The word “bitch,” which I’ve been using so sparingly over this chapter so far, is one of the oldest words in the English language. If you’ve made it this far, it may not be offensive, but chances are it’s still an uncomfortable word to hear or read. I’m not ignorant of this tension. I have my own relationship with the word, as I imagine most women do. While I may be comfortable using it, individual reclamations do not make up for the cultural history of the word and how it’s been used.
