As I was reading various posts on various social media sites such as Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, etc, I could not help but notice how often the term
"bitch" was used in many posts. If it is a female pictured in the post, many of the men and women commenting would refer to the female as a
"bitch" in one way or the other. She was either a
"Fine Bitch," "Hot Bitch," "Sexy Bitch," or "I wish that was my bitch" and on and on and on. What was even worse was the self proclamations made by myriad females of being a "bitch." Women proudly proclaiming that they are
"Bad Bitches" and all of the other types of bitches mentioned above. If you think about it, it is absolutely mind boggling that someone would refer to him or herself as any of the definitions listed in the photo taken from the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary. Proud to be referred to as the female of the dog or some other carnivorous mammal; a lewd or immoral woman; a malicious, spiteful, or overbearing woman; and something that is extremely difficult, objectionable, or unpleasant. I don't know about you, but in my mind, something is terribly wrong with the women and men who so proudly don this title whether it be bestowed upon them or it be self proclaimed. Something is wrong with a society who does not see how far we've fallen from wanting to be a king or queen, a prince or a princess to now being proud to be a "Bitch."
Marianne Williamson says it best in her book,
A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles, Harper Collins, 1992. From Chapter 7, Section 3 (Pg. 190-191).
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Happily being referred to as a bitch is
"playing small" in my way of thinking. As an educator, I sadly see children attempting to spell "bitch" in their attempts at graffiti spelling it "bicth." I will actually walk upon a wall with "bicth" either marked or spray painted on it. This is sad on multiple counts as you have a young child who first of all cannot spell (bitch is not the only word he/she is misspelling), and secondly he/she is attempting to use the word in a derogatory manner. Where do you think a five or six year old learns this vocabulary? Ironically enough, I have asked my young perpetrators when I catch them, what does the word bitch mean, and needless to say they could not give me any of the definitions shown above. Most of the time the answer is "I don't know." I usually give the child a lesson on the definition, a spelling lesson and why it's inappropriate for a five or six year old to be using such language. I even explain to them that it is inappropriate for grown ups to be using it out of context. After our little conversation which is analogous to an old fashioned washing out of the mouth with soap (no, we cannot physically do that) from days of yore, the child has a better appreciation for the meaning of the word and its use. I wish I could say the same for our adults who wantonly use the word both verbally and in writing (T-shirts, social media posts, lyrics, scripts, etc. etc. etc.).
When I come to the point where I am in writing this post, I begin to think, maybe I am missing something and need to be clued in. Maybe these people are sane and I am the crazy one. So when I feel this way, I throw the question out to the reading audience for help. I ask the reading audience to school me on something I obviously do not know about or missed somewhere along the way. That is the case with this post. I need someone or a lot of "someones" to school me on the fascination with the word "bitch." I need someone to school me as to why it is a badge of honor for a woman to consider herself a "bad bitch." I need someone to help me understand the pride in being a lewd, immoral, overbearing, malicious, objectionable, extremely difficult, unpleasant and spiteful woman. I need someone to help me understand why a female human being considers it a compliment to be called the female of the dog or some other carnivorous mammal. Will someone please school this critical thinker. I hope this is some food for thought as I welcome your commentary in the comment section of the blog. You are invited to follow The Critical Thinker on Twitter @thinkcritical01 and to listen live each Saturday morning at 6 a.m. ET on gobrave.org. As always, something to critically think about.
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