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2 - Feminist Bitch

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2024

Karen Stollznow
Affiliation:
Griffith University, Queensland
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Summary

Bitch lurked in the English language for centuries, but then it emerged as an everyday word. Why? Bitch changed along with the changing social roles of women during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. By the mid 1900s, the use of bitch had exploded; its meteoric rise was a backlash against feminism. In response it was reclaimed by feminists – to some extent, that is. In modern times, bitch is still an insult for a woman who is considered to be unpleasant, disagreeable, or malicious. But in the word’s evolution it has also come to mean a woman who is revered (or reviled) as tough, strong, and assertive. For better or for worse, bitch is interwoven with the history of feminism. It is a word that represents both feminism and anti-feminism at the same time.

Type
Chapter
Information
Bitch
The Journey of a Word
, pp. 35 - 68
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Feminist Bitch
  • Karen Stollznow, Griffith University, Queensland
  • Book: Bitch
  • Online publication: 13 June 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009392358.003
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Feminist Bitch
  • Karen Stollznow, Griffith University, Queensland
  • Book: Bitch
  • Online publication: 13 June 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009392358.003
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Feminist Bitch
  • Karen Stollznow, Griffith University, Queensland
  • Book: Bitch
  • Online publication: 13 June 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009392358.003
Available formats
×