I Am A Proud Bitch: Time To Reclaim The Cuss Words By Ladies

Sorry but no sorry, this lovely morning you might have to read the word BITCH, many times in this article. Last month we gave our take on the famous Kangana-Karan fiasco post Kangana’s fiery performance in the chat show, ‘Koffee With Karan.’ That certainly left a bitter after taste in Mr. Johar’s mouth. Well we simply couldn’t stop ourselves from jumping into the bandwagon and congratulated Kangana for being the badass woman, that she is. Kangana Shows Us How To Be An Unapologetic Bitch was our attempt to support the likes of Kangana and their #TakeCharge spirit. They are the ones who point out. Raise their voices, loud and clear. And, refuse to accept the status quo.
 

Although we did come across a comment on our FB page which triggered a flutter of thoughts in my mind. A reader was not pleased that we used the word “Bitch” in the headline.


 



 

Which got us thinking, what was wrong with the word bitch? Oxford dictionary says the word ‘bitch’ is a noun, meaning a female dog, wolf, fox or otter. Somehow, and for the love of the god I do not understand how, bitch came to be used as an informal or slang for implying a spiteful, vicious and someone with loose morals. The usage acquired these disgusting connotations used in the context of women when shaming them. 

Now at the expense of sounding a misandrist, man-hating, Feminazi, I would say that the language has been altered a lot many times to shame women. Picking out on women who have stepped out of their comfort zone and accepted norms to do something unconventional. Don’t get me wrong here, women are equally guilty of using this word to curse their fellow females. What about sisterhood ladies?! 

At this point let me also add that I am equally guilty of partaking in cursing  a woman with the word ‘bitch’ (psst..let them be anonymous) But, it just so happens that an “overbearing” woman is tagged a bitch. That’s our instant reaction.

Let me begin by asking you few questions:

1. Do you have a female boss?

2. Is she dominating?

3. Is she a hard taskmaster?

4. Does she ride on your ass to ensure quality and productivity from your end?

5. Do you think and sometimes say to yourself and to your friends on a Saturday night, clubbing and guzzling down that chilled beer; “My boss is a bitch!”

• Okay, let’s talk about that loud girl in your class. She is annoying, right? A motormouth and an attention whore. She can’t resist from giving her opinion. I mean why does she have to have a say in every frigging debate. Can’t she stand back for a change. Does she have to compete every time? What a show off, bitch!

• Or, that friend of your sister who is open about her sex life. Yeah, the one who sleeps around with men. So, what if she’s an adult? So, what if it was consensual? She can’t be roaming around the town, professing her rights as an adult. What a slutty bitch?!

I can go on and on about how many times I have been a mute witness, or took part in shaming a woman by calling her a ‘bitch.’ Not my best behaviour though.

So, who’s exactly a bitch here? Someone who is assertive, opinionated, vocal or loud for that matter, sexually active and open about it. In that case, I am a bitch. I can’t stress over the fact that we are not in the 70s or 80s or even for that matter in 90s and 2000s here. It is 2017, and high time we stop shaming women for being, what a man is applauded for, in a professional set up and in his personal life too.

I don’t see you shaming a man’s domineering attitude at a workplace or his tacts in playing the office game smartly or rather deviously. How can it be fair for a man in love and war and shame for a woman in the same fields? Don’t hate the player, hate the game!

I think we the younger females in our late 20s are living in the right time. We can be the agents of change and reclaim these cuss words, which have been contorted over the years. Their meaning has been prodded to suit the understandings of an unaware person who is grappling with the idea of gender equality. There are enough supremely offensive cuss words out there, let’s not add to the bank.