Anonymous asked: Can I ask you your opinion on using the word "bitch" as an insult? For example: when a woman does something rude, degrading, insulting, etc. to another person, they immediately respond with "you're such a bitch".

It’s another example of gendered insults and used as a way to silence women. We’re told from an early age, not always directly but the larger cultural message is there, that women are expected to be sweet, passive, yielding. To call a woman a “bitch” means that she’s stepped outside of her gender boundaries and must be put back into her place.

I’ve also found it interesting that when a woman is called a bitch, the implication is that she is too aggressive, but when the insult is used towards a man, it means he’s too submissive.

-Admin Anna