (talk) 17:19, 7 October 2010 (UTC)
I would also have to question this as well. A dictionary would treat the dog as the primary meaning since it was the orginal meaning though I question whether this would be the same for everday use. I personally doubt that the averagre reader typing bitch would be looking for information on dogs. I have no opinion on the idea of making the dab page the primary meaning though I do not agree with the current proposal.--174.90.78.3 (talk) 17:40, 7 October 2010 (UTC)
* Google "bitch woman -dog" gives 7,900,000
* Google "bitch dog -women -woman" gives 3,970,000
--Penbat (talk) 17:48, 7 October 2010 (UTC)
Two points. The first is I have recently read a paper (from a link on a talk page) that large Google searches are done using a statistical prediction so they are not very accurate. When I find the section where it was linked, I'll post the link here. The second is that we do not use general ghits on general web pages we use reliable sources to determine the name of a page. Again taking into account the unreliability of ghits their a search on books returns about the same numbers for dog (about 345,000) and woman (about 339,000 results) -- PBS (talk) 02:47, 8 October 2010 (UTC)
  • Support a move like the proposed move and support "making the bitch (disambiguation) page into the landing spot for bitch" as suggested above per WP:NOPRIMARYTOPIC. Oppose the title "bitch (slang)" since the usage is not only slang. Maybe bitch (term)? — AjaxSmack 00:36, 8 October 2010 (UTC)
  • Comment I don't think "insult" quite captures it. The primary factor is not being insulting, but being profane, so IMO bitch (profanity) is closer to what we'd want. — kwami (talk) 10:15, 16 October 2010 (UTC)
    • I'm also preferring bitch (profanity) as the new name: partly because it uses the category name which seems sensible; and partly because the word can be used in the profane sense without intending to insult anyone, such as an exclamation about world events, "Son of a bitch!". HTH. -- Quiddity (talk) 17:51, 16 October 2010 (UTC)
      • As I said before I personally prefer Bitch (profanity) but if someone was to put the term into a search engine are they more likely to type 'Bitch insult' or 'Bitch profanity' and the point of a dab is to aid navigation to the article. I can live with either so take my agreement for whichever of the alternatives that have been suggested and I am happy to leave it to the judgement of the closing administrator. -- PBS (talk) 03:29, 18 October 2010 (UTC)
  • Support the general idea of the proposal (no great preference for any specific disambiguator) - and does the picture of the dog really illustrate the article topic, if the topic is supposed to be the insulting term? (It's particularly bad under the present title, as it really makes it look as if this is an article about dogs).--Kotniski (talk) 06:20, 18 October 2010 (UTC)
  • Oppose. It's not about a profantiy, so that would be silly. Half the article is about something else. Noloop (talk) 06:48, 18 October 2010 (UTC)
    • Do you have any preference or suggestions for a different title? -- Quiddity (talk) 19:40, 18 October 2010 (UTC)

Nope. The meaning of the idea and the word are changing. Wait 100 years and check back. Noloop (talk) 21:07, 18 October 2010 (UTC)

  • Support move to Bitch (insult) and move and move Bitch (disambiguation) to Bitch, with a reordering. The insult is not the most common meaning, even in today's world - vets and scientists still talk of "bitch" in relation to dogs.  — Amakuru (talk) 07:05, 22 October 2010 (UTC)
That may be, but we don't have an article on the female dog; that will always be part of the "dog" article. So there is no ambuguity and nothing to disambiguate. If that changes, so that there is a desire for an article just on female dogs, then renaming this article would make sense. In the meantime, there's no reason for it. Noloop (talk) 15:35, 23 October 2010 (UTC)
There is ambiguity. This is an encyclopaedia and we base our article names and content on reliable secondary sources. Using Google books as a proxy for the set of reliable sources, (and not a simple web search) the numbers come out at about the same numbers for dog (about 345,000) and woman (about 339,000 results). The word bitch is to dog as Ram is to sheep. There has been no evidence presented so show that In reliable sources that there is a primary topic here. Further just because we do not have an article on the male sheep, we do not fail to have a dab page at ram and mention a common usage. Indeed it could be argued that the article on the word bitch shoudl be on wiktionary but that is another discussion. -- PBS (talk) 20:51, 23 October 2010 (UTC)
I'm not sure how you're using google books. Comparing raw numbers doesn't reveal much about usage. When I go to google books and search for "bitch" the top hits are:
  1. Bitch. Novel. "Precious Cummings came from nothing but was determined to have it all. Using her most deadly weapons - undeniable beauty, body and street savvy brains...." Obviously about the slag term.
  2. Bitch: in praise of difficult women
  3. Bitch. Novel. "From London to Las Vegas, Hollywood to Athens -- she calls the shots from her plush limos and black satin sheets. She is The Bitch and she is in control. And that could never change -- could it? THE BITCH is the sizzling sequel to THE STUD....."
  4. Skinny bitch: a no-nonsense, tough-love guide for savvy girls who ...
  5. "Bitch!": the autobiography of Lady Lawford
  6. The bitch in the house: 26 women tell the truth about sex, ...
  7. You Say I'm a Bitch Like It's a Bad Thing
  8. That Bitch: Protect Yourself Against Women with Malicious Intent
  9. Bitch: feminist response to pop culture: Volume 39
  10. Poor Little Bitch Girl Novel
  11. The Bitch Posse Novel
  12. I, B.I.T.C.H.
  13. . Stitch 'n bitch: the knitter's handbook
  14. Bitch Creek Novel. "The story was, someone had named it after a trout fly, but Millie figured some man just named it after his wife."
  15. The Bitch at Work "This rowdy new guide is essential whether you're just starting out, climbing the ladder of success or opting out of the rat race to be an entrepreneur."
  16. Getting in Touch with Your Inner Bitch
  17. The bitch is back: wicked women in literature
  18. The Book of the Bitch: A Complete Guide to Understanding and Caring for Bitches "A complete guide to caring for bitches for the experienced breeder and the novice bitch owner"

Not until the 18th hit is the reference to a dog. Noloop (talk) 22:58, 23 October 2010 (UTC)

I think that looking at the quality of the sources is a good idea, not one of the books before number 18 is about the subject, instead bitch is being used to describe something else. Do you have a book that describes the development of the term and its usage in popular culture (as demonstrated by these fist 17 book titles?). BTW how is the word used in general references the OED is listed above and here is the listing for Britannica: bitch (does not mention the insult). -- PBS (talk) 23:54, 23 October 2010 (UTC)
The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

USA bias

I have added {{Template:Globalize/USA|section|date=December 2010}} to the top of the section modern usage because the vast majority (all?) of the references are US. Many slang terms vary greatly between English speaking nations and geographical location within those nations. At the moment the article relies heavily on a few US sources to make universal statements without qualification. The article needs sources from all the major English speaking nations to show that any meaning given to the sang term bitch is widely used and not confined to usage within a specific social subgroup or narrow geographic location. -- PBS (talk) 11:31, 29 December 2010 (UTC)

Obvious POV

"The use of the word “bitch” as an insult occurred through its association with the Greek/Roman goddess Artemis-Diana, the goddess of the hunt. Artemis-Diana was often portrayed in the company of dogs, and sometimes as an animal herself. In order to suppress the sacred feminine and to impose Christian rule and ideology on non-Christians and pagans, the expression “son of a bitch” was used in Christian Europe to impugn those who were the spiritual followers of the goddess. The use of the word “bitch,” as applied to women, was linked to suppressing women to equate them with sexually depraved beasts. In short, the word "bitch" originated as a derogatory, sexist slur in ancient Greece and Rome to dehumanize women - or less than a man since the insult is only used against males to compare them to women."


This blatantly POV section asserts as fact a highly contentious ideology and shows blatant prejudice against a religious tradition. It is unsourced (though the editing slyly created the illusion that it is a quote from a cited author, though it is not.) If it is retained, it should be attributed clearly and accurately and the POV of the source should be identified. If this is not remain permanently changed, it is a sign of grave deficiencies in the system here. Zipcedric (talk) 00:03, 1 July 2011 (UTC)

Huh?

What is this sentence trying to say?

"As in the culture the term "dawg" is used for males it is sometimes said as a type positive way as "bitch" is the female term" Noloop (talk) 03:36, 28 September 2011 (UTC)

Edit request on 21 March 2012

Does "Bitch Slap" really need an illustration?

74.95.102.73 (talk) 19:09, 21 March 2012 (UTC)

If you think this image should be removed, then please gain consensus here, but please read WP:NOTCENSORED first! mabdul 13:23, 22 March 2012 (UTC)

Reine de Joie

What is this? This old poster needs context spelled out in its caption if it's going to stay because its relationship to the article is not apparent. Otherwise, I plan to remove it. --David Shankbone 04:19, 27 July 2012 (UTC)

self-identification

I don't follow the logic of removing the section on self-identification [2]. If somebody says "I'm a bitch" it is hardly libel to report what he or she said. Nor is it a BLP violation. Noloop (talk) 18:39, 28 August 2011 (UTC)

True -> Dena Feldman Forman (talk) 15:03, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

First sentence

I think a better way to type this (long sentence with excessive commas):

Bitch, literally meaning a female dog, is a common slang term in the English language, especially used as a denigrating term applied to a person, commonly a woman.

"Bitch, literally meaning a female dog, is also a common slang term in the English language. It's especially used as a denigrating/disparaging term applied to a person, most commonly a female."

Otherwise use parenthesis, perhaps. And is it really just an American-English term? Just some input/thoughts... 99.129.112.89 (talk) 19:44, 4 May 2013 (UTC)

Insult?

The word can also be used as a friendly slang word and various meanings, it doesn't necessarily have to be considered a insult, any thoughts? Thanks. (N0n3up (talk) 21:57, 24 October 2014 (UTC))

Speculative etymology should be removed

The Other Forms section contains this text:

When used as a verb, to bitch means to complain. Usage in this context is almost always pejorative in intent. Allegedly, it was originally used to refer to the stereotypical wife's constant complaints about petty things, effectively tying in the etymology with the vulgar slang for an unpleasant woman.[32]

The sentence "Allegedly, it was ... woman" is pure speculation. It has no place in a serious article and should be removed. The citation [32] links to a dictionary.com page, but the linked page contains absolutely no information relating to or supporting this speculation.

Have removed it Cannolis (talk) 11:51, 15 June 2015 (UTC)

African-American culture

In the African-American culture, "bitch" as it refers to a man may refer to subordination, but this way is extremely disrespectful. More commonly, "bitch" as it refers to a man refers to his feminine tendencies. 71.214.116.237 (talk) 07:08, 3 August 2015 (UTC)

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First rap to use it

Too $hort's song Female Funk was also from 1983, and that used the word. That might have been earlier than the cited use by Duke Bootee, depending on exactly when in 1983 the records were released. Epa101 (talk) 15:21, 11 October 2015 (UTC)

Other languages

Icelandic also has the word tík which does double duty as a swearword and indicator of a female dog. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.220.74.3 (talk) 18:52, 4 May 2016 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 16 August 2016

It seems appropriate to add either or both of these as additional categories: Category:Sexism, Category:Sexuality_and_gender-related_slurs

ClocksmithPie (talk) 18:08, 16 August 2016 (UTC)

Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format. Topher385 (talk) 18:24, 16 August 2016 (UTC)
 Done. The two categories that were suggested originally did not show in the above request due to improper formatting for running text. I've corrected that and added Category:Sexuality and gender-related slurs to the article as requested. Category:Sexism is a parent to the other category, so does not need to be added directly. (Note that although Category:Misogynistic slurs‎ already is in the article, the term is not only misogynistic, so both categories are useful.) Station1 (talk) 21:42, 16 August 2016 (UTC)

Requested move 13 January 2017

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: moved to bitch (slang). Andrewa (talk) 20:17, 20 January 2017 (UTC)

Bitch (insult) → bitch (word) – not an insult in all cases. in "we run this bitch" for instance, the word is not an insult. Voortle (talk) 18:06, 13 January 2017 (UTC)

  • Oppose it's an insult not merely a noun. In ictu oculi (talk) 21:20, 13 January 2017 (UTC)
As below move to Bitch (slang) per bd2412 In ictu oculi (talk) 09:06, 14 January 2017 (UTC)
  • Move to Bitch (slang), as it is the slang usage that is addressed, whether the term is intended to insult or not; compare Dick (slang), Cougar (slang), Dyke (slang). bd2412 T 04:19, 14 January 2017 (UTC)
  • Bitch (slang) per bd2412. Dicklyon (talk) 07:07, 14 January 2017 (UTC)
  • Bitch (slang) (or Bitch (ex-wife) for accuracy), the former per above comments. Randy Kryn 14:12, 14 January 2017 (UTC)
  • Bitch (slang) Alázhlis (talk) 17:59, 14 January 2017 (UTC)
  • Move to Bitch (slang) – per BD2412, as the term "bitch" is not always treated as an insult. CookieMonster755 𝚨-𝛀 03:26, 19 January 2017 (UTC)
The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

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Not clear if its original (literal) meaning is still commonly used in English language

I read the article trying to figure out if the literal meaning of this word (female dog) is still commonly used in English language. I happen to have a female dog and English is my second language so this is a real concern for me.

Can someone extend the article clarifying this? Maybe add too commonly used alternatives to this word to express the original meaning?

76.178.176.230 (talk) 18:08, 17 August 2017 (UTC)

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Semi-protected edit request on 24 October 2018

Delete "This can also be seen throughout multiple different songs from Rihanna's song entitled "Bad Bitch" featuring Beyoncé which reiterates the line "I'm a bad bitch"[30] multiple times." I looked up the song - it's a fake. No other sources corroborating it except for posts on Genius and Youtube. Cerulean14 (talk) 23:17, 24 October 2018 (UTC)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. --DannyS712 (talk)

Semi-protected edit request on 16 January 2021

"Bitch" should be in quotation marks and not italicized. 173.3.130.147 (talk) 16:54, 16 January 2021 (UTC)

 Not done: Wikipedia’s Manual of Style specifies that italics should be used when talking about words as words. Please see MOS:WAW for more info. Pupsterlove02 talk • contribs 19:24, 16 January 2021 (UTC)

Use in pornography

When used in pornography, it seems to be used to generally refer to girls who participate in casual sex, and in this sense I don't think it means "a woman who is belligerent, unreasonable, malicious, controlling, aggressive, or dominant" as per the article. It seems to be used interchangeably with other demeaning words such as "whore", "slut" etc. And it is often used together with demeaning adjectives, i.e. "filthy bitch", "nasty bitch" etc. 2A01:4C8:1073:99E4:1:2:B344:FAF2 (talk) 11:56, 18 January 2021 (UTC)

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Bitch is really so offensive?

I know that the word “bitch" may be very offensive sometimes but damn it, it seems it's a not a very strong insult anymore. I mean, I heard the expression “bitch" in many movies and series. And these films/series are not exactly for adults. For example in iron man(2008) The expression “son of a bitch" is used twice. Does this mean that the word “bitch" is not so offensive? Or it's just a mild swear word? I think there many worse swear words. Example: fuck, shit, dick, prick, pussy, c**t, ect. I don't know really how serious the word “bitch" is. I think now is almost a mild swear word, and more slang than vulgar. 201.233.163.255 (talk) 19:07, 22 January 2022 (UTC)

Further references to male insult

It would be advised to add more references to the use of "bitch" when used as a male insult for "subordinate, weak, or cowardly". For claims of potentially libelious/controversial content (even though I can surely understand in person that "bitch" could be used in that particular male insult), there should be at least one reliable source for each of them. I tried looking under the Bitch (slang)#In reference to men section, but I could only find a few references related to the topic, and I am not 100% sure if I could imply the James Coyne quote as being precisely the meaning that equates specifically to "subordinate, weak, or cowardly".

To quote from that Bitch (slang)#In reference to men section:

According to James Coyne from the Department of Psychology at the University of California, "'Bitch' serves the social function of isolating and discrediting a class of people who do not conform to the socially accepted patterns of behavior."[coyne 1]

  1. ^ Coyne, James C.; Sherman, Richard C.; O'Brien, Karen (December 1978). "Expletives and woman's place". Sex Roles. 4 (6): 827–835. doi:10.1007/bf00287702. S2CID 143420865.

The discreditment or social isolation of men doesn't simply imply that the men are "subordinate, weak, or cowardly" specifically, and to claim the link between implications of Coyne's quote to the "subordinate, weak, or cowardly" definition would constitute original research, which is against WP:OR. Which is why I did not want to simply go and plonk in that reference right beside the leading section's definition on "bitch" as a men insult, and why I instead put in the {{Citation needed}} and {{More citations needed}} maintenence templates. Qwertyxp2000 (talk | contribs) 08:27, 19 July 2022 (UTC) Qwertyxp2000 (talk | contribs) 08:53, 19 July 2022 (UTC)

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— Assignment last updated by DP4201 (talk) 03:20, 19 September 2023 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Black Women and Popular Culture

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 21 August 2023 and 1 December 2023. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): DP4201 (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by Zremu18 (talk) 01:10, 13 October 2023 (UTC)

Missing from Modern Use

The use of 'bitch' in the last chapter (not counting the epilogue) of the Harry Potter series has not been included in this article. As far as I'm aware this use has been hardly noticed or contested despite the fact that the series is written primarily for children. As an additional personal opinion I don't thnk 'bitch' is quite as profane as some other words and is perfectly acceptable in many contexts within popular culture. Non-user 2 June 2011 10:37 (UTC)


it SHOULD be more profane. there should be some context added to the page which addresses how much more disrespectful people have become in recent decades imo. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:4040:2AA1:3E00:8420:EE7F:7E92:4814 (talk) 20:53, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 4 November 2023

Change location of X the paragraph located beneath In Reference to Men "prison bitch" can also refer to any subservient entity, as in the Douglas Rushkoff description of a Microsoft–Yahoo partnership: "Yahoo is merely hooking up with the most alpha male company it can still find in order to survive. Microsoft will soon turn Yahoo into its prison bitch, and this won't be pretty."[53]

To Y New sub-header subservient entity "prison bitch" can also refer to any subservient entity, as in the Douglas Rushkoff description of a Microsoft–Yahoo partnership: "Yahoo is merely hooking up with the most alpha male company it can still find in order to survive. Microsoft will soon turn Yahoo into its prison bitch, and this won't be pretty."[53] Skoochi (talk) 16:52, 4 November 2023 (UTC)

 Not done: The relevant material has been removed for violation of our no original research policy. —Sirdog (talk) 23:49, 4 November 2023 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Black Women and Popular Culture

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 21 August 2023 and 1 December 2023. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): DP4201 (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by Nyamagibbs (talk) 18:06, 6 November 2023 (UTC)

  1. ^ http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2007/11/13/mccain/
  2. ^ http://www.slate.com/id/1007650/
  3. ^ http://thinkexist.com/quotation/i-m_tough-ambitious-and_i_know_exactly_what_i/9153.html
  4. ^ http://www.webring.com/t/The-Feminist-Bitch-Webring
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