Salon's Broadsheet hipped me to a wonderful Washington Post article by Andi Zeisler, founder and editorial director of Bitch magazine. As a fan of Bitch magazine, I could have guessed that its founder would offer a pitch perfect description of what folks like that McCain supporter who labeled Hilary Clinton the b-word really mean.
"Bitch is a word we use culturally to describe any woman who is strong, angry, uncompromising and, often, uninterested in pleasing men. We use the term for a woman on the street who doesn't respond to men's catcalls or smile when they say, 'Cheer up, baby, it can't be that bad.' We use it for the woman who has a better job than a man and doesn't apologize for it. We use it for the woman who doesn't back down from a confrontation ... When these people call Clinton (or House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, or Sen. Dianne Feinstein or former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro) a bitch, or even the cutesier "rhymes-with-witch," it's an expression of pure sexism -- a hope that they can shut up not only one woman but every woman who dares to be assertive." MORE
2 comments:
So Tami, what is your take on being identified as a bitch?
I'm okay with its use in the ironic sense, like in the magazine title or Angry Black Bitch, the blog. But honestly I've never been able to toss the word around comfortably. I guess for me there is too much baggage attached, so I'm conflicted. I feel the same about "the n word."
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