vocative "bitch"

[Douglas Bigham]

Oh wow.  Vocative "bitch" was all over the groups I came from in high-school
(predominantly heterosexual) and college (predominantly homosexual).

>From what I can remember of high-school, I was "bitch" to my friends, both
female and male.  My hetero male friends were called "bitch" from other
males, but I can't recall how it was used, and I know it also went
heterosexual female-to-female non-derogatorily.  I can't recall if it ever
crossed sexes (without a derogatoy reading).

In college it is/was much more fairly spread.  Hetero to homo, male to
female, and all possible combinations thereof are common.  I use it
constantly.   However, I can't recall heterosexual guys saying it to
heterosexual girls without giggling.  The other way around works, though.  My
old roommate called her boyfriend "bitch" constantly.

Whenever I meet new people, that's the first thing I remind myself.... "don't
say bitch, don't say bitch..."

-dsb
Douglas S. Bigham
University of Texas - Austin