(And by "can use", I don't mean are allowed to use - I mean can use without provoking the wrath of 1st year feminists.)What he wants is permission to use gendered insults without anyone thinking any less of him. That's kind of weird. I mean, some people have attempted to create a situation where others aren't allowed to express negative opinions based on analyses of their behavior - theocrats, dictators, feudal monarchs, that sort of thing - but I think the anxiety here is actually deeper than that. It seems to be not just "I don't want anyone saying that they don't like the way I behave", but actually "I don't want anyone not liking the way I behave". But, instead of looking at behavior which they think people might not like, instead they want to identify behaviors which people aren't allowed to dislike, and argue for the inclusion of what they want to do in that set.
bitch (noun) … Sometimes the correct alternative to "bitch" is simply woman, person, individual. Sometimes use an inclusive noun: grumbler, grouch, griper, malcontent, sourpuss, sorehead, bellyacher, crab, crank, kvetcher. Other times you may want an adjective: hell on wheels, ruthless, aggressive, domineering, controlling, powerful, tyrannical, overwhelming, overpowering, spiteful, malicious, cruel, wicked, vicious, cold-hearted, hard-hearted, merciless. In the sense of a complaint, use instead gripe, complaint, problem, bone to pick, objection. In the sense of something that is difficult, unpleasant, or problematic ("a bitch" or "a real bitch") use tough row to hoe, tough nut to crack, heavy sledding, hornet's nest, between a rock and a hard place, bad news, bad one, killer, tough grind, large order, predicament, no picnic, thorny/knotty problem, uphill job, gutbuster, bunbuster, backbreaker, dilemma, bind, tangle, mess, find pickle, hell of a note.English is such a rich and varied language that it's almost always possible to find a non-misogynistic (non-racist, non-homophobic, non-biased-in-general) replacement for a problematic term.
bitch (verb) complain, gripe, kvetch, grouse, grumble, badmouth, harp on, sound off, beef, bellyache, carp, crab, criticize, denounce, disapprove, dissent, object, protest, reproach, backbite, bawl out, call/dress down, call on the carpet/mat, call names, cuss, make cutting remarks/dirty digs/cracks, give someone hell/the devil/a going over, lambaste, give someone lip, make it hot for, pick on, pitch into, put down, put someone in their place, tell someone where to get off. When you mean "to spoil or bungle" ("bitch something up") use botch.
Man criticizes Woman. We are not altogether pleased with woman. We discuss her shortcomings, we advise her for her good. If only English wives would dress as French wives, talk as American wives, cook as German wives! if only women would be precisely what we want them to be—patient and hard-working, brilliantly witty and exhaustively domestic, bewitching, amenable, and less suspicious; how very much better it would be for them—also for us. We work so hard to teach them, but they will not listen. Instead of paying attention to our wise counsel, the tiresome creatures are wasting their time criticizing us. It is a popular game, this game of school. All that is needful is a doorstep, a cane, and six other children. The difficulty is the six other children. Every child wants to be the schoolmaster; they will keep jumping up, saying it is their turn.posted by TheophileEscargot at 1:59 AM on August 30, 2011 [4 favorites]
"The Goops they lick their fingers,posted by octobersurprise at 6:17 AM on August 31, 2011
and the Goops they lick their knives;
They spill their broth on the tablecloth,
Oh, they lead disgusting lives!"*
posted by the young rope-rider at 8:54 PM on August 28, 2011 [14 favorites]