Language Police
For me, it depends on the point I was trying to make in the first place. I’ve had that argument brought most often by folks who don’t want to discuss what I’m talking about, or by folks who have no valid point to make, or folks who are just trying to derail the subject at hand.
I tend to agree with this. I never see a playful “Bitch” being called out. It tends to be during a discussion and used as a controlling tactic.
Still, I can see the “Misogynistic” argument being a valid one. It’s just that, even in “Polite society” I think “Bitch” is such a catch all word.
I think policing the word’s use in order to derail an argument is completely unacceptable. But I also object to using the word “bitch” or other derogatory female-specific insults (ie “cunt”). From what I understand, the meaning and usage of the word has some variation from culture to culture, so I don’t make a point of policing the use of the term unless I’m calling out another white person for using it. But I consider the word misogynistic, and I really don’t like seeing it used.
Though I guess women using the word with other women in a playful context could be seen as an example of reclaiming a word, so I don’t really have an opinion on that.
