It’s time for our series of posts here at Jessica Who?, titled “Word of the Week”. In these short articles, from here on out published each Friday, I will explore the various labels and umbrella terms used to label us. By doing this, I hope to educate not only myself, but also anyone who may not be familiar with these terms. Feel free to add your own knowledge to each post by leaving a comment 
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The label that we will be examining is: bitch
Standard Definition
A female dog. A mean woman. Also, to complain.
Derogatory?
Many women consider this very offensive but sometimes they use it casually amongst each other. I’ve observed transwomen use this almost as a term of endearment.
What’s It Really Mean?
We all know that bitch is a slur used on women, but what many may not know is that in the LGBT community, bitch is used frequently as well and it may not be immediately obvious how. Via several outlets, I’ve noticed that some transgendered women will call each other bitches, but in a sweet way.
“Hey bitches!” is a common greeting and although this word can still be utilized as an insult, it is often heard in a positive context.
My Take
This word’s usage in the LGBT community is fascinating to me, because it is one of those words that started off as a slur but has been reclaimed to a certain extent. I’ll never forget the first time I was having a casual conversation with another T-girl, and she jokingly said to me, “you bitch.”
Personally, I don’t include this term in my vocabulary but I would be interested in knowing womens’ thoughts on how they sometimes use it amongst each other.
Your Take
Have you anything to add? Please leave your take on this word in the comments section, I hope we can open up a dialogue and learn from each other while educating the masses.
JessicaWhoHD
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I tend to like this word sometimes simply because it’s female.
I had a friend call me “bastard” the other day and I said “that’s bitch to you” and he was like “oh yah”.
hehe
Yea I definitely understand that, it’s a sense of empowerment in a way
“Bitch” is a word that I never use even about a female
of questionable character.
There’s a great line from one of my favorite films CB4 … a politician tells the rap group, “The word bitch shall only be used to refer to a female dog and then only when in heat”
I crack up every time
It really depends on how the word is said. If its said in a nice way its meant as a complament but said in anger it has a different meaning.I’ve heard it used both ways.
Very true
My friends and I will use “bitch” to complain about another’s traits that we envy. “skinny bitch” being the most common, as I’m a bit heavier
But we had a round robin going at the pub this past week, sort of a counter-clockwise (re)discovery of what we wish we had from the girl on our right…
It’s definitely not something you’d want to use in an email, because your body language around it is crucial to not having it taken the wrong way. And strictly between friends in lighthearted conversation too.
Love the blog, Jessica
Thank you Gillian!!
Yea there are certain things I never say electronically because they can potentially be misconstrued.
On a certain TGCD Chat board where I hang out regularly, it is not unusual for one of the girls to log on and greet everyone with “Hey all you hot bitches!” to which we all type in her name in response. It’s kind of like Norm walking into the bar on Cheers and everyone responding with a hearty “Norm!” No offense is ever taken.