Be the Bad Bitch

Bitch, a word that once connotated brash female behavior, is now a reclamation of feminine identity

By Nina Raemont

As a twelve-year old, my favorite movie was “The Clique,” a cheesy and petty story about a small town girl from Florida who tries to find her way in a wealthy New York suburb as she deals with the ostentatiously well-off mean girls of Westchester. The feud between the two main characters, Massie and Claire, begins when Claire calls Massie out for her mistreatment: Claire deems Massie a b*tch, and Massie reactively declares war. 

That type of scene, in 2019, would cease to exist. We have come quite a long way since the word “bitch” has been used in a derogatory manner to provoke a woman. Because of pop-culture and the progressive feminist movement, “bitch,” a word that not only connotated brash female behavior, but also reinforced misogynistic ideals, is now the name women are slowly reclaiming as a term of empowerment.   

From Rihanna to Rico Nasty, iconic female artists use “bitch” in their songs to emphasize their feminine power. The term bitch now signifies a woman standing up for herself in situations dominated by the condescension of a man, or striding into the office and telling her boss that she deserves the same salary as her male colleague, or leaving a toxic relationship because she recognizes she deserves better. This term is a reclamation of feminine identity—and who wouldn’t want to be called something that reclaims more of the power that the misogyny in society has historically stolen? 

As women progressively chip away at the glass ceiling and further incarnate the identities of empowered matriarchs, these derogatory terms that once targeted the demeaning stereotypes of our gender will now emphasize the strengths of who we are. We no longer adhere to the ideas that being powerful, well-spoken, and strong, are qualities reserved solely for our male counterparts. So call us a bitch—we dare you.