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What does "bitch" mean now?
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: serious crayons on April 13, 2012, 12:11:47 pm ---Though I'll have to say I'm not really fond of using "balls" to mean courage. That's insulting to women, as well.
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I would think so.
Marina:
--- Quote ---Though I'll have to say I'm not really fond of using "balls" to mean courage. That's insulting to women
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No, never in regards to a woman, definitely offensive there. To be honest, the only time that one ever comes up is when I'm upset with the state of politics! Also, this word can be a negative, mean brazenness, or being too "nervy".
Now everybody's going to think I curse all the time, but hardly ever - I have to be really furious to do it! Otherwise, it's bad form.
milomorris:
--- Quote from: serious crayons on April 13, 2012, 11:58:14 am --- ??? Um, see my post above re examples of use of the word "bitch" by millionaire rappers whose music sells millions of copies to millions of people, who win Grammys and star in movies and get profiled in the New York Times and the New Yorker and are basically the toast of modern pop culture.
Or perhaps you can point me to 8,222 similarly offensive uses of the word "dick" in songs by women, including more than 100 with the word in the title itself?
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I think you're missing my point. Rappers, etc. use all the curse words they can on purpose. Its part of their "schtick." I'm talking about plain-old everyday discourse.
--- Quote from: serious crayons on April 13, 2012, 11:58:14 am ---As for the c-word, I believe you're incorrect about its heinous status being due to chivalry. I think it's heinous because it is sort of on par with the "n-word" (when used by white people) or the "f-word": the ultimate offensive slur used against a historically oppressed population. There is no equivalently heinous word for men (dick) or white people (honky) or straight people (breeder) because those groups, collectively, have been historically privileged.
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I don't think most people who find the c-word or n-word heinous speech are thinking "that person shouldn't be using such offensive language against these poor, oppressed people."
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: milomorris on April 13, 2012, 01:07:59 pm ---I think you're missing my point. Rappers, etc. use all the curse words they can on purpose. Its part of their "schtick." I'm talking about plain-old everyday discourse.
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Oh, sorry. I thought when you said "culture" you meant culture. But you mean everyday discourse, as in what I hear people say in person? Even then I'd say "dick" and "bitch" are at least equally common.
--- Quote ---I don't think most people who find the c-word or n-word heinous speech are thinking "that person shouldn't be using such offensive language against these poor, oppressed people."
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That's pretty close to exactly what they're thinking. Oh, they wouldn't say "poor, oppressed," maybe. How about "disadvantaged" or "less privileged" or maybe they'd just say the name of the group itself: black people, women, gay people. Whatever you like.
The point is, slurs used to insult those groups carry more power to hurt and offend than slurs used against dominant groups. As a member of two out of of those three dominant groups, I can attest that I'm not particularly stung by "honky" or "breeder," nor have I known any other members of those groups who were. They're more like, "Yeah, OK, fair is fair, there should be some insulting term for the other side." But in practice, they just aren't as insulting.
Luvlylittlewing:
I can't use any of the words you guys mentioned. I don't know if it is because of the way I was raised (my mom always took great pains to tell me what a lady does or does not do) or if I refuse to be like the boors who call others names. I do admit to calling my sister-in-law a bitch when she attacked my brother, but it was done in a fit of anger and I was ashamed immediately after. I also know how I feel when I'm called a bitch, which is not often, but when it happens it stings. Once I was walking in the hood and I refused the advances of some dude. He called me everything but a child of God, and he seemed to take great pleasure in calling me a bitch. I let it go. Consider the source.
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