Bold and Unapologetic Women: Call Me Bitch

We‘re excited to share this next post in our Bold and Unapologetic Series authored by our guest, Anh Nyugen, who is a long-time yogi, Pharmacist, and member of our Bitchin’ Squad.
Be sure to follow Anh on Instagram at  @tidoanhyoga along with @yogabitchapparel to stay up on all the latest.

Calling someone a bitch used to be a straightward, derogatory insult. I’ve been referred to as one many times when people think I'm being too aggressive, too opinionated, too emotional, too difficult…too whatever. In other words, I'm not being docile and subservient enough.

However, the word “bitch” has undergone a makeover - redefined and reclaimed depending on context. It’s been accepted as a term of endearment, a positive label. I will refer to my friends as “my bitches” and if they are doing amazing things, I will tell them "they a bad bitch.”

By embracing the term and reclaiming it for our own purposes, the offensiveness is removed and the energy redirected. We gain control of the meaning and nuances of a potentially degrading word and negative situation, taking ownership of it, while also challenging the patriarchy and altering the power dynamics. It's all about context.

As Elizabeth Wurtzel succinctly wrote in her 1998 book Bitch: In Praise of Difficult Women, "I intend to do what I want to do and be who I want to be and answer only to myself: that is, quite simply, the bitch philosophy."

Guest post by: Anh Nguyen