Surviving the Workday

Andi Zeisler in The B-Word? You Betcha articulates some of the reasons “bitch” is a sexist term. Now Zeisler is the founder of Bitch Magazine, and quite comfortable using the term. That doesn’t, however, mean, she can’t articulate sexist implications:

So here goes: 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.

So let’s not be disingenuous. Is it a bad word? Of course it is. As a culture, we’ve done everything possible to make sure of that, starting with a constantly perpetuated mindset that deems powerful women to be scary, angry and, of course, unfeminine — and sees uncompromising speech by women as anathema to a tidy, well-run world.

Indeed. And, of course, you’ll recall that a supporter of McCain used the term in reference to Clinton most recently. I’m not personally a Clinton fan, but I think there is plenty to attack without using a female slur (or analyzing her cleavage, or clothes, or makeup).