Namely, calling a woman considered to be either mean, selfish, conniving, or just plain evil, a "bitch."
As many of you already know, the word bitch literally translates into a female dog. However, the word is more often used in the ever-popular vulgar, metaphorical sense. What I seek to find out is how this term became part of vulgar vernacular.
First of all, in Western cultures like the United States, dogs are revered creatures. "Man's best friend," if you will. These lovable mammals, descended from the wolf and domesticated by humans, offer companionship and a willingness to work alongside humans (whether for hunting, sheep-herding, leading the blind, etc., depending on the dog breed). To eat one would be just as appalling as cannibalism (Although, in other cultures around the world, it is socially acceptable to eat dogs, as they are rich in protein). To neglect or abuse a dog would be cruelty, punishable by law.
Secondly, I would imagine that female mammals tend to be particularly nurturing towards their young. The same would apply to the dog, since dogs are mammals. Should a predator threaten the welfare, the very life of their litter, it would be natural for a canine mother to ward the predator off, even going so far as to either maim or eliminate that predator. She would be protecting her young. That's neither selfish nor conniving, is it not?
Lastly, reiterating the idea of dogs being "man's best friend," let's go over some of the characteristics that compel us to cherish these furry creatures (note that I place quotes, since these descriptions are the general perceptions of dogs):
- Dogs are "loyal"
- Dogs are "hard-working"
- Dogs are "dependable"
- Dogs are "protectors"
- Dogs are "out-going"
- Dogs are "friendly"
- Dogs are "fun-loving"
- Dogs are ... etc., etc., etc.
Ergo, considering the revered status of dogs, why is it fitting to call a woman, who is considered to have an insufferable disposition, a female dog?
It just doesn't make any sense to me. And to use "bitch" in this context, is a completely arbitrary effort and a waste of breath. Isn't it funny to observe how we use language?
Anyway, it was just something I was thinking about. There's only so much you can do in your college library during a long three-hour break. (Why couldn't Anthropology lab be longer? Being in the lab, surrounded by primate remains is so cool!) So yeah, I'm just waiting for my psych class on human development to start. After that, I can finally go home and watch 90210.
Or play Rohan (I'll probably explain what that is in the future).
For my birthday, I want a laptop. But considering my parents' tight budget, I'll have to wait until Christmas... or next year. I'll have to settle for borrowing one from the library for a few hours. It makes me wish I had a job - to be able to save up and pay for the things that I want/need. But it's so hard to find one part-time. Oh, well. Good things come to those who wait. I just hope karma's quick about it.
So until next post, thanks for reading!
I love this analysis of the word "bitch". These traits are all true in "man's best friend" yet here we are using this word in the most derogatory of ways. I found myself using this word to describe the young woman who was leaning on the subway pole during rush hour, completely unaware that there were people around her that needed to hold on to it so they wouldn't fall into someone and spill their coffee. She was most definitely insufferable.
ReplyDeleteI suppose bitch is like the word "gay"; they take on completely different connotations through use and time. I'm not sure how this phenomena works. I read somewhere that this happens when they need a word that is not so offensive, yet not so endearing to classify people and their behaviors. But why these specific words? How do we even get to that place? Does one person use it and it catches on? Is it planned by a number of people?
It's good to sometimes stop and think what the roots of these words really mean and find ourselves in a place where we are asking why it came to be the way it is. Sometimes, we don't hesitate to ask why the way things are. We like this unexamined life, just passively accepting to be classified by words that don't even mean that. I like this aggressive approach.
By the way, I am a huge fan of long, extensive comments analyzing the topics of my blog. They are fun to read =] I'm a huge nerd.
Thanks to your comment, I might need to look at that show in a different light. Perhaps it is really a social experiment... but mostly because it gets good ratings. In any event, it's always interesting to play Devil's advocate.
I want to write a new post, I just don't know of what >.< And I might get kicked out of this computer soon; usually we're only allowed for an hour at school. Hope to see you Friday my dear!