Izzysdad Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 I get that is refers to a female dog, and it's a proper term, but I can't stand it. I'm 29 so growing up bitch had a way different meaning. I feel like the term is very old school and doesn't really apply anymore. Maybe I'm dead wrong, but I basically shudder everytime I hear the word used. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnLloydJones Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 I get that is refers to a female dog, and it's a proper term, but I can't stand it. I'm 29 so growing up bitch had a way different meaning. I'm more than twice your age, but bitch was used as an insult when I grew up too; it's a usage that has deep roots. Used correctly -- and not applied to women -- it's a perfectly good word and I hate to see that we are loosing it. Nonetheless, it has become a jargon word -- OK, when used by dog people in correct context, but to be avoided (or at least used with care) to people in general. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurelin Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 Bitch does not bother me at all considering I've basically grown up in dogs. It is the proper term for a female dog and regardless of it's other meanings, that's what it refers to. I have no problem saying we have 2 dogs and 3 bitches because it's true. I generally don't say that to non dog people though because it's just a bit confusing to non dog people I've found. But as a swear word it isn't a big deal to me either. And I'm younger than you by a bit (23). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizmo Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 I'm younger than all of you (though I don't understand why age has anything to do with it), and it doesn't bother me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 It bugs me according to context. If I can tell it's in a canine related context, I'm fine with it. As a nasty thing to say about or to someone, I really hate it. Ruth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloRiver Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 It bothers me a lot when it's applied to humans, because it's so very misogynistic (kind of like the word "cougar," but worse). But I use it all the time when referring to dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertranger Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 I thought that it had morphed into Biotch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumpin Boots Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 I thought that it had morphed into Biotch. Thanks for the giggle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 I refer to my female dogs as bitches to distinguish them from the males. Applying the term to women is offensive, but then I guess that's the point. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sea4th Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 Imagine the looks a co-worker and I would get when we'd sit over lunch and talk about a bitches' sound structure and movement from the rear (she showed her dogs in conformation), or finding the right bitch, or the best bitch either one of us had ever had. LOL. Doesn't bother me, but I am sensitive about using the word even in it's appropriate way around non-dog people. I have noticed though that some of these same people have no problem using it as a derogatory term. And, besides, I'm the alpha bitch in this house and my crew knows it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 As others have said, it depends on the context. I've been around Dog People for the past 20 years so using bitch to describe a female dog is just that a word that describes a female dog. Using it to describe a woman is an insult, but I can't claim I've never used it that way either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 I lovingly call Maddie a bitch and my dogs "sons of bitches" at times. I do this in the privacy of my own home, with all due respect to my sweet girl and the mothers of my boys (and I am referring to their biological canine mothers in that context). So, in a dog context, it doesn't bother me. Of course, when applied to humans as an insult, that's a whole 'nother story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 Age - 61. Female dogs as bitches - fine. Female people as bitches - not so fine. That said, my one daughter and myself are not adverse to describing ourselves as bitches when our respective attitudes match the descriptor. And, I have been known to refer to particularly nasty females as such, for which I am generally ashamed. There is really no excuse for bad language but, not being anywhere near perfect, I sometimes fall into the trap of using it myself. But, when it comes to dogs, a bitch is a bitch, and there's nothing wrong with that, although it does make folks unfamiliar with its proper use a bit uncomfortable sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbc1963 Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 I also sometimes call myself the "b" word when it applies. I don't call other women that name, though. The trouble with that word applied to human females is that there's no corresponding word for a male. So, when a woman is forced to, say, discipline a subordinate at work, she's labeled a "bitch." If a man does exactly the same thing, he's just seen as being a strong leader. I find it troubling that I'm supposed to be constantly 'sweet' or 'demure' as a woman, when I'm put into exactly the same situations that would make a man lose his temper. As far as dogs go, it doesn't bother me at all. Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carson Crazies Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 There are several situations, IMO, when the word "bitch" is appropriate and acceptable. The first and foremost is when referring to a female dog. In the acceptable category I also include sheep who want to take my knees out at a gate, and in a situation of road rage. I don't mind it so much when I apply it to my own self, and if a close girlfriend says it jokingly to me I don't care a bit. I suppose it's the intent. Then again, my intent when involved in the throes of road rage is pretty ugly, but I don't really KNOW them. Eh, Ok, so I guess it just depends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenajo Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 I don't think twice about it, which makes for coworker and public eyeing of me when I use it in general conversation LOL I do often unintentionally misspell it, leaving out the "i", because in the past the word was generally blocked on many internet screening programs and I've trained myself... I think the btch term as a trendy human insult went out in my generation temporarily, replaced by "heifer". Anybody remember that... "She's just a heifer" "you heifer". Always thought it was stupid myself, well mostly because I had real heifers at home LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie Meier Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 It's a word that would have been met with a bar of soap in our household growing up. So no, I don't think your being over-sensitive, it is hard for me to use. I do use it but I find that I test the waters and check responses of others when I use it or wait to see if someone else uses it before I put it in the conversation. It's kinda funny, it's just reflex to avoid it. In all honesty, until we began breeding dogs I don't think I even considered the term to be anything but derogatory, yeah I was aware of it, but the first thing that came to mind was not a female dog and even now I tend to think of the way the female dog acts as a bitch vs. it identifying a dog as female. I could just see my mom's jaw dropping if I used the term bitch while discussing my dogs with her. Deb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G. Festerling Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 Wow, another person that has a problem with a perfectly normal term. Do we even have to talk about that calling a human a bitch or anything else like it is most likely an insult to a "real" canine? I flat don't like it when it is about a human and that includes the times I have used it. Not proud of it. But it still at times slips out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geonni banner Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 Bitch 1. the female of the dog, wolf, fox, etc. 2. Archaic a lewd or promiscuous woman 3. Slang a woman regarded as malicious, bad-tempered, or aggressive: a term of contempt 4. (Slang) anything especially unpleasant or difficult 5. (Slang) a complaint 6. intransitive verb: (Slang) to complain Well, I see some useful applications here. Wikipedia says its slang origins referred to a female dog in heat. While I don’t generally hold with name-calling, and “bitch” is no exception, I think sometimes it’s a case of “if the shoe fits, wear it”… Personally, I think we should not be uncomfortable about calling a female dog a bitch. After all, it’s a bitch if you can’t bitch about your bitch when she’s being a bitch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 I must be a bad girl.....I can cuss like a sailor and it doesn't bother me a bit! I can and do know when to refrain but if I don't need to, it's just a form of expression. It's funny, I never cussed infront of my parents but as we age, we all hear ourselves cussing more and more in the company of family. I guess they consider me grown up enough to cuss. I don't and won't cuss in front of young children. I might find it ok for me, but can't stand to see a toddler cuss and watch people around them laugh...double standard I know. My daughter got home from Iraq a few years ago and wow...she put me to shame. But like me, knows when to hold back. BTW....I'm 47 so don't think it's an age thing. I had a hard time learning to use it in relationship to a female dog in heat. Don't know why except maybe that's not what it meant to me when I grew up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Billadeau Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 I get that is refers to a female dog, and it's a proper term, but I can't stand it. Tim Do you also dislike the term "cow"? Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 Do you also dislike the term "cow"? Mark Or ewe? Queen? Doe? Sow? Hen? They are just words. It's the context that can make them offensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scomona Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 Im 29 too... and I don't use the b-word for dogs either. My trainer does though- the first time I was so shocked that she laughed at me. I think my mouth was wide open and then I tried to play cool.... but my blushing gave me away. I couldn't help but feel like she was putting the dog down- ha,ha- which she thought was insane. Good thing Shiloh is boy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat W. Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 kids in school can be mean and occasionally will use derogitory names, so I advised my daughter (now 15) to reply this way "Thats right Im the ALPHA bitch and dont the rest of you dogs forget it" when you turn something thats ment as a negative into a postive it shuts them up right quick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Izzysdad Posted October 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 Do you also dislike the term "cow"? Mark Very cute. The term bitch sounds so archaic. I've heard the word dam used before, which just sounds so much more appropriate. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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