The "B Word"
Use The Right Word For Your Female Dogs
The New York Times reported last week that a New York City councilwoman had proposed a measure to symbolically ban the word "bitch." I'm not trying to offend anyone who happens to be reading here, but, as dog lovers and owners, you should know that female dogs are correctly called bitches. There's nothing vulgar about the term. Female dogs have been called bitches since around 1000 A.D., according to the Oxford English Dictionary — hundreds of years before the word picked up any other meanings.
Denise Flaim at Newsday.com writes about the situation in her Animal House blog this week.
I have a bookmark taped a couple of inches above the computer screen where I am tapping out these words.
"You say I'm a bitch like it's a bad thing," it reads.
Last week, New York City Councilwoman Darlene Mealy of Brooklyn introduced a measure banning the word "bitch," saying it is responsible for creating "a paradigm of shame and indignity." (The City Council is no stranger to legislating linguistically: In February, it passed a similarly symbolic moratorium on the "N word.")
Misogynistic rap lyrics aside, there are some of us out here who use the "B word" just as it was originally intended - to describe a female dog. It's not a slap - it's a statement of fact.
Go to any dog show, flip open the catalog, and prepare to be awash in the word. In dog parlance, dogs are males and bitches are females, and when someone says, "Let me tell you, that was one gorgeous bitch I saw you with today," there is no greater compliment.
As Ms. Flaim points out, however, even dog show announcers edit themselves and don't call female dogs bitches on TV. People tend to avoid the word because of its other connotations, which is a shame because it's the correct word and there's nothing wrong with it. We call a female horse a mare, don't we? We call a female chicken a hen. Calling a female dog a bitch is just the same. There is nothing inherently wrong with the word, even if some people have misappropriated it.
Here at my house I technically have two dogs, three bitches and a puppy bitch or bitch puppy. If using the word "bitch" makes some people uncomfortable, that's a sign that more of us need to use it correctly to apply to female dogs.
In her blog, Ms. Flaim goes on to write about the positive things associated with the word "bitch" for dog people.
But among breeders, bitches rule. That's because breeders know that stud dogs are a dime a dozen … it is the female that holds the value and strength of the breed. And ask any dog-show judge: In many, if not most breeds, the quality often runs deeper among females than males.
…In many breeds, they are more complicated and more clever than the males. They are thinkers, planners and decision-makers, and give away their affections less easily. It is the very rare - and, likely, suicidal - male who dares challenge one in a fight. Instead, males see her strength of character and respect it, which is more than I can say for many of their human counterparts.
Please don't be afraid to use the correct word for your female dogs. Bitches inspire respect and admiration, they have strength and maternal love. They can be smart and very loving. Bitch is not a bad word at all.
