Hi, the title pretty much says everything. I'm trying to eliminate the word "bitch" from my vocabulary, but it would really help if there was a non-gender specific word that carries the same meaning. Does anybody know of any?
I do. Bitch. I've never given that word assignment to any 1 gender in particular. Guys, girls, and everyone in between are capable of being a bitch.
I just get creative with my swearing to avoid it. My favorites are shitlord or ass-hat. That way I can be gender neutral when I'm being an asshole! It's fantastic :lol:
Well, in what sense of the word? As a verb? Use complaining/bickering/whining. As a noun? Use biotch or "not nice person". That's what my mom does!!
Swear words work too. But hey, you can call a guy a bitch Twat works. And shithead. Or you can learn some foreign swearing. Tete de la merde! (Shithead in French ^^) I try to refrain from calling people Dicks though.
Why use an alternative? I've heard plenty of people use it for both girls and guys. I know my cousin loves using it to describe me (I troll him frequently).
Doesn't change the fact that it's a misogynistic word. No excuses. As a woman, you can use it to describe yourself. If you're talking about a female dog, you can use it. That's it. That said, I like thedreamwatch's answer.
Thank fuck, I saw part of the title, and thought this was another "Are there any feminists here?" thread. As for the word bitch, though it can be applied to men, it tends to suggest a man with feminine qualities, which renders it just as sexist. Bastard, asshole, piece of shit, that sort of thing.
agreed. For as a verb replacement, I like whining. As to call someone else, I'm a fan of asshole or fuckwad.
oh yeah...totally -.-' If I'm not using the word to single out a particular gender than it's not being used by me in a way that misogynistic. Context matters.
Well in truth this is an animal rights issue as it insults female dogs by using them as a negative thing. I don't ever swear but if I ever have to say this word I say 'beyoch' lol
I'd only say it's misogynistic if used in the context you're using it to degrade someone because they're happen to be female. In that case I would call out people on that but in the case of people rearranging it's meaning to be equal to being a jerk/troll/etc with no regards to gender I don't see a problem. I had a teacher once who said that we should take words that have sexist meaning and redefine them so that they don't shame someone because of their gender and have an either positive or humorous meaning. recall how she made each of us say we were bitches and proud with the definition meaning someone who doesn't feel ashamed for expressing themselves. I don't think we need to make words taboo and dance around them in sentences. It just leads to way to much censoring and it keeps the negative definition tied to that word.
Hmmm...I'm not sure I get how "bitch" is anti-feminist. I think I agree with Borna: ...and I don't have strong feelings about protecting the image of female dogs (call me species-centric). I mean, you primarily use "bitch" to insult someone, right? Calling them a female dog may be a lame insult, but it isn't really demeaning to women. If you use it to describe a woman, yes, she'll be offended...but calling her "asshat" or "jerk" or "dipshit" isn't going to make that any better. The word can also be used as a verb (as others have said), in which case, "complain", "whine", "piss and moan", etc. are decent replacements. And it can also be used non-insultingly, as in "hey, what are you bitches up to tonight?" (Not that I use it in this sense...but I'm aware it happens. ) In this case, the right replacements are "guys", "people", "peeps", etc. ...or even just eliminating "bitches" and saying "hey, what are you up to tonight?"
The problem is that the word 'bitch' has a long history of being used to hurt women. It's used almost interchangeably with words like "pussy" to insult people who are feminine. It's part of an ongoing problem in our society where we hate on women and any man who dares to act feminine and then pretend like that's not actually what we're doing. You're right that this isn't an animal rights problem. But it is a misogyny problem.
Despite being a feminist, the word "bitch" generally does not bother me, unless it's being used in a misogynistic manner (eg. "She's my bitch", "I'm knee-high in bitches", or "Sit down and take it, you bitch"). I call people of all genders bitches. I'll even admit to using the c-word every once in awhile, and I'd rather be called "c**t" than "dyke." I'm certainly a bitch, but I am NOBODY'S bitch. This bitch is independent.