Can we ever reclaim the word Btich?

This week I had an interesting online discussion with Leddie, she is one half of the hip-hop duo Leddie and Smoggy. The gist of the debate was is the word ‘bitch’ an unacceptable word to use. We both had our own thoughts on the matter, read below to make up your own minds.

Leddie: Don’t agree with it being called "bitches" though ... Kind of shows the misogyny in Hip Hop, lol and how it affected us ... Glad you’ve put in the info it’s about "Bold Individuals That Challenges Hiphop'crisy En Style" though still.

Janine: hmmm...double edge sword. It’s a feminist zine/website for girl’s involved in the five elements of hip-hop culture. I choose to use that word for the exact reason, constantly used by some male rappers to put women down, so I thought fuck it, I’m going to make it mean something, hence the break down. Also tend to find when a woman is described as a 'bitch' it’s because she doing her own thing and not boasting some mans ego...

Leddie: Yeah, that’s true ... But, The Word 'Bitch' is Said in derogatory Manners within Hip Hop, Even if its instead of saying woman they use Bitch like it’s an acceptable thing and we should 'learn' to like being called it, That’s why I don’t agree with women using it in tunes like "Chilling with my bitches" or shit like that .I’m a Woman, and if a man can’t learn to realise that women aren’t objects and are actually human beings, He isn’t a man. Like I said though, at least u broke it down in the info, I just don’t really agree with the name of it.

Janine: You don’t agree with the word 'bitch' because of the context that is used, which I guess in relation to hip-hip tends to be negative. But I feel anyway my blog is not about perpetuating misogyny, I want it to say women are called bitches in a negative way, but let’s reclaim that word to our ownership and mean something else. So it is recognizing its historical use, but changing it to mean something empowering. Cause all the women that I have interviewed or wrote about are females doing their thing in male dominated industry. I will admit I choose to use the name BITCHES for shock value, but it’s not some gimmick, it about showcasing talented women...

Leddie: I don’t agree with the word bitch being used because I think it degrades the whole purpose of what we’re trying to achieve as women within Hip Hop. Our aim is to be seen as the powerful, Strong outspoken women we are ... But were being degraded within commercial Hip Hop, and then were giving into their submission, like a "bitch" is all we are able to...

Janine: I agree, the word 'bitch' is used demandingly, but why can't the word be reclaimed to mean positive. By doing so, is that not a political or feminist statement in itself? You used the word to mean something bad, but I am going to spin it on it to mean something I want it too? The same way the word has been used to negative, can it not be changed to mean something positive, as in all it is a word created by man, therefore can be changed by women?

Leddie: To me the word 'bitch' can never be used positively ... To me, it is like a respectable black male or male, using The "N-Word" ... To me, it’s Disrespectful and although people use it as a Greeting, or casually, to me, it’s a direct negative and violent condemnation of character. It’s the fact that we 'allow' ourselves to be called bitches, by females and males, its lost its bite and we just allow it to happen ... Even women in Hip Hop used the term "bitch", for example, Lil Kim - "Queen Bitch" ... To me, its degrading yourself to their level to fit in to Hip Hop. I don’t want to fit into hip hop, I make Hip Hop music, But the state of the Hip Hop culture, on a whole in my opinion, is Absolutely Disgusting because nobody respects themselves or each other, yet we all act like its fine and get on with it.