Imagine sitting at your computer one day, trying to find ‘synonyms for the word ‘woman,’ for a new female rights project you were working on, only to come across the definition. This is what happened to Maria-Beatrice Giovanardi back in June 2019, who was rightfully frustrated to see that the Oxford English Dictionary listed synonyms for ‘woman’ as ‘bitch’ and ‘hussy, baggage or bit.’ The definition of ‘man’ did not include any derogatory terms.

She began to see a pattern displayed across multiple dictionaries where women were being equated with male possessions or referred to as prostitutes in a number of different ways. The one word that seemed to feature after each definition was the word ‘bitch.’ The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term ‘bitch’ as ‘a malicious or treacherous woman,’ and whilst the site notes that the term is ‘not now in decent use,’ it is still the second definition to be listed.

Giovanardi launched a petition in the summer of 2019, calling for the OED to change the definition so that it reflected current society. Within a month the petition was featured on The Guardian where it gained traction and the campaign began trending with #IAMNOTABITCH and #SEXISTDICTIONARY being circulated widely on social media. An open letter to the Oxford University Press was put forward by Women’s Aid and ‘the leaders of the Women’s Equality party,’ which made the point of how ‘Bitch is not a synonym for woman. It is dehumanising’ and an ‘extremely damaging, example of everyday sexism.’ The letter went on to state that in fact the societal conditions ‘should be explained clearly in the dictionary entry used to describe us,’ as our female history should be highlighted alongside the use of the word, to showcase the time we have arrived at. The petition was mostly successful and led to the definition of ‘woman’ being updated, however the OED chose for the synonym ‘bitch’ to remain.

This is certainly not the first time the dictionary in relation to female descriptions has been called out and in fact, in the 1980s, an activist by the name of Mary Daly published ‘Websters’ First New Intergalactic Wickedary of the English Language’ in a move to counteract these misogynistic definitions. In the age of ‘She-EO’s and ‘girl bosses,’ women are being rightfully celebrated for entering male dominated environments but have had to attach female pronouns in order to take ownership of their successes. Once the glass ceiling has been smashed, what follows is the onslaught of age-old, chauvinistic vocabulary that is used alongside these victories to show women that they have not travelled far, and the misogyny is still ever present.

Take Congress woman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: the youngest female electee in history and first woman of colour to be elected to New York’s 14^th congressional district. When proposing reform as part of her job, she was called ‘disgusting, crazy’ and a ‘fucking bitch,’ by a fellow congressman. Betty Davis described the injustice best with her comment, ‘when a man gives his opinion, he’s a man; when a woman gives her opinion, she’s a bitch,’ and sadly this double standard is still a hard truth of today.

Whilst there are moments where these terms have been used as both a form of endearment and a mention of sisterhood, it still leaves a sour taste in the mouth and a trace of our history surrounding the word ‘bitch.’ It feels farfetched and too soon to be jokingly entering the term into a conversation whilst empowering women to reclaim a stubborn persona that was never the truth to begin with. This does not mean it needs to be forgotten, as it still proves a very immediate and painful reminder of everyday sexism and can reinforce a woman is not a ‘bitch’ just for having an opinion.

Only when a woman has either: broken a glass ceiling, been open with her sexuality, or chosen to enter into spaces that are historically male dominated, do these sexist slurs and age-old definitions begin to make a reappearance.  These are all moments that seek to put women back into a a position in which men (and quite often other women) feel less threatened. But, by shaking the very foundations these words were built on, we can challenge the regressive and oppressive viewpoints that continue to keep men at these tables.

Once we stop labelling women as ‘bitches’ and ‘difficult’ or ‘crazy’ for simply using their voice,  we will begin to truly listen to and understand their own definitions of how they would like to be presented to the world today.

Read More Like This:

The Essex Girl Stereotype: Reject or Reclaim?

The Playboy Logo: Can We Separate the Brand from its Baggage?

Catfish and the Patriarchy: Why We Need to Stop Shaming Women